Another year comes to an end

23 December 2008

Despite the lack of Letters From China lately, The Old Codger is happy to report that he is still somewhat mentally competent and still functioning in his usual abnormal way which is, in fact, quite normal after all.  For one more year, he has been able to successfully avoid the men in white coats who wield large nets and continually say:  "We won't hurt you..."  The new challenge is to continue avoiding those people in 2009. 

A bit of trivia:  The past year has been good to The Old Codger web site.  On the Google and Yahoo search engines it has reached coveted second and third place spots on the first page.  The web site is averaging 40,000 hits per month this year.  Not too shabby at all.  For those that visit either periodically, regularly, or if this is your first visit, thank you.  Surprisingly, it has also become quite popular in China - especially here in Nantong.

Christmas time in China is fairly quiet.  The majority of Chinese of course don't celebrate Christmas, which means that the commercialism of the season is mercifully minimal.  For the human rights advocates, their not celebrating Christmas has nothing to do with freedom of religion or the lack thereof.  Only foreigners seem to celebrate the season here, but this year it has been fairly low key.  Some of the foreign companies have cut back on staff, and sent the ex-pats back home, in light of the economic downturn.  So far, only two parties, but two more to follow for Christmas.  No doubt, there will be a few for New Years.

Thanks to the Internet, getting information on the folks back home is easy and convenient.  Not all news is welcome, but that is no different than that 3:00 AM telephone call from either a family member or a drunk friend. This last year Mother Codger (who, for the last 20 years has been trying to convince all who will listen, that she needs a heart transplant) fell and broke her hip. There have been suggestions that perhaps one of the nurses at the nursing home pushed her over, hoping for some peace and quiet, but no one is pushing for an investigation.  The Old Codger's family is very compassionate and understanding at times.

Of course, thanks to the Internet, The Old Codger has been able to keep up with all the news from the homeland here in China.  Despite rumors of the Great Firewall of China blocking everything, very little of current events is ever blocked, including news that is critical of China.  In the event that something is blocked, well, there are easy ways around it.  Anyway, The Old Codger, along with thousands of ex-pats, would like to thank Americans, and in particular, the Republican party, for the endless stream of comedy both during and after the historic elections.  Your sharing Sarah Palin, the Palin family, and the future in laws that are dealing drugs, with the world has provided us with hours of entertainment.  President Bush, another great comic act at times is leaving, but we all have Sarah to look forward to for the next four years.  This is especially true since she has been named "Conservative of the Year" by one far right wing group. Thank you again for your thoughtfulness.

The Old Codger has long claimed:  "It ain't easy being me."  The last three months has proven that to be extremely true.  he has been "promoted" to a "full time position" in the School of Business, which provides him with about 150 students.  That is roughly 50% less students than other teachers must contend with. An added bonus was that he would have the same class room for all classes, which coincidently is very close to his apartment.  

In typical and normal Asian fashion, when assigned to the school he was given minimal information, which was simply:  "Teach them how to write. We have been told they need to learn to paraphrase.  Be hard on them."  (The Old Codger missed the significance of four crucial words in those simple instructions: "We have been told...") In the past, the comment "be hard on them" has always been said with tongue in cheek, as a foreign teacher who is hard on students typically doesn't last very long in the school.

Teach them how to write.  Four classes. Two times a week.  Sounds and looks easy on paper, but in reality, any seasoned teacher knows that the task is virtually insurmountable.  There might be success with maybe, fifteen students in each class - a whopping 20%. 

It wasn't until a few days after classes started that The Old Codger was informed that the students needed to learn how to write so that they could pass the TOEFL Exam, which is a Test of English as a Foreign Language.  The reason the students needed to pass that test was so that they could attend a University in America in their senior year.  OK.  That raises the stakes a bit, but not totally insurmountable.  That is when the four crucial words uttered previously - "we have been told" - began to have some meaning.  The University had been told that by the University in the States. 

After about a month and a half, the other shoe fell.  It didn't fall from the China University, but instead from the American University.  The Chinese University wanted to send at least 20 students to the American University for their junior year.  That raised the stakes a bit.  After some high level, low level and mid-level talks the rest of the job description emerged.  The program that it turns out The Old Codger is actually running, is an income source for the University.  The more students that pass the TOEFL Test, then the more students the school can market the program to, which means that The Old Codger has to show some results.  A lot of results.  It ain't easy being me -- and it only gets harder.

The Sophomore students that The Old Codger has this year were taught by a foreign teacher in a conversation class last year.  That teacher taught the students in the traditional foreign teacher way.  Go in to the class.  Have fun.  Keep the students happy, entertained and hopefully, talking a bit.  At the end of the term, give them an A or at the very least, a B.  So, these students come into class wanting and expecting that the class will be fun and consisting of games, movies, a bit of talk, some songs, some poetry, and basically, the teacher doing all the work.  If the students show up for class, fine.  If they don't, it's not a major thing.  There is no final test. There is no homework. It is an easy class to teach, and equally easy for the students. 

