The Exchange - National Committee on United States-China Relations

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I just had a terrific lesson. In their “regular” English class, the students are in the midst of a unit on Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. So, this week in class, I have been presenting some supplementary information about Dr. King. I began with an age-old (for me, anyway) teaching technique – a “KWL” chart. <strong>The</strong> students listed what they Know about King, then wrote what they Wanted to know. <strong>The</strong> “L” stands for “Learned.” Usually, I have the students answer the questions from the “W” part of the chart. It was very simple, yet it worked terrifically because it showed how much they already knew about King, and really helped to focus them on what they Lessons Learned from Martin Luther King, Jr. Timothy Reyes wanted to know. I then showed them some pictures of the segregated South and of the various marches and protests, and gave them some background information with each picture. <strong>The</strong>y were really riveted – following nearly every word. No side conversations. No reading or doing homework on the side. <strong>The</strong>y were genuinely interested. <strong>The</strong> best part came at the end of class, when I showed about five minutes of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. <strong>The</strong>y, of course, had heard about it, and it was the one thing they most wanted to know more about. I had only a few minutes left in the class to show it, and the bell rang with about three minutes still remaining. I told the class we could fin- ish it next week. <strong>The</strong>re was a unanimous cry of “NO!” <strong>The</strong>y insisted on staying, and, again, were riveted, completely absorbed. It was great to see. I am sure my passion played a role. King is one of my heroes, and I see the Civil Rights Movement as one of America’s greatest eras. And I still get chills every time I hear the speech. But there was something else – the students really seemed tuned in, and there was a moment, after the speech was over, when they were silent, speechless. That spoke volumes about the effect of the speech and the impact of the lesson. I was sorry that class had to end, and sorrier that I won’t see them for a whole week. A Day at Lincoln School Yu Xiaoyun I’m very lucky that I have such a great opportunity to teach and learn in Lincoln School. <strong>The</strong> school is really very impressive. I always have something new to see here – the students have all kinds of performances, projects, poem readings, reading activities, field trips, after-school programs, etc., etc., etc. Last Friday morning, the 7th and 8th graders had their Career Day. Some people were invited to the Lincoln School to talk about their jobs to the students. <strong>The</strong> people there were artists, policemen, firemen, advertisers and so on. Each student chose three people to talk with. If the student was interested in painting, he or she interviewed the artist, who would tell him or her about his job, his works, how he became an artist and so on. <strong>The</strong> student could also ask him some questions. I think this kind of activity is very meaningful, because it can provide students with a good opportunity to know something that they can’t learn from their textbooks. It also enhances their understanding of different professions. After the Career Day, I even asked some students about it, they told me it was really very fun. <strong>The</strong>y knew more about people’s jobs and what preparations they should do for their future. In the afternoon, Thaler Auction was held in the school theater. I was very curious about it. So I brought some money with me so that I could bring something back to China and tell my Chinese students about the story. But when I got there, I found each kid holding a card in their hand, on which were numbers – 397, 916, 193, 22,400... I was puzzled when the auction began. <strong>The</strong> auctioneer, Mr. Farrel, brought a new bicycle out, and said “2,000,” then one by one the students said “2,100”, “2,200”, “2,300” ... At last a boy who said “2,500” got the bicycle. <strong>The</strong>n a T-shirt, a helmet, a CDplayer, a water gun, a sleeping bag and so on. I thought that was too expensive for a kid. $2,500 for a bicycle! So I asked the teacher standing next to me. She told me that the number was not the amount of the money, but the minutes. Minutes What does that mean I got even more puzzled. <strong>The</strong>n the teacher explained to me that was the minutes they worked for the school. <strong>The</strong> students helped their teachers and school do some extra work after school and they earned the minutes. At the end of the school year, the school rewarded them for what they had done in order to encourage them to do more for others. Finally I understood! That’s why I often see some older kids help younger ones – reading stories to them, playing with them; some kids work in the library, some in the cafeteria. A boy even earned 22,400 minutes this school year and he got the most of all the students. He helped work in the cafeteria every day. If he doesn’t use up the minutes this time, he can use them next time. It is my first time to see such kinds of activities. Here, I have had so many first-time experiences, which have really broadened my views and enriched my life. 14
