Combating the 'Great Firewall'

Over the last few weeks, I have lost the ability to freely search the Internet. Because of the Chinese government's censorship, I must use a proxy server in order to access most preferred websites, including Blogger. Brendan had to post my last entry - Thanks Bren! For unknown reasons, my server has shut down and I have failed to reboot it. In my ongoing fight with China's Great Firewall, I am currently losing the battle. But I am working on new strategies. Hopefully I will be blogging more consistently soon!

Deadlock Debate

In order to get my students in the necessary mind frame for crafting an argumentative paper (their final), I had them debate last week. The debates also allowed me to keep from moving forward since Monday classes were canceled due to it being Chinese Labor Day. I had both classes address the same topics, the death penalty and the effectiveness of college entrance examinations.

Overall, the debates went well. Everyone had the opportunity to speak, remained respectful and presented his or her opinions clearly. For capital punishment, all the classic arguments were debated, including the value of life, governmental costs and whether criminals can be rehabilitated. Once the discussion was exhausted, we moved on to the second topic, which, unfortunately, hit the same wall in both classes.

The group opposing the use of college entrance exams would perform well at first, offering strong claims about how the exams are an inadequate tool for selecting which students will attend universities. Eventually, however, the group defending the exams would ask, “If we get rid of the exams, how will we determine who should go to college?”

Without hesitation, the opposing side replied, “The government will figure it out. That is their job, not ours”

The dispute essentially ended after that exchange. After the assertion that the government should establish a solution, the defenders of the exam would reply that the current system cannot be extinguished until another method is available to determine eligibility. The debate was stalemated.

The second time around, I warned the anti-exam group that their opponents will inevitably inquire about what other options are available to qualify students for higher education.  I advised that they use some of the prep time to brainstorm other possibilities.

To my dismay, when asked about alternative college acceptance criteria, the group simply gave the same reply, asserting it as the government’s responsibility, implying that there is no need for their group to inquire about other options. I have to admit, I was rather disappointed. The debates provided another example of how Chinese aren’t educated to ‘think outside the box.’ 

I tried to be thorough and careful when lecturing on how to establish a strong argument and write a well-researched paper. I taught the basics of how to apply deductive and inductive reasoning to situations in general and to their research specifically. I also introduced Aristotle’s proofs (logos/logic, pathos/emotion, ethos/ethics) as the basic components of any means of persuasion. We then discussed how to research and what constitutes quality, reliable information.

Furthermore, I informed that if their thesis involves any need for a solution or policy proposal, they mustn’t assert that someone else needs to decide the answer.  I understand that political debate is not completely tolerated in China but, in order to craft a sound argument, they must “pretend to be a government official whose responsibility is to present the argument to the court.”  Without alternative possibilities, the argument will be weakened. If they don’t feel comfortable putting themselves in those shoes, I advised that they need to pick another topic.

I’ve got five weeks to guide them through the writing process, which will hopefully produce great argumentative, research papers!

What is Love?

Since the poetry went so well, I did one more lesson that involved introspective writing and another medium for self expression.

For the first half of class, we discussed the lyrics of three English love songs and then listened to them. We reviewed U2 "With or Without You", Alicia Keys "If I Ain't Got You", and Norah Jones "Come Away With Me". I chose these three songs because they are sung clearly and each offers a different message about love that helped stimulate discussion. I printed out the lyrics and we discussed the songs line by line. Everyone thought it was cool to listen to some of my favorite musicians.

During the second half of class, the students did a free-writing exercise in which they answered the prompt "What is love?" These were also enjoyable papers to read. Again, my students shared both personal and profound thoughts.

"Love to us is what water is to fish. We can't live without it."

"Love is amazing. It makes us show mercy to the poor, it brings peace to everyone's heart and it brings people together despite difficulties."

"I've learned that love can be romantic, but romance alone doesn't mean love. Sometimes I think I don't really how to love my boyfriend. I can feel that he also has the same problem. But neither of us give up. We just keep going and try to find more about each other."

"Love transcends material properties and social status."

"Love is mutual understanding and support. Love is forgiveness and sacrifice."

"Love is  a weird thing. When you desire it, it won't come to you. When you despise it, it asks you to accept it."

"Love means to respect each other even if we have different opinions. Love means to sacrifice something. Love needs to be patient. Love is simple."

While not the majority, several students did write about patriotism. It was surprisingly less students than I had anticipated given the indoctrination that plays a large role in their earlier education and the vague praises I've heard about current and past political leaders. Here's one example:

"There is a kind of love that is country love. It is a great love that everybody should have. You will not have any love if you don't have country love."

In sum, it was another great week that the students really enjoyed. They certainly appreciate any opportunity to share their ideas and opinions.

