The real job of in Beijing.
The real job being Principal of an International School
It's been three weeks of school start up here, and it has flown by like a magpie. Education in a private international school is much different than the public school. Aside from the uniforms, the expectations, the dorm living for the students, there is a philosophical shift that takes place. It's a business. But a business that must balance demands and expectations (that we have of children) with demands and expectations of parents and shareholders. Students and parents have a tremendously high regard for Educators. At yoga class today, while practicing my warrior 3 pose (I think it was that one, the instruction was all in mandarin, so I was doing some guessing), the instructor let me know her son was at my school, and if I had some instruction for her on how he could improve, that would be most appreciated. Parents want their children to do well, and they want teachers to demand a lot of them.
Setting school goals has been insightful. As a teacher of English, I love the idea of teaching reading. The goal for students is to master the English language, graduate and study abroad. Consequently, reading is everything. Math and Chemistry are more than solving for X, or balancing an equation. It is also about accessing the words on the page. Try to do a word problem in math without understanding the language. Or explain where the metals and the non metals are on the periodic table. Literacy rules in this neck of the woods, so our goals are to teach strategies that help students access the language across curriculum. All teachers are teachers of English! T'is a thing of beauty.
Our Math goals revolve around innovation in teaching and flipped classroom. As most teachers who come here are relatively new to the profession its a great goal, and they come ready packed with ideas fresh from their University years, or first few years of teaching.
The students wear uniforms, and, if truth be told, they are in the development phase of fashion. They are one swing on the colour wheel away from the orange jumpsuit from 'Orange is the new Black'. Honestly, I don't know where they came from. IN a country where Calvin Klein and Armani outfits come cheaply, this acquisition is beyond me. They are bright yellow sweat suits, from top to bottom. Linden hates his. But, as the PK (Principals kid) he has to wear it to perfection. At lunch, they do look like a bunch of inmates, all sitting together in the yard, playing basketball, pumping iron-its a sight to see. My goal is to change the uniform, so I delivered my presentation last week (its strikingly similar to the uniform at Hogwartsjust without capes and magic wands). Hope springs eternal.
Every Friday, parents pick their children up from the front gates. The entire street is lined with leather interior imports such as BMWs, Mercedes, and some fancy ones I have never even heard of. But, don't let me give you the wrong impression. Some of the students don't go home on weekends or holidays, because their parents have moved out of Beijing, mortgaged their homes to pay the tuition, all in the hopes of a brighter future for their child. China is a crowded country. Parents have hopes for their children, and it involves opportunities abroad. Yearly expenditures for education works out to less than $500.00 per student. And they value education...it's a system under tremendous pressure.
My biggest challenge here is technology. I pay for wireless internet access, but dont get it. It comes on and off at random. At school, internet access is more stable , however really only Chinese websites work. Google is inaccessible, as is g mail etc. I managed to get a VPN working on my phone (its smarter to get a VPN before coming to China) and as quickly as I started accessing some sites, they would just as quickly not respond. Access gets shut down really quickly. Its extremely challenging to say the least, but it has taught me to be resourceful, innovative and not so reliant on technology. Posting this to wordpress will probably take most of the week, as I try about 10 different options until one works. Its just the way it is.
Of interest this upcoming week is my first Educators conference I will attend...can't wait!
Onwards and upwards!