New York City Teachers’ Strike Yesterday afternoon I went with my colleagues to Board of Education of N.Y.C, which lies at 110 Livingston Street, Brooklyn. <strong>The</strong>re was a rally and thousands of teachers, organized by the teachers union, crowded the two streets in front of the Board of Education. <strong>The</strong>y were shouting, singing. <strong>The</strong> words are the following: Who are we So we tell them. We are the union, the mighty mighty union. What we want is contract. When do we want it Now. <strong>The</strong>y just repeated these words. Each of them held slogans in their hands, which read, “Enough is enough. We want better pay.”... Some of them even danced to the music. <strong>The</strong> whole rally lasted one and a half hours. Very interesting. – Chen Xiaoying In Tottenville High School when I came to some English classes I found that the students were writing letters to Mayor Bloomberg to plead him not to cut down the budget. <strong>The</strong> teachers here are angry for almost 18 months they have been working without a contract. When I asked the students how they feel if the teachers have a strike, most of them think teachers’ salary should have a raise but they don’t like any strike. Only some freshman favor it because that means no homework to them! I am concerned [about] the situation and personally I don’t want to see schools are closed and many parents have to stay at home to take care of their kids. Why can’t City Hall do something good to make teachers not feel horrible It takes so little to make them happy. – Wu Caihua Take Me Out to the Ball Game David Krueger I dusted off my baseball lesson from last year. Two classes of seniors played last week. <strong>The</strong>y went crazy and didn’t want to return to the classroom after. I am so amazed at the change of some of them in another environment. Quiet, soft-spoken girls become loud and uninhibited. It is great. <strong>The</strong> third class of seniors I went to yesterday said that it was much too hot to play and that the third level juniors were preparing for their very important exams this Friday. I was told via a student from another class that my baseball game was much too loud last week. Yeah, it really was. So I said perhaps we would play next week and I had a story to read with them. <strong>The</strong>y slapped their desks, moaned and protested, “<strong>The</strong> other two classes got to play!” I asked if it was too hot to play. “No!” Ok, I said I would meet them out on the field in about four minutes after I run for my bag with the bats, gloves and balls. Honors & Awards Gong Yan You might know there is an Annual Boston Public School Award ceremony once a year, only two students from each school will be awarded, one as academic representative and the other as school spirit. It’s a big occasion for the students who are to be awarded and at the same time teachers will feel quite honored if he Gong Yan with award recipients or she could be invited to attend the ceremony at the invitation of the students because one student is only allowed to invite two of his or her teachers. This year, I was invited by the No. 1 student in Snowden to attend the awarding, but I was not his teacher. <strong>The</strong> kid is from a Chinese background family. When I asked him why his parents were not going, he said they didn’t understand English, he wanted me to go with him. <strong>The</strong> same kid invited me again to attend Boston High School Valedictorian Luncheon in Boston Harbor Hotel two days after. To me, those were not just two invitations. <strong>The</strong>y were not just wonderful experiences either. I consider those as trust, honor and compliment which one can’t ask for. 15
Page 1 and 2: American Council of Learned Socieit
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Page 9 and 10: Jing Ye Si Chen Jinfeng During the
Page 11 and 12: The Road Not Taken
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Page 17 and 18: since July 1. I am now teaching Sen
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Page 23 and 24: My First Baseball Game Zhang Ling W
Page 25 and 26: Proms Yang Haiyan Last Friday, I we
Page 27 and 28: Thoughts on Suzhou Joanne Parkhouse
Page 29 and 30: Getting Married in China Joanne Par
Page 31 and 32: TRAVELING Trips to Remember Zhang L
Page 33 and 34: People say that no visit to New Orl
Page 35 and 36: The Caves of Sanme
Page 37 and 38: Final Travels Joanne Parkhouse I ca
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