And so it begins!

From the desk of Chris...

Our semester began this week and I have already had plenty of interesting, fun experiences. I'm already enjoying time with my new students and love being back in the classroom! One of the hardest things to get used to about being a teacher in China is the apparent lack of organization in the school calendar. When I was at college at UNC, they had the academic calendar laid out for years in advance. You knew when classes started/finished, when holidays were, and when final exams would begin and end. In China, it seems like things go on a "day-by-day" basis. For example, the semester has already started, we had been given our class schedules, and our team was just informed that the school is "forming" 3 new classes that we will be teaching, and they will just start next week. There's a part of my old self that gets very frustrated at that and says "What do you mean you're adding new classes? Did you not realize you had these students before the semester began??" But, it is in these moments that I can see how much the Father has worked in me this past year and a half. Instead, the first reaction of my new self accepts the culture and realizes "it is what it is." Instead of getting frustrated, I should respond with joy at the fact that I get a chance to develop relationships with more students!

On Tuesday I was going over my class rules with a group of students. When I finished and asked if there were any questions, one student raised his hand and said "What happens if we break the rules??" I answered, "Your grade will be lowered." Edison responded, "That's it??" This made my heart beak. One aspect of the teacher/student culture here is that teachers will routinely publicly shame students for breaking rules or making mistakes in class. Some students have told me that when they got an answer wrong, their teacher made them stand in the front of the class for the rest of the day. It was great to be able to look into Edison's eyes and say, "Yes, that's it. I will never shame or embarrass you in front of your classmates." I hope that as the semester progresses I can continue to share with Edison the grace of the Father that I rejoice in everyday.