Teaching through the Frustrations

Those that are reading this blog and know me are probably wondering how teaching is going. For those that do not know me I am teaching biology in Beijing at one of the top high schools in all of China. No, the fact that I am working here does not imply that I am a great teacher, or even a mediocre teacher. I am here because I speak English and Cedarville University (where I graduated from) happens to be associated with this prestigious school...and for some reason they actually want someone like me here haha. The teaching has been very good and but the frustrations have also been very real. This past summer I was on the Amazon living on a house boat, and on my frustrating days I like to imagine myself swinging on a hammock while the fresh breeze washes over my body. Oh Beijing, bring me some fresh air so that I don't have to be suffocating on my difficult days. 

Clarification. When I say there are frustrations I do not imply that I am fed up with teaching. In all actuality, I like it a lot, which is good because I will be here until the end of June. However, some very real frustrations affect every class that I teach. I am frustrated for my students. I am frustrated that they do not understand every word that I say. I am frustrated that I am teaching them a subject that focuses on long and complicated vocabulary terms that are hard for even native English speaking, high school students. Here are some pros and cons for teaching my students such difficult material.

Pros:

There are some very helpful aspects of teaching Chinese students a difficult subject in their non-native tongue. It challenges them in a completely new way. Most of them are learning the same material in their Chinese biology class (from a teacher that is much more qualified than me)(which doesn't take much haha), so for now they are simply learning to talk about familiar content so they can learn more English. This allows those that excel in English and those who struggle with English to be stretched, which is what you want in any classroom. Also, some of the students will want to pursue some sort of degree associated with biology, some even in the United States, so it will be important to understand English because it is very pervasive in biology literature and text books.

The most exciting aspect of teaching is our interaction with the students one on one. If we were not teaching them, we would not be spending time with them. What is even more exciting is the distinct privilege that comes with teaching biology, which naturally plants many questions in the student’s minds. Questions that challenge everything they have been taught up to that point. They are finding that some “facts” they had learned are nothing more than religious beliefs. Questions about entropy, the difference between micro and macroevolution, genesis of the first cell and many other topics. Such questions are necessary for a genuine education. In the classroom, it is not good to present only one side of an issue or theory because you do not give students the wonderful opportunity to make their own decisions. Even at a young age, students will develop convictions concerning what they are learning. To inhibit this process of self-reflection is a terrible waste.

Neutrals:

There are some things that are very interesting about teaching this year. First of all, I am growing an insanely large beard. I will be growing it for a total of 4 and a half months, which is a month longer than I have ever gone before. This will probably be the last time in my life I'll be in a position to do such a thing, so I figured I would get it out of my system. The kids thinks its hilarious because it is so foreign to them (pun intended). Also, it is much more culturally acceptable to stare at people, so a sense of, "Something is seriously wrong," is frequently experienced. Obviously I could just hack it off and throw away a month and a half of hard work, but I choose to refrain. There is however something that has come up that I was not expecting and could not help...at first.

After a couple of weeks I started seeing students looking at me and laughing when I walked through the hallways or while I was in the foreign teachers office. It was either laughing or giggling, which is important to distinguish. I thought it was normal because I was not Chinese, but then some weirder stuff happened. A male student came in and he said that people were calling me a CIA agent. I laughed and asked what he was talking about, and he proceeded to tell me that those were the comments that he saw online. Online....what? I was ridiculously confused. He then told me that a number, not just one, of my female students took pictures of me during class and posted them on their Chinese social networking website. Great. I started being greeted by students I didn't have in class and the attention started to increase. This past week I even had a teacher tell me that he saw me online from the same website and I was pretty embarrassed haha. His students had been talking about "handsome Mr. Jacobsen."  Then finally the active effects of a thick beard started to kick in. When my beard was becoming more than slightly unruly, the attention started to fade away. Thank you beard for yet another wonderful benefit: extinguishing the undesired attention of Chinese high school girls.

Cons:

Some of them just cannot do English. By do English I mean they cannot understand and speak, and some cannot even write it well enough to communicate ideas. They become frustrated, which can do one of two things: challenge them to work harder or convince them that the effort is not worth it. I run into the latter quite a bit more than the former. In addition, there is a certain lack of credibility to our classes because the students understand how young we are or how most of us do have high degrees of education. All our teachers have a bachelors of some kind, (many of which has nothing to do with what they are teaching), while only a few have higher degrees. Most of the teachers that speak in English are A level teachers or AP teachers, who all have masters and PhD's. 

Even amidst the frustrations, I know that there are many hearts that are being worked upon all around me. Father has the power to change people’s lives and bring even the youngest of students to Himself. To be used by Him to plant seeds full of questions is a marvelous and rewarding work. I may not see the fruit of all that He does through me on this side of heaven, but I know that Father will get the glory He so righteously craves and deserves. I pray I can be apart of that process. I am excited to be here. I am excited to invest in the lives of my teammates and in the lives of my students. I am excited for God to do something awesome in and around my life. I am excited to learn more about myself and learn what it means to be radically dependent upon Him.