Update: Sandpits and Schedules

  A few weeks ago, my schedule in one of the kindergartens which I went to twice weekly, was extended by two hours each day to include an hour of standing at the gate greeting parents in the morning and extra classes in the afternoon. In China, this kind of thing does not come along with any prior warning or extra pay. You are just told the night before and expected to go along with it. I am not sure, but it looked as though the school had a new principle, who apparently thought she wasn’t getting her money’s worth. Despite every class I did being photographed and filmed she insisted the parents were unhappy that they didn’t get to see more of their children’s English teacher and so I needed to arrive and leave when they would be at the school to see me. They didn’t take much notice, let alone say hello.  

Best teacher ever.

  Last week I arrived one morning to be told not to do any lessons that day but to simply go out to the front of the school and organise some games to play with the children. The whole thing was to be photographed professionally (I had no makeup on, so that was great) and the pictures used to promote the kindergarten. Throughout the afternoon, in an OCD horror story, I was asked to 'play' in a sandpit as the children were lined up and positioned around me class at a time for more PR pictures. The next day they told our company they no longer needed an English teacher.

"It's getting everywhere."

  So this week, I will have a 2.5 hour commute to a new school, instead of a nice little 30 minute journey. And I am still brushing sand off my bed. The joys.

Going to miss these little faces.

  On Fridays I now have another regular school, which is actually pretty great. 8 short classes and 2 playground activities but it’s only 10 stops on the metro so I can go home at lunch for the first time since I arrived here. Playground activities used to be my nemesis, but since discovering a video of the Frozen characters doing The Cha Cha Slide it’s been going a lot smoother.

The school lobby.

  Saturday and Sunday I spend in a training centre. This is easily my favourite teaching location. The owner, Sandy, is absolutely lovely and as the kids are a bit older and of a more advanced level I can actually introduce them to some grammar and do more interesting (read: nerdy) activities. One thing about teaching 2 year olds is that you have to keep everything very simple, and for me it gets just a tad boring. I still have some Early Learning classes but it’s nice to have this balanced out by some classes where the kids are able to respond and discuss instead of repeating the question back at you. I loved learning languages at school and wanted to be able to plan similar lessons to those I had enjoyed so much. With the older students I can do this. With toddlers it’s just a lot of Duck, Duck, Goose and trying not to laugh when they almost swear instead of saying ‘fork’.

Can't say fork. Can't use fork.

  Schools here have a bit of a reputation for not paying for external services so doubtless my schedule will change again before long. Although it can be annoying when you have established a rapport with a class and suddenly are sent somewhere else, I actually like the changes in pace and environment. It keeps it interesting, and I get to see more places, meet more people and collect more stories in this crazy country that is slowly stealing my heart. 

To see more of my experience click here.