Fun and Games

I think I am ready to blog about a few realities at work.

Well.. not too many realities - but like I said, a few.

During the morning meeting today my boss decided she did not want me and my assistant to go to outside events together. Instead, she thinks it would be a good idea for just one of us to go with maybe 2 or 3 sales girls. Mind you, my assistant is the only true, reliable English speaker at work. So she says that if my assistant goes to the events then she will run the event in English and in Chinese. When I go to the events I will run the event in English... with no Chinese. My lovely assistant spoke up for me and said, "But what if the parents have questions or are not following the rules correctly?" To which my boss responded, "Well we have a few days so you can just teach her some Chinese so she knows how to respond."

Yes.

That is the way it goes at my new office. I have a few days so I can just learn some Chinese. This coming from the woman who has never had a conversation with me because she does not speak any English. Needless to say I found this idea to be a tad bit preposterous. However, I have decided to no longer speak my complaints. I have learned that Bella does a very good job at relaying my emotions without me having to get all angry. So I just laughed and thought, well isn't that a silly quandary? The boss lady also wants my assistant to take more of a backseat in class so that the instruction is mostly in English. I am not opposed to this idea. I think they would get more out of the class with the least amount of translation as possible. I was told that I could just do a lot of hand motions to make the parents understand. Just like that - I will wave my arms around and they will understand! I love it!

Another totally absurd idea from the powers that be in the office - We are going to host a one-year-old's birthday party at the end of the month. This is not the absurd idea. But when I asked what sorts of things we needed to plan for the party I was told that we needed to bake a cake... and that our competitors always have clowns at their parties so maybe Bella and I could do magic. Yes... I am going to now learn Chinese and MAGIC in just a few short days! Man, I love Wangjing!

Our two classes were canceled today so Bella and I sat down and made a schedule for all of our future events and we thought of some birthday party ideas. We wrote out the rest of our summer schedule, too so we know what classes to expect every day. We also constructed a slide, did a little more organizing, and finished putting things away in the gym closet. The center is really coming together, despite the craziness that sometimes happens.

After finishing the day's to-do list, Bella and I chitchatted in the office about the comparisons in America's and China's education system. I mean, really there are no comparisons... they are basically all contrasts. We talked about how in China, if you want your child to have a decent education you may have to fork out 100,000 yuan for tuition at a good primary school. She said that the teachers have to be strict because there are so many students in the classroom that she would lose control if she were too nice. We talked about how when children raise their hands they have to put both arms in front of them with their fingertips touching the opposite elbows and raise the right arm up into a perfect 90 degree angle with the left arm. She said that children do not shout out, talk out of turn, or cause disturbances in class. We talked about how frequently students in China are tested and how they are expected to do well on their tests or they will not be admitted into good schools the next year. Bella told me about how unfair the education is for Chinese children. She said that they do not learn about the way the world really works and they do not learn about how to become successful doing what they love to do. Bella had questions about education in America. I told her it was not all fun and games in America, either. She said that in the magazine she was reading that the first lesson kindergartners have is how to identify a girl's bathroom vs. a boy's bathroom. I told her that is certainly not the first kindergarten lesson. I explained that the goals of kindergarten are to get students ready to read and to work on behaviors and social skills. She talked about how funny it is that when she sees American children they are always so wild and out of control but that the adults are so courteous and use good manners. She asked how that came to be. She said that in China the children are always respectful and use good manners while the adults have no idea how to act civilly (i.e. hawking loogies on the street, blowing snot rockets, coughing right in your face.. etc). I got a good chuckle out of this. I told her that we start testing children very young in America - even in preschool. She thought that Americans did not test their children. She thought that was just an Asia thing. I said that testing our students so extremely is not having positive effects in our country. She asked if a kindergartner did poorly on their state tests would that mean they could not attend a good primary school. I explained that all children in America will receive a free public education and that their tests did not have anything to do with attending school. She called our system fake testing. I explained that even though children would still receive an education even with poor test scores, they would be placed on a lower track. I told her about my three-year-old cousin who struggles with his handwriting and his teachers are concerned and already showing signs of early tracking. They are talking about starting him late to kindergarten even though it is over a year away and that he may need special services because he cannot write his name. I told her this is what testing does in our country. I explained that my cousin will be lucky because he has parents who will stick up for him but many children do not have that luxury. Many children are on the low track at three and they have their lives already determined for them. They are placed in the dolphins reading group and everyone knows the dolphins are the dumb kids. They are kept out of special classes to review. They have to settle for a general diploma because they needed remediation courses and didn't have time to take the foreign language classes needed for the advanced diploma. They may not get into college. They may drop out of school. They may join a gang or get pregnant in high school or choose the wrong path. This can all happen because a teacher decided to place a child on a low track when he was only three. Bella responded by saying, "But that is not fair either. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity. It is supposed to be where people go to live their dreams. I see now it is not all fun and games."

I am so happy that I am getting to know my assistant better and better. I am glad we are learning about each other and our backgrounds and our cultures. I am glad that she is making me more aware of what is going on in the world and in my own country.

There was no other choice for me in this world. China is where I am supposed to be right now. Even in just one day my whole outlook on the world can be changed. It took me coming here to realize that life is not all fun and games.

Mandarin lesson:
Lèqù 乐趣 (fun) Yóuxì 游戏 (games)