More exercises in futility.
I don't know why I try anymore in this country to try and be nice and to try to make my classes enjoyable and filled with learning goodness. My classes all today ended either in disaster or kids not paying attention because the class whip (teacher) left early. I have great ideas for lessons and Alex and Gerald can tell you that I am pretty decent at making learning seem fun if not just a bit interesting. The fourth graders were just being unruly - short attention spans on hot, humid, beautiful looking daze. The second class which has the two psychitzoids, was no better, but no worse than the first class. The two spazzes remained somewhat in control. Sending that one kid to the Headmaster two weeks in a row really helped.
The 6th graders were just...well, they were 6th graders. It really wasn't too bad today, but the first class, they were off in their own little world and Anna didn't really do anything to keep them in line. The second class participated more and were more into the lesson, but this is the 6th grade class with the highest concentration of smart/good kids.
I don't mind kids undermining authority and not paying attention - I think its important, but I think I have made it abundantly clear that I am different from the older generation that exists in schools just there to beat kids down and make them submit to their will while brainwashing the kids.
Before 6th grade I asked Coco if it was alright to use Taiwan in my lesson. After about 5 minutes of me trying to explain "Taiwan" to her, she understood and said it was ok. Basically, I drew out a ruff map on the board of the world with just China, Taiwan, HK, Japan, Korea, USA, and Canada. All are in the upper hemisphere. I have always noticed that almost all the news that Americans see or read or pay attention to just revolves around in the upper hemisphere, barely anything about down under. Does the lower hemisphere matter anymore? As for the chinese and what they know about the world...its pretty much China, Japan, maybe taiwan, and USA. Nothing else.
So today was interesting as well because more random power outages occured. Its really hot and so we had all the fans in the rooms on and I could feel and hear the distant hum of the machine like in the utopian story "The Machine"... All of a sudden I heard the machine go silent and I realized the power was cut. About five kids' heads exploded.
This country has more random power outages than Iraq. Not that I would really know how many Iraq has, but I am just making a comic comparison. Iraq has really nothing to do with this journal entry...or does it. I just wonder how much longer it will take the Chinese government to start blaming all their power outages on the USA and Japan since they seem to blame everything else on those two countries.
What else happened, Oh, I realized its impossible to try and go to the gym during the lunch break because of the heat. Its too much of a pain. The only time I could get over there would be in the evenings when it has cooled down a bit and I don't have to worry about sweat pouring down the crack of my ass like Niagra in class. Give it up.
I tried to teach my kindergarteners Dodgeball today. That was a nuclear disaster. First of all, none of the chinese teachers knew about the game, so I explained the basics to Wing and she told it to the kids then one of the teachers told them in cantonese. Thats gotta be confusing, three different languages in one class. I can understand why the kids had no idea what was going on when it came time to play. I had set up two teams and a line in the center of the play floor. Its a nice hardwood floor. Very good construction.
When I brought out the ball, I demostrated with Wing by pelting her in the face! I was like, YEAH! Take that for all your stalking of Toby and pissing off Rumi. The kids watched and laughed, and when I prepared to start the game, I wound up my throwing arm, and all the kids on the opposing team stood up, planted themselves firmly in the ground and held their arms out waiting to catch the ball. I was like, "NOOOOO!" I was like, "Did you explain to them that they do not want to get hit by the ball, so they shouldn't just stand there." The teachers told the kids, but still nothing. I was like, "OK. suit yourself." Instead of going for the head like I usually do to avoid permanent damage, I went for the legs. I started the game out and for about 2 minutes the kids kinda caught on, but soon it fell apart. There were kids jumping back and forth over the line, kids running around in circles, kids climbing into the cubby holes, and what not. It was pathetic. I felt so beaten down. Nothing ever works. So, that took most of the class time. I couldn't understand why they didnt' like it. When I was their age, I loved this game.
Another thing I should mention about these kindergarten classes are the sheer evilness of the kindergarten teachers. They are so mean. There is this one teacher that just grabs kids and manhandles them around the room. Its terrible and she gets all mean over the simplest things. "WTF is wrong with you lady?" Sometimes I just want to slap her, "You'll give the kids a complex! And he'll have enuff of those just from the fact that he is growing up in China, don't give him more." Last week I asked an older lady that works here to leave fans on and to raise them up a bit, and she got all chinesey with me and yelled at me in Cantonese because they would blow the things hanging from the ceiling down (which they totally won't cause I have done it before). So I bit back at her and she left quite quickly. What the hell is wrong with people here?
And the last horrible thing that happened today...I knew in the back of my head when the metal works shop said that my sword wouldn't be finished on Sunday like they said, but would be done on Monday. I had this thing in the back of my head knowing that it was bullshit, but I with all the reassurance I got from Wing and the constant updates by the girl working there that it was true. Wing had called a couple times and the girl said on Sunday, "Oh, its been started by we are being careful so its taking longer. It will be ready on Monday." On Monday, she called. "Oh, we have the right side done and we are starting on the left side soon. It will be finished tomorrow on Tuesday." Now that I have posted this stuff side by side, it reeks of bullshit. We called them up after kindergarten and said we were coming to pick it up. The girl didn't answer and so we were just given, "OK". We showed up and entered the offie and immediately the girl got this worried look on her face.
After a bunch of discussion, fone calls, and them trying to find out where my sword was, the truth came out that the engraving machine was broken and that the sword hasn't been touched. !!!!! shall I repeat that for effect? The engraving machine was broken and the sword has not been touched. She told us straight up lies for four days straight just to save face! To be truthful, I wasn't surprised at all by this, but its still friggin' frustrating. Wing was mad and she rose her voice to the workers in the office. I was like, "Why are you upset? This is your culture, you should be used to this?" She laughed at that saying, "Yes. It is isn't it. I am just mad because they told us lies for four days and you want this to get done for your teacher." Wing knows alot of english and can understand very well, but her pronunciation on lots of things is way off. But she can understand what I say better than some others.
So we got the sword back and the company offered that we can wait till the machine is fixed or they can engrave it another way, and I was like, "What other way. How else do you engrave it." Basically, I was fed up with them, so I don't want to give them any business. Punks.
So, I walked bcak to the office with Wing but called up Yumi and we met up by the CRC, KFC side, and headed to get some dinner. I was really hungery.
That was it pretty much for my day. Sleep well.