First Time Leaving Jingzhou

Last weekend we traveled two hours west to Yichang, the closest city to the Three Gorges Dam. We packed eleven people into a rented van and headed out early Saturday morning. Yes, we fit eleven in there.

We opted not to see the Dam because it is rather expensive and we just wanted to hike. Instead, we visited The Three Gorges Household Scenic Area. First, we took a short boat ride to the mountain.

This girl, who directed us onto the boat, is dressed in traditional Tujia clothing. The Tujia people are the local ethnic minority in the small mountain villages just north of Yichang.

 A group photo taken on the boat.

Once across the river, we rode a gondola up the mountain. 

We then walked down the mountain. Some scenic views.

Halfway down there was a castle with people role-playing. The small mock village, castle and costumes were representative of the Chu State (which was centered in Jingzhou) during the Era of Warring States, a 200 year time period of warlord rivalry before the establishment of the first dynasty in 221 B.C. Here is the entrance.

He played amazing music on such a simple drum!

We watched a performance by fighters with their spears and swords.

Kung Fu Performance.

Tai Chi Performance.

The King watching his performers.

View of the castle from  below.

After we made it back to the bottom of the mountain, we enjoyed a classical musical performance played with traditional Chinese instruments and traditional dancing.

Then, we headed back out on the boat to our van. We spent the night and Sunday afternoon in Yichang, which we discovered has no tourist attractions. It is simply where people en route to Three Gorges stay. So we went to some local bars, ate and walked around. For my first time leaving Jingzhou, it proved to be an enjoyable and wonderful weekend!

Self Expressive Poetry

My students are great poets, and they didn't even know it!

My class activity went extraordinarily well last week. I had my students write "I Am Poems", which are basically fill in the blank. The first two words of each line are given and they complete the sentences in their own words.

I gave them 20 minutes to write their poems. Afterward, we wrote our poems on construction paper with bold markers. They did not have to put their names on their poems. We then taped each poem to the walls of the classroom to create an art gallery. Once all the poems were hung, we walked around to read the poetry and write comments. While the poets remained anonymous, the critics had to sign their name next to their comment. The commentary had to be positive. We had to tell the poet what we liked about their poem.

Due the anonymity,  the students felt free to share personal thoughts and feelings. Most of the poems were very insightful and revealed a lot about the poet. 

Here are two example poems written by my students:

Poem 1 (written by a female student)

I am creative and optimistic.
I wonder why I want to be a strong man.
I hear the birds singing in the sky.
I see this is a sea of flowers.
I want to travel around the world.
I am creative and optimistic.

I pretend to be your soul mate.
I feel lonely when you leave me alone.
I touch your smiling face to make sure you are real.
I worry that you will disappear someday.
I cry on your shoulder.
I am creative and optimistic.

I understand why I am dreaming all the time.
I say nothing until sunrise.
I dream to fly without being controlled.
I try to open my tender wings.
I hope my dream can come true in the future.
I am creative and optimistic.

Poem 2 (written by a male student)

I am considerate and curious.
I wonder why so many disasters have taken place in China.
I hear the crying of those victims.
I see the houses broken down by the earthquake and the arid land.
I want to help them even though I am not rich.
I am considerate and curious.

I pretend I could fly.
I feel blood boiling in my body.
I touch the hands of them.
I worry that we won't avoid such tragedy.
I cry for those people suffering.
I am considerate and curious.

I understand my work would not help very much.
I say we could make a great difference if we work together.
I dream that one day we live without any disasters.
I try my best to help them.
I hope my dream will come true one day.
I am considerate and curious.

The purpose was twofold. First, to encourage the students to indulge in self-expression, something for which many outlets are not provided in China. Secondly, to help them become more comfortable with sharing their writing with their classmates. After observing peer reviewing, it became evident that they’re uncomfortable marking other’s papers and offering direct feedback. So this activity provided the opportunity to exemplify how peer reviews can be encouraging and helpful. 

Everyone had a great time doing the Gallery Walk! All my classes ran 20 minutes late because students wanted to make sure that they read every poem.  For homework, they had to write 2-3 paragraphs about their experience. The writing prompts that were given were “What did you think about reading your classmates’ poems?” and “How did it feel to read the comments from your classmates?”

The feedback was the highlight of my week. Every single student absolutely loved the Gallery Walk! Many wrote that the comments gave them confidence, that if felt good to be open about their feelings and that they now want to write more poems. The multitude of responses were just incredible! Here are a few examples that made me smile:

"These words [comments] were the best rewards I've ever gained. No words can exactly express my joy when I read them."

