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Guide Page
老怪物
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From boredom to going flat out 29 September 2008 The University came to life virtually over night the last two days of August. Classes started on September first - only one day after class schedules were dispensed to the students. Developing class schedules most likely isn't all that difficult of a project, beyond the logistics of assigning class rooms and teachers. Students are not allowed to "pick and choose" what classes they wish to take. That option was removed from them in their last year of high school when they took the massive national test which determines the University to be attended and the major a student will pursue. Freshmen start school a week after the upper classmen. They arrive at the University with their parents, and are assigned to a dorm room with 3 to 5 other students that they will spend the next four years with. Not getting along with others is not an option. It doesn't happen. If it does happen, it gets resolved. This is the way that Chinese culture is. Moments after you first meet someone, they are your friend. You find reasons to like that person. That person finds reasons to like you. You can't pick and chose your family members. You can't pick and chose your neighbors. For the good of the community, everyone must get along. After one or two days, the parents leave. No emotional good byes. No hugging or kissing in public. Just a perfunctory "good bye." For most, the separation from their children will be short. A matter of only three weeks. Their children will return home for a one week holiday for observance of National Day. For freshmen, the first two weeks are intensive. Not for studying, but for learning. They participate in military styled exercises which being with the issuance of camouflage fatigues and tennis shoes. From eight in the morning until 5 in the evening they stand at attention. They do precision marching. The listen to what are presumed to be pep talks. A two hour break for lunch from noon until 2:00. It is an introduction to regimentation. It builds team spirit. It emphasizes working together. It can develop leadership skills as well as being part of a team. Western students would never march to that tune. They would rebel. They wouldn't show up. Individualism is too important to Western students. Individualism is contrary to Chinese culture and tradition. The lack of individualism can well be considered one of the things that has made China so strong in some respects, yet weak in other respects. Yet, China is changing. It is trying to integrate the best aspects of other cultures into Chinese culture. It is a time of change for all the Chinese. It is challenging for them. It is equally challenging for foreigners who live in China. The focus on education at the University has changed dramatically - at least for The Old Codger's classes. His role is no longer as an entertainer; a clown. Instead, he is an actual teacher this year, teaching across the broad spectrums of reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is an ambitious curriculum for half of the students (sophomores), as they have been afforded one year in which to become proficient. The other half of the students (freshmen) have more leeway. They have two years to become proficient. It is a challenge for all. The Old Codger is the only foreign teacher assigned to a specific school, for the entire year. He is the only foreign teacher to have students for two classes - 2 hours, 40 minutes - a week. Certainly is recognition by the University that the students need special attention and that past programs have failed. These students all need to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) - a comprehensive evaluation of reading, speaking, listening and writing skills. Students studying in the School of Business Corporation curriculum, which is where The Old Codger is now posted, must pass the test in order to obtain a student Visa to America for their senior year. The test is not easy. Not by a long shot. The challenges are many - for both The Old Codger and the students. For the students, it introduces a completely new way to learn. In the past, everything has been memorize, repeat, memorize, repeat. Rote learning. Now, they have to start thinking and being creative. For example, one of the questions on the test is similar to this:
Students have 30 minutes to write a 250 to 300 word response paying attention to not only the content and context of what they write, but also grammar, spelling, sentence and paragraph structure. This can be difficult for students who, for example when asked why they want to improve their English will respond "because I love English." These types of questions, students can't study for. There are no answers that can be memorized. Fortunately, there is a published list of the actual 450 questions that can be asked for the test. Students are randomly assigned on question when they are taking the test. Horizons must be broadened. With the sophomore students, there is also a dual challenge - a challenge for both them and The Old Codger. There experience with a foreign teacher in the past has been one of a "fun encounter." They played games. They just talked about things in general. They watched movies. No pressure. Participation was basically optional. The students walked away from those classes with certain expectations of a with, and of a foreign teacher. Reversing those expectations is the challenge for The Old Codger. The next challenge was 'getting their attention.' It was quickly discovered with the sophomores that simply telling them that the test was difficult was not going to be enough. Telling them that it is either pass or they don't go to America, was not going to be enough. For three classes, they were told that they had to bring a notebook to class because they would be writing. Trying to get them to take notes was impossible. (Later, it was discovered that they simply do not know how to take notes. A skill never taught.) Those instructions did not make a dent or even a minor impression. In one ear. Out the other. Solution: Set them up to fail. Failure in Chinese culture is not an option. Teachers try not to fail students, for doing so, the student will lose "face" - self esteem and self pride. When there is no choice but to fail a student, the student takes it very hard. Failure, after all, can create success. The Sting: Give the students a sample TOEFL test. The hardest one that can be found. It required reading a short passage about an academic subject it is presumed that they had knowledge about. They had three minutes to read the passage - approximately 300 words. Then, they had to listen to a 2 minute lecture which contradicted what they had read. Their task then was to write between 150 and 250 words according to the following instruction:
A couple of the summaries in English that were over heard were telling. "Oh shit." There was no expectation that the students would be able to do any form of justice to the test. The goal was to simply give the students a real life example of what they could expect. A secondary goal, even more important, was to get their attention and to reinforce the instructions to bring writing paper to every class. 53% in one class, and 47% in the second class failed that part of the test. Getting an "F" in the grade book was for them, a failure. It brought about success in that the next class, every student had a note book. Mission accomplished. We now return to the basic information in the first classes: How to effectively take notes about what you read and hear. No doubt the next "failure assured" test will be centered around note taking. The old saying about being able to lead a horse to water, but not being able to make it drink comes to mind. A question that comes to mind is rather philosophical: What if the horse doesn't know how to drink from a water trough and there are no other horses around that can give a demonstration? The freshmen were a lot easier to convince that they had to bring note books to class. They do seem to take things much more seriously. Since The Old Codger is the first foreigner that they have had experience with, there are no pre-conceived notions or expectations. Of course, introducing new learning and teaching styles must be done, but the urgency is not present. Ultimately, The Old Codger is going to be earning his money this year. Last year, lessons for all classes could be prepared in about an hour or so. This year it is taking about 8 hours or so. Over time, that should be reduced, but by how much would only be speculation. Going to Shanghai tomorrow. There is a large English language book store there, which needs to be raided. The University said that they would "support [you] with any needs" which The Old Codger took to mean that they would pay for the books and even the trip to Shanghai. The experience with the University has been that they are quite good at doing those things, but still, until the money is in hand, one should never anticipate that it will be there. Speaking of money: For those of you being caught up in the financial crisis there in the 'free world' - you can live quite well - in luxury actually - here in Nantong for less than USD $1,000 a month. Something to consider regardless of which party gets in I fear. Last week The Old Codger took a complete and very comprehensive tour of the Nantong University Hospital. To state that it was extremely impressive would be an understatement. The facility is more modern and better equipped than most hospitals in the US. For starters, it has over 300 sets of large scale medical diagnostic apparatus, such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) CT Scans, Digital Subtraction Angigraphy and a host of other high dollar diagnostic tools. Costs are exceptionally reasonable as well. A MRI for example, costs 400 RMB - about USD$85.00. Compare that to $500 to $1500 in the States. Toss into the program 32 clinical departments, 19 medical and technology departments and research laboratories staffed by 200 specialists and you have a well rounded medical facility. Everything in the hospital runs like a well oiled precision watch. In the lobby there is a computer touch screen where you can look up any and all information imaginable, including the cost of each treatment or procedure. One way to measure the quality of care and treatment of a major medical facility is to see how many bodies are in the morgue. The day The Old Codger visited, the morgue was empty. Very reassuring. The hospital boasts a separate ward section for foreigners. Called the VIP Floor, it encompasses the entire top floor of one wing. Very well appointed (furnished) and extremely reasonable - cheaper than a hotel room. Single room 200 RMB (USD$30). A suite, 400 RMB (USD$60). It is suspected that the food is typical hospital food though which never is a bargain. Nothing in life is perfect, and the hospital does have one significant drawback. While many of the specialists speak excellent English, and a small handful of nurses speak passable English. That problem however will soon have a solution. More on that another time. The Old Codger is now anxiously awaiting some comic relief, which will presumably be provided by the Republicans on Thursday night courtesy of Sarah Palin. If she provides the same performances that she has provided in her limited interviews, it should be entertaining. Ah, well, the Democrats had Bill Clinton providing a bit of comic relief. The Republicans now have Sarah. Bless her heart. The weather is changing, and winter is around the corner. Summer seemed too short. It is easy to miss year round summers. Of course, with the weather changes comes colds and the misery that accompanies them. The Old Codger is now replenishing the immune system with massive doses of amoxicillin in the pursuit of relief. The main this is to not drink any milk. Ice cream is now off the diet as well - a major loss. Never fear though. China shall resolve the problem in short order. Twenty two were arrested in the scandal today. Soon, they will go to trial. The trials for corporate misdeeds are much different here in China. People are arrested. They confess, without trying to pass the buck or find loop holes. They go to trial. Unlike in other Western countries, the sentences are quite stiff - often 15 years to life, and certainly not in country club type prisons. For controlling the economy and related items, the West could certainly learn a lot from the Chinese. Oh well. About all for this time around. Just a reminder for those who may be considering evacuating the US after the elections, make your reservations early. Space here in China could be limited. The Old Codger
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