The Asian education system doesn't put too much emphasis on thinking in its general courses.  They are primarily learning by rote exercises.  Memorize. Repeat.  Memorize.  The TOEFL Test puts quite a bit of emphasis on critical thinking, which is a relatively new concept for most students. They have never really given much consideration to how they make decisions.  Being able to explain those decisions in English is a major task. 

Another aspect of Asian culture, which is quite strong here in China is that parents will quite often pick the major for their children.  As a result, one sees many students in a major program that simply do not want to pursue that type of career.  But, they stay in the program because that is what their parents want them to do, and think is best for them.  It is easy to have quite a bit of empathy for those students.  Unfortunately, especially in the scenario The Old Codger is in, empathy can only go so far.  The students have to produce.

Toss into the equation some Asian culture, and the task becomes just a tad bit more difficult.  Many of the students had taken a TOEFL course over the summer, taught by a Chinese teacher.  Naturally, all teachers teach differently.  The end result should be the same though.  Of course, the Chinese teacher wants the students to come back again for more "learning."  That is commercialism.  So, at the end of the course, the teacher tells the students "Oh, you should be able to pass the test now. If you don't pass, come back and we will help you."  Enter into the picture then one old, ugly, albeit with a wonderful and endearing personality, foreigner.  He tells the students that they couldn't pass the writing section of the test, and probably not the speaking section.  The students say, "Laowai (old foreigner) lie."  Sigh.  It ain't easy being me.

Toss it all together and what do you get?  Seventy-five students.  Some want to be there, many don't. All come from rich families, and most are only children.  (Spoiled?) Some have been told that they can pass the test, so naturally they think that they are wasting their time. All expect the class to be fun, with no pressures. Its a culture of, we go to class if we want to, and when we are there, we don't really have to listen to the lectures or do what we are told to do.  And then toss in the final ingredient: the old foreign teacher that knows he has to somehow, get through to at least twenty students.  The students in turn think and believe that a Laowai teacher cannot and will not fail them.  End result: Semi controlled chaos; students who think and believe that they can control the classroom. In the end, they do.

The Old Codger is not a great proponent of beating his head against the wall.  If these were his children, he would have taken them all to the vet and had them put to sleep.  If they worked for him, he would have fired all of them.  Unfortunately, with limited options, The Old Codger had to play that age old game that always gets results.  Rope tricks.  Give people enough, and they will hang themselves.

A week ago, the students were given a final exam - an essay to write.  It had to meet certain criteria, which had been shown in class a number of times.  The criteria was quite simple.  (The Old Codger's freshmen students got it all figured out after being shown it two times.)  Only three students got a grade above a C.  Many failed. 

The next class The Old Codger went in and calmly explained to them the rules of the game that they had been playing. He showed them an e-mail he had gotten from the University telling him that it was perfectly all right for him to fail the students if he thought that they deserved it and that the University would back him up on it. The silence was deafening.  You could hear the occasional "splat" as lower lips hit the desks, along with gasps for air.  The room seemed to lighten up considerably as light bulbs seemed to come on in many heads.  It is what we call in the education profession a breakthrough.

Yes, The Old Codger is giving them all a second chance.  It does mean some sacrifice though - for them.  Their next class is scheduled for Christmas Day, which The Old Codger is taking off so that he can go to a nice Christmas Dinner and party.  The students decided that they would be free for the first of two review classes on Saturday morning, after they finish taking one of their many final exams.  Then, one more class, and they can then do a new final exam.  Puts them under a bit of pressure, but they are getting first hand knowledge of one of the elements of critical thinking:  Action creates reaction.  In Asian terms:  Karma.  You never know when it is going to come back and hit you.

The freshmen students have been much easier to teach.  It was necessary to get their attention, but that took only one time.  The foreign teachers here, through discussions with each other, are discovering that the concept of playing games and being entertainers simply is bad policy.  In the process, even though one can be popular with the students that way, the students ultimately lose respect for the foreigners in the teaching profession. 

Soon the University will be quiet again, as students leave for six weeks for the Spring Festival.  How they can have a Spring Festival in the middle of winter is somewhat mind boggling.  Spring Festival is actually the Chinese New Year.  This year, it begins on January 26th, and will be the Year of the Ox, alternatively known as a buffalo.  The next one will be in 12 years. About the Ox sign in Chinese astrology.

All, except for two of the foreign teachers have already left for the holidays. This would demonstrate that the University is rather lax with their interpretation of the contract as technically classes for foreign teachers aren't over until the end of next week.  It could be said that the University is sensitive to the cultures of their teachers.  The Old Codger of course, having very little culture, and known for eschewing culture on a regular basis is not going to avail himself of such sensitivities. 

The Old Codger has a friend from Thailand coming to visit in early January for a few days. Not exactly the ideal time of the year to visit this part of China.  Then he is planning on going to Shanghai for a couple of days if the weather is fairly decent.  So far the winter has started out quite mild, but of course, that is subject to change. 

That is about all for this time around.  Big complimentary Christmas feed at a local establishment tomorrow evening.  Then a Christmas dinner on Thursday.   Then, time to go on a diet.  After so long in Asia about the only thing that I really know anymore is:  It ain't easy being me.

Have a good holiday season.

The Old Codger

Letters Index

Return to Old Codger's 
Guide Page