New Semester

The last day of teaching is slowly approaching yet time is starting to go a bit slower. My schedule for the semester is a lot fuller than last semester so even though I have only nine more days of actual teaching, filling the classes with content is getting hard. I am teaching SAT test prep this semester and the students bore easily. I try my best to keep them entertained, but with my exit date quickly approaching my motivation level is low. Furthermore, the grade I am teaching  (juniors) has a bad rep for being inattentive, rude, nonparticipant, and just overall “the bad class”. No one participates; they come and go as they please, they are on their phones/ipods all the time, and much much more. It’s a hard situation.

To add to it, the school has gotten ultra annoying. They have this new rule where you have to be in the classroom five minutes before class starts. Now that is not a problem by itself but them lurking in the hall way with clipboards practically looking at stopwatches is really demeaning. None of the current teachers have ever had a problem with being late (the one who did, just disappeared one night :o) so it’s just so awkward the immense importance they put on this. I really think that I am at the end of my patience and understanding with the school and the Chinese culture in general that a lot more than normal annoys me immensely. I think it’s best I leave China… and thank goodness that day is so near!

If anyone is curious as to what my part of town looks like, here is a little glimpse. It's dull here, truly!