And I was supposed to teach them CHINESE!

As my year at [my school] comes to an end, suddenly, there seems to be so many teacher moments I am only too afraid to forget for good.  Is it really that challenging to teach in an intercity school of 1,300?  Not only teaching here, but teaching Chinese language here.  Is it just like teaching other world languages?  I think not.  

As the Chinese language becomes a more popular addition to American schools, it is offered not only by suburban districts but also by many, many urban districts across the nation.  I recall a student saying to me, "Why do they have Chinese in a poor school?"  Whether it's rhetorical I cannot tell.  More blatantly, "what do black people need to know Chinese for?"  Coming into a class of 27, with some glaring, some seemingly skeptical, some flat-out ain't gonna do anything.  And I was supposed to teach them CHINESE!

It's not all bad.  Some of them, whose parents felt strongly, got them out of my class.  Some whose parents were ready to take them out of my class, said to their parents "don't take me out.  I love it!!!"  That alone got me through many gloomy moments in the building.  There were some who never got out, not because they decided to stay in Chinese class, but because their parents never bothered to take interest in what they do at school.  And I was supposed to teach them CHINESE!

I had to decide -- do I lay down the law and butt heads with them, or do I generate some excitement and work the rules in at a later time?  Yes, teachers in China and Taiwan can be like drill sergeants, but we also have students who submit to that.  Somehow, I did not think it was going to work here.  It's not really my nature and culture to get into conflicts.  So I was patient, kind and humorous, but I called parents, wrote referrals, wrote letters to parents, what not.  I never worked so hard in my life!  Not just at prepping, but all the other stuff.  Stop telling me I have all summer off. 

Surprisingly, everyday something made me very happy at [my school].  In every class, someone made me very happy.  There are still those who refuses to buy in, but for the most part, kids are kids.  I will only refer to my kids by their Chinese names because they are the only ones who needs to know I am talking about them.  For others, this is only a narrative of happenings between a teacher and her kids in a large urban school.