[Oe List ...] Jaime's post on teaching in China

Fri Mar 16 12:11:38 EDT 2012

This is wonderful Jaime!  Many more American classrooms need to be set up this way, physical layout as well as teaching methodology (yes I know I am dreaming!). As a school nurse I see stressed out elementary students (and teachers) mortified they won't pass the NCLB testing (debacle).  So much rides on the one or two days they get tested- they could be ill, stressed out or just a poor test taker yet excel or are more than adequate learners in totally different learning style.  Some kids come to school sick on testing day, are excused to go throw up, finish the test & finally I get to call the parent to come get them.   Teachers are also mortified because their jobs are literally on the line these days- even veteran teachers- if kids 'under-perform" based on complicated statistical formula of how student should 'advance'.  One second grade teacher was admonished that she didn't do enough (she brought all kids to grade level and beyond, some kids
 advance 1 1/2 to 2 grade levels).  Everyone is exhausted by the time school lets out.

I don't have to tell almost any teacher in Texas that our education system needs to be totally revamped. Oh and properly funded!. A veteran teacher said-" teaching used to be fun!" She usually loved to come to school, was excited to see student "light bulbs go off".   Now she says it is drudgery and dislikes taking even 20 min out of 'instructional time' so the kids can have recess. (No PE teacher at this school for 8 yrs- "budget cuts"). Imagine all the pent up energy that gets redirected into misbehaving and the like. 

Well I could go on but am preaching to the choir!  

G&P to all,
Debra Harris
Houston Tx

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Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 8:23 AM
Subject: OE Digest, Vol 95, Issue 19

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Fwd: Jaime's March Sym report (Bill Schlesinger)
   2. Re: Fwd: Jaime's March Sym report (Janice Ulangca)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:19:37 -0600
From: "Bill Schlesinger" <pvida at WHC.NET>
To: "'Order Ecumenical Community'" <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Fwd: Jaime's March Sym report
Message-ID: <720C209928C2430E9A90E29165990D80 at PC574124903243>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Cool.

Bill Schlesinger

Project Vida

3607 Rivera Avenue

El Paso, TX 79905

(915) 533-7057 x 207

(915) 533-7158 FAX

<mailto:pvida at whc.net> pvida at whc.net

www.projectvidaelpaso.org

  _____  

From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of Jaime R Vergara
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 7:12 AM
To: oe at wedgeblade.net
Subject: [Oe List ...] Fwd: Jaime's March Sym report

Sharing with the OE listserv a March report to colleagues with the Symposium
of Realistic Living; 

j'aime la vie

*****

All of my oral English classes at Shenyang Aerospace University surprisingly
were assigned to the same room so I did not wait until I took over the
space.  All the classrooms follow Russian Spartan minimalism (nothing but
chairs, desks and a green board with a large podium in a lecture hall
format), and ours is no exception.

The earth poster was the first to get raised on the back wall, with a map of
China immediately below, flanked by a world and a US map, tapering into a
Roman empire nat/geo spread on the right, a China nat/geo 7,000 yr
historical timeline on the left.  

Stage right are large windows looking into the courtyard, and stage left
wall is the other side of the hallway so it got the local regional,
provincial and city maps.  Chairs parted like the Red Sea, with a center
table graced by a broken cup and spilled rice along an old unseathed Ming
knife on the side.

Students walked into a room where they are seated facing each other rather
than look up to a Lao Shi (teacher) by the green board.

The focus on space and historical timeline in the decor points out a
difference between the Chinese (Putunghua, common language) and English
languages (strict dichotomies are never trustworthy, but this one holds in
general).  The Chinese focuses on space, on the "where" and the "who", while
the English language, rooted on its Greco-Roman lineage's historical
conscious of time, defines its verbs on "when".  (E.g., Chinese has no tense
on the verb, "go" to the market yesterday, today, and tomorrow, while in
English, one "went, goes, and will go.")

First context of the first day of class in March is the journey of the folks
from the Mongolian steppes that peopled the Americas long before the
Europeans, and if one listened to the chants and songs of the so-called
Native Americans (from the Inuits to the Incas), they are not dissimilar
from the songs and dances heard in the mountains of Sichuan, Guangxi and
Yunnan, the highlands and barren expanses of Xizang (Tibet),
Xinjiang/Qinghai/Gansu, around the Yurts of Nei Menggu (Inner Mongolia) ,
and the ice lights of Yanbian (Korea in China) in Dong Bei (northeast).

