Silly China, Blocking Websites...

Silly China, Blocking Websites...

So, I haven't updated in quite a while! I could've updated during my Christmas holiday in the states, but that would have made too much sense, right?? So I am updating now, while I am on vacation in London...my life is rough, and my boyfriend is horrible...I know. ;o)
It is currently the Chinese New Year holiday, so I got a week off of work...don't worry, I'll get to the job soon enough. Tommy and I originally planned to go to Thailand with a big group of friends...where it is nice and warm and all that good stuff. But that was in October, and a lot has happened since then. We put the plans off for a while, and then in January, Tommy's company gave him the news that they would possibly be relocating him to Germany by March 1st. When he told me, I said, "Ok...as long as I have a place t o live until the end of my teaching contract, I’m happy..." I was squealing with delight on the inside and also rheeling (sp?) with questions that I knew Tommy didn't have the answers to yet, so I decided to stay calm...as there was no sense in getting too excited. (Look at me growing and not getting too ahead of myself!!)
So about two weeks later, his company tells him that Germany is off the table. So we made plans for our vacation.
During all this Germany, Chinese New Year vacation, and new job business, I had to postpone buying my plane ticket home for my best friend’s wedding, and as a result, the price of the ticket doubled. So I would be missing her wedding, which was a very very sad realization. Life throws you curve balls like that, and you just have to learn to deal with them.
Ok, so my job. I am the 4th grade teacher at Livingston American School, an international school with a focus in ESL that bases their curriculum off the California school system. I had no idea what I was getting into when I accepted the job, and I still have no idea what I’ve gotten into...although we base our system off that of California’s, we don’t really have a curriculum. Or standards. Or guidelines. A teacher’s dream; right? TEACHER FRIENDS: Embrace your curriculum and standards. I know, I know, we don’t like to have a program that is too scripted and no one likes “teaching to the standards”, but the opposite, which is where I am, is just as stressful. I have no real foundation to base my lessons on. I have text books that I create complementary units with, but there is a lot of prep work and background work to do before introducing the book. Social Studies? Psshh...kick that out the door...teaching U.S. geography to a bunch of students from Asian countries doesn’t make sense, so aside from study skills and world geography, there is little more I can do with that.
Our elementary staff is currently working on things we can teach and do to give them some history of the Asian continent..
Our entire school has been working on getting WASC accreditation which is the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and it is basically to say that when you graduate from our school, your diploma holds the same importance as a US diploma, and you can attend a US university provided your grades and test scores are good enough...many other international schools currently hold the accreditation, and if we can obtain it, we will be more marketable. Part of that is creating a clear scope and sequence, which we also want to create an ESL based standardized test, to make sure our kids are where they should be by the end of each grade.
Coming in the middle of a school year with a school that is undergoing a huge accreditation process if really really overwhelming. I am nervous to be a part of it all, as I feel like I’m doing good to teach my kids every day, let alone worry about what the elementary department or even the entire school (PK-12) is doing. I also know that all of these things are excellent challenges that will help me grow so much professionally and be a good kick start (more like drop kick across a football field) to my career. As my mom has said, nothing about my current teaching position is “normal”. So I should embrace my position and learn as much as I can from my colleagues.
One big challenge is the lack of resources. I have no supplemental handbooks or kits that come with typical textbooks, so I have to be very creative when it comes to extensions beyond the text. I also have little access to typical supplies; no ‘Learning Resource Center’ here...no teacher supply stores (though I may have actually found one...we’ll see when I return to Shanghai this weekend)...I just have an order form I can fill out, and hope that some of the items can be found in Shanghai.

I am still feeling things out and trying to get my daily schedule to work how I want it...and I feel so sorry for my kiddos, who were used to an experienced teacher that had it down pat...it’s a good thing they are so nice and forgiving! To give you an idea of my kids, I have 1 American boy, 2 Chinese-American girls, 1 Chinese-American boy, 2 Chinese-Taiwanese boys, 2 Japanese boys, 4 Korean girls, and 2 Korean boys. One boy is 8, but the rest of the kids are 9-10. It is so interesting to see the differences between kids over here and kids in the states. Education is definitely taken more seriously over here, but then again, the parents or the parents’ companies are paying somewhere near $20,000 a year for their child’s education.

I think that about sums up my job so far...I am sure I’ve left something out, but oh well...I can add it in my next update, months from now, unless I actually get a VPN to access all the sites China blocks.
“Oh, China...” That is mine and Tommy’s choice phrase when things don’t go quite as we wanted them to, or when we get frustrated with something in our daily life. It sure beats getting really upset and yelling about it...then we just laugh it off.

So, about London. It is cold and wet, but still relaxing and fun. Tommy’s friend, Dennis lives in London, so we spent time with him Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We didn’t do too many touristy sight seeing things, as we’ve both been to London before and they were really expensive. We walked around the city and took a lot of great pictures, and had a good time with Dennis. Tuesday, we drove to Stonehenge, which was quite an amazing sight to see. We then went on to Bath, and stayed in a cute Bed and Breakfast in a small town called Lacock. Wednesday, we drove up to Oxford, saw some of the neat buildings around town, and then drove down to Weymouth, a coastal city southwest of London. Thursday, we drove to Windsor, and decided against touring the castle as it was raining pretty hard and really cold. We fly back to Shanghai on Friday and start back to our ‘normal’ lives. It has been a good trip to just relax...which is something I am still learning to do.

My mom is coming to Shanghai on March 29th for 10 days and I am so so so excited!!! I have to work the 1st week she is here, but as luck would have it, my school’s spring break is April 5th- April 9th, so we will get to spend some time together then. I plan to take a day or two off the 1st week she is there to show her some sights she may want to see, or at least some good parks to sit and read in while Tommy and I are working. We will go to either Beijing or Xi’an, or possibly both, and then, of course. Shop. What we do best! It will be so great to have my mom out in Shanghai so that I can share my life with her. I know the time will fly by, but hopefully so will the 3-4 months that follow before I return to the states for summer.

Well, I have rambled on for quite some time now, so I will leave. I will hopefully get a VPN soon so that I can update on a more regular basis.

I hope everyone is doing well and miss and love you guys!