This Sunday after teaching at a second job, I ran into some foreigners who looked a little shell-shocked walking around in Changzhou. We started talking and they said they were parents of the two American divers competing in the Fina Diving World Cup which was being held in Changzhou this year. This was their first time in China and they were anxious to talk about it. Among other things they said their main impression of China was that it was one of extremes. They explained that on the one hand everyone was so friendly and willing to help them but on the other hand they were shocked at the constant pushing, shoving, and other "aggressive" behavior that they were experiencing as well.
This got me to thinking that in many ways China does embody the two extremes of different things. Another example that quickly came to mind is in the area of education. I have mentioned before that Chinese high school and middle school students have to work extremely hard and study long hours in and out of school in order to pass the exams that admit them to a decent college. Many students who I have talked to at my second jobs said that they would be at school at 7:30 am and have classes until 5:30. Then they would stay at school until 7pm, go home and shower, study a few more hours and then go to sleep at around 11pm. Hearing this, one would assume that a similar routine would exist in college but in fact this is not the case.
Though my freshmen and some of my sophomore classes were respectful and hard-working students, many other classes have not been. This semester I am often frustrated and annoyed by the amount of students sleeping in class, texting on their phones, reading novels, doing other homework, talking and just generally not caring or paying attention. I know. It surprised me too. There are perhaps many reasons for this. One is that it is high school that really matters in China, not college. It seems that once you work hard to get into college you can do minimal effort and still graduate with a degree. I have asked many students whether grades or class standing matters once you graduate and all of them have said that it doesn't.
Another reason that contributes to a general lack of motivation is that class time in college is not particularly valuable and it is perfectly acceptable and normal in Chinese college culture to do other work while in class. This is because many of the Chinese professors simply read from the textbook, give really boring lectures (according to my students), or present material that is not helpful or interesting. Keep in mind that traditional Chinese professors don't encourage participation or questions. In addition, Chinese students are in class so many hours during a week that I think they go a little crazy. Many of them have to be in class over 24 hours every week. When I was in college, I had class about 12 hours a week.
Ken's theory is that they are simply burned out. Many of them gave up their childhood or adolescence to get into college and now that they are here they are tired of learning and don't have the pressure to learn like they once did. Add to this that plagarism, copying and sometimes cheating is rampant and generally accepted and you get a scenario where students sleep, text, talk and do other homework in class.
Needless to say, I find this absolutely maddening and I have talked to several students in my class about it. "Don't you want to learn English and Western culture?" I say. Their answers vary but mostly it is some form of "No," "Not really," or "Why?". It is true that I do have some excellent students; they sit up front, ask questions, participate, take notes and email me for my power points so they can study off of them. They are the exception and not the rule unfortunately and most of my students this semester do not want to be in class. Many of them are not interested in Western culture, others don't want to have an English major anymore but it is next to impossible to switch, and some, I think, are tired of learning and just don't care anymore.
This makes teaching Western culture for two hours Monday at 8am very difficult and I am usually discouraged. Games, humor, interaction and participation help, but it doesn't really solve the problem. I consider today a small success. In the second half of class I passed out plates, forks, knives, spoons, cups, bowls and napkins and we practiced "setting the table" and "eating" and "cutting" food. Then I passed out authentic menus with pictures and we practiced ordering drinks, appetizers, main courses and desserts. Finally we played a game about dining etiquette in America. It is especially exhausting to remain enthusiastic and encouraging in a class that doesn't want to be there and isn't afraid to show it. It makes me appreciate teaching in America where most college students are respectful and pay attention even if you just show pictures on a power point.
Education in China is an interesting topic to discuss in class and at English corner. Recently, in one of my smaller classes, my students had to describe their life in high school and college in a short essay. Here is what two of them wrote:
"I always studied everyday in high school and I often studied harder and harder to pass different kinds of exams. Everyday I got up early and went to school. I came back late at night, then I did a lot of homework. I think that was the worst time in my life. It made me tired and fretful. Chinese education is really a terrible thing I think. I also study hard at university but not as hard as in high school. I learned different things rather than study. I attended many school clubs and activities. Besides, I participated in students' union. I usually hold singing competitions. Definitely I like college life better because I feel I was a bookworm during my high school life. The college life gives me more power to live. In my opinion, Chinese students have too much pressure, even more some students killed themselves. It can be seen that Chinese education is horrible. So I'm scared to recall my high school life. At university, I got more freedom. I can do anything I want. It improves my social ability and it made me more brave."
"My life in high school is just like living in the jail. Every day I must go to school at 6:30. I stated reading loudly and clearly for an hour and after that I had four hours of class in the morning. After lunch I could do homework or have a nap after lunch. There were four hours of class in the afternoon. After supper I had to study by myself in school at 6:45 to 10:20 pm then I should go home. There were not any activities, we only had study and exams. I had no weekends and just had a two-day holiday every month. My college life was very diversifiability. I had 30 hours of class every week. I had no classes on weekend so I had a lot of time to travel with my friends. There were many activities in college. Such as we went to old people's home, made market research and held an evening party. We could take part in many school clubs. I had many standby time to do something that I wanted to do. I think college life is better. Because I have not many classes and have many activities, we can leave from our parents, we can travel alone or with our friends. We can not just care about our study, we can do that we want to do. It is very freedom."
This makes me want to stop whining about the occasional bad class at OSU. :)