"But many of my classmates' poems show that they are confused and have frustrated feelings too. Now I know that I am not alone in the world." 

"Thanks, Ms. Lindsey, I really appreciate it!"

"Someone commented that I had a profound thought. Frankly speaking, I have never realized this before. I never thought myself profound. This comment helped me understand myself better."

"Writing poetry is such a pleasure. It helps us release our emotions. Poems make me think about the world. And I love it!"

"It's an awful thing to be misunderstood. When I see those encouraging words, I feel like crying. They have the same condition with me. They know what I am worrying about. They inspire me to work hard. In my heart, I am now eager to show my feelings to them."

"The comments gave me power and strength."

"Some classmates told me that I am very imaginative. I never thought of myself as creative. However, now I change my mind!"

I really enjoyed reading these homework assignments! It made me feel that I am really making a difference in the classroom!

Not the Ultimate Chinese Challenge

Surprisingly, the ability to speak Chinese is not a necessary survival skill for working in Jingzhou. Before coming here, I assumed that circumstance would create the need, but anyone can live comfortably only knowing a few words. Despite that few people speak English once you leave campus, it is not difficult to do simple tasks on your own, such as shop, take a bus or buy groceries. Although shopping can become overwhelming due to all of the store attendants that will swarm around you. Everyone wants to help the foreigner! So at least five women will bring numerous products to you, which are usually not what you're scanning the shelves for, while loudly and incomprehensibly speaking non-stop to you and the others in an attempt to determine what you need. It is always fun to communicate through language barriers!!

While not all of the university students speak good English, the majority, including non-English majors, do. And they want to take advantage of every opportunity to practice their oral and listening skills! As a result, most students will speak English with you. Given that I am hear to teach it and our conversation would be very limited if we spoke Chinese, I am not bothered.

Living in Jingzhou still provides a great environment to learn Chinese. (There is a dialect though. If interested in learning Mandarin, you would need to be in Northeastern China.) Nevertheless, you can easily manage without ever speaking it. Of course, it would be wise to learn at least a few words and phrases! Knowing different foods is helpful; otherwise, you will eat the same thing every time you go to a restaurant. Also, being able to tell the taxi driver where you live is key to making sure you get home!

Luckily, I have the opportunity to attend a beginner Chinese class that is hosted for a few foreign students. Since there are only 10 students in the class, the professor allows me to attend without having to pay any tuition or fee, as long as I "act like a student." So I had to buy the text book and I have to do the homework. While I could never become fluent in just one year (Foreign languages are not my forte. So Chinese is REALLY difficult, especially considering that I struggled to learn Spanish, a Romance language...), it will be nice to eventually form complete sentences beyond basic introductions!

Formal vs Informal Writing

At the beginning of the semester, my students requested to learn some different writing styles, as they have only written formal papers. So our first big paper was a creative writing assignment. I taught how to use diction to create tone, sensory description to achieve vivid imagery and how to employ figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, and personification. I used excerpts from famous American novels to exemplify great writing.

Unfortunately, half my students did not grasp the concept of creative writing. Each student chose a picture from which they were to construct a narrative using descriptive writing with the tools learned in class. They did not use any of the writing tools or did not describe the picture beyond it's colors. Moreover, many of them actually argued their opinion about what the picture was, turning the assignment into a sort of persuasive paper that lacked any story.

Notwithstanding, the other half of my students wrote beautifully crafted stories, which made me feel more positive about the results. Some great examples of description and figurative language:

"The park radiated with sunshine and was filled with an intoxicating aroma."

"The green grasses, like mischievous children, poked their heads above the Earth's soft, fertile soil."

"When I raise my head, a faint breeze touches my face, as soft as a mother's hands."

"The sunlight, shining through the looming trees, flickers across my eyes."

"Not far away, the zigzag path disappeared into the horizon, extending it's hands to the sky."

Initially, however, I was still frustrated, assuming my teaching was the sole root of the problem as to why so many students didn't successfully write a creative or descriptive story. After some inquiry, it became evident that writing persuasively as been drilled into them so much by their Chinese professors that it has impeded them from using their imaginations. They cannot break away from the habit of constructing an argument whenever they write any composition. With China's steadfast determination to grow economically, the education system does not provide much in the realm of liberal arts. Interestingly, lessons and encouragement in analytical thinking and the ability to "think outside the box" are limited - things that, as a Westerner, I consider necessary to produce a strong, solid argument in writing or speaking.

It seems that I would need an entire semester to successfully teach most students the art of creative writing or any informal writing style. It would take more than a few weeks to break down the barriers of a strictly technical education. Unfortunately, I do not have that time. I must move on to formal writing, which will benefit them more in the future. So research papers, business letters and resumes here we come!