Comes the explanation of the iterative cyclical series of natural
"listen-repeat-speak-write-read" method in language learning, indicating
that China formally teaches its students to read and write first, and now
were are just getting around to listening, repeating and speaking.  

Our first exercise is mimicking Denean' "As One" from Joyce's bioregional
sounds, amplified slowly followed by passing out a printed copy of the
lyrics.  

We introduce ourself as a "global" citizen.  Thus, began the 16-week journey
of university imaginal education on learning to speak English while their
consciousness of life gets a secular Sinocized RS-1 assault.  I suppose, it
is my metaphorical translation of a religiously expressed process!

We are having pedagogical fun!

  <http://presence.mail.aol.com/mailsig/?sn=jrvergarajr2031>  Jaime R
Vergara 

All of yesterday, thanks; all of tomorrow, yes; all of today, let it be!

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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:23:47 -0400
From: "Janice Ulangca" <aulangca at stny.rr.com>
To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Fwd: Jaime's March Sym report
Message-ID: <012BEBA4D1A745039DC3050DE612BD34 at JULANGCAPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Wow, Jaime - decor & room set alone will open up their images.  Thanks for sharing this.
Janice Ulangca
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jaime R Vergara 
  To: oe at wedgeblade.net 
  Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 9:11 AM
  Subject: [Oe List ...] Fwd: Jaime's March Sym report

  Sharing with the OE listserv a March report to colleagues with the Symposium of Realistic Living; 

  j'aime la vie

  *****

  All of my oral English classes at Shenyang Aerospace University surprisingly were assigned to the same room so I did not wait until I took over the space.  All the classrooms follow Russian Spartan minimalism (nothing but chairs, desks and a green board with a large podium in a lecture hall format), and ours is no exception.

  The earth poster was the first to get raised on the back wall, with a map of China immediately below, flanked by a world and a US map, tapering into a Roman empire nat/geo spread on the right, a China nat/geo 7,000 yr historical timeline on the left.  

  Stage right are large windows looking into the courtyard, and stage left wall is the other side of the hallway so it got the local regional, provincial and city maps.  Chairs parted like the Red Sea, with a center table graced by a broken cup and spilled rice along an old unseathed Ming knife on the side.

  Students walked into a room where they are seated facing each other rather than look up to a Lao Shi (teacher) by the green board.

  The focus on space and historical timeline in the decor points out a difference between the Chinese (Putunghua, common language) and English languages (strict dichotomies are never trustworthy, but this one holds in general).  The Chinese focuses on space, on the ?where? and the ?who?, while the English language, rooted on its Greco-Roman lineage?s historical conscious of time, defines its verbs on ?when?.  (E.g., Chinese has no tense on the verb, ?go? to the market yesterday, today, and tomorrow, while in English, one ?went, goes, and will go.?)

  First context of the first day of class in March is the journey of the folks from the Mongolian steppes that peopled the Americas long before the Europeans, and if one listened to the chants and songs of the so-called Native Americans (from the Inuits to the Incas), they are not dissimilar from the songs and dances heard in the mountains of Sichuan, Guangxi and Yunnan, the highlands and barren expanses of Xizang (Tibet), Xinjiang/Qinghai/Gansu, around the Yurts of Nei Menggu (Inner Mongolia) , and the ice lights of Yanbian (Korea in China) in Dong Bei (northeast).

  Comes the explanation of the iterative cyclical series of natural "listen-repeat-speak-write-read" method in language learning, indicating that China formally teaches its students to read and write first, and now were are just getting around to listening, repeating and speaking.  

  Our first exercise is mimicking Denean' "As One" from Joyce's bioregional sounds, amplified slowly followed by passing out a printed copy of the lyrics.  

  We introduce ourself as a "global" citizen.  Thus, began the 16-week journey of university imaginal education on learning to speak English while their consciousness of life gets a secular Sinocized RS-1 assault.  I suppose, it is my metaphorical translation of a religiously expressed process!

  We are having pedagogical fun!

   Jaime R Vergara 

  All of yesterday, thanks; all of tomorrow, yes; all of today, let it be!

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