Friday, September 7, 2007

First few weeks

Several helpful souls have given me rules for the first few weeks of teaching: Don't smile. Don't laugh. Be very strict because it's always easier to lighten up than to get tougher toward the end of the semester. Not sure about the last one. But as far as the first two go, I'm failing miserably.

I know this because the first day, when I asked my students to stand up, introduce themselves, and tell us all a few things they like to do outside of class, three of them came out with comments like, "I hope we will become best friends!" "You are very beautiful!" "I love your smile." I sigh, knowing that a dutifully dour-faced teacher would not be subjected to such heinous words. Words that spell impending doom for class discipline.

They certainly don't make it easy for me. What's a teacher supposed to do when a student stands up to introduce herself and says, "Hello. My name is Alice. And I like to eat meat." (Fortunately for Alice, she also likes to play sports, so her meat-eating is not a problem, she promises us.)

Seriously, though. I can't help but smile when I look at all of these fresh faces, surprisingly eager to learn and to get to know their foreign teachers. Today was Teacher Day in China. I have received M&Ms, Dove chocolate, and two Hello Kitty lollipops. I love my students. And I cannot help but smile and look for ways to speak with them and learn about them and teach them what I can about this crazy English language.

Desiree

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