Sorry, I’ll admit this is a long post about my favorite students and class that maybe no one will find interesting except for a few foreign teachers who have done something similar. I know it’s going to be a bit boring for my readers at large, but hey, it’s my blog and I like it. So there.
I’ve waxed poetic before about my favorite students, two classes of cute, cheery, amazing students that I have had the honor of teaching for the past 4 years. The first two years it was just kinda coincidence that I taught them, but then the next two years I insisted to my bosses that I must always teach them. It’s because of them that I am still at my school (I was going to move last year, but I wanted to be with them their senior year so I stayed.)
And its because of them that I taught my favorite class in all my 5 years in China. You see, almost every year I teach the senior students Newspaper Reading. Senior year in Chinese universities is very, very easy. They only have 2 classes (mine and an english class) and the school actively allows them to skip class to find a job or study for certificates. (2nd semester, seniors have no classes at all.)
So Newspaper Reading kinda sucks because the students are no longer motivated, many don’t come to class and really, newspapers? Kinda boring.
So this year, as I would be teaching my babies one last time, I wanted to make a class for them. A custom class just for them. One thing that bothers me about Chinese culture is the lack of maturing time. As a student you are expected to study all the time. Many students never have a job, never have a bf/gf, don’t know how to cook much food etc. Their parents insist they should focus on studies.
Then, the second they graduate suddenly they are supposed to have a partner they will marry soon, get a job they will work at forever, know how to run a house. It’s quite unfair. So, I wanted to help my darling students, and prepare them for life after graduation. How? By teaching a class called “Becky’s life lessons.”
Every week we discussed something important. Things like budgeting, how to lose weight the safe way, budget traveling, how to do CPR and the Heimlich and how to set, and keep, goals. I think I’m a pretty successful adult, follow my dreams, manage money well, feel confident in new places, but it took me a long time to get there. So I wanted to take the lessons I learned growing up, and try to help them.
And now that they are seniors we communicate openly. So I really went there. This was a no-holds-barred style class. We discussed things like the Japanese/Chinese conflict (A HUGE issue here, and not just the recent island dispute. It goes back much longer) and I didn’t shy away from being controversial. In fact, to get them to be critical thinkers I took the side of the Japanese to see what they would say.
We talked about how Japan not only has apologized for WW2 many, many times (they are told Japan has never apologized and fiercely believe it) but that China has never accepted it. (China keeps changing it’s criteria of what kind of apology it wants). And why might China refuse to accept an apology? “Maybe the government wants the people to be mad at Japan, for some reason. For patriotism, maybe,” one student said after a long conversation. It was amazing. I could see their brains working in ways they didn’t before. “I don’t care what your final conclusion is, if you agree with me or not. I just care that you actually thought about the issue, researched it, and came up with your own conclusion you can defend,” I told them. I got them to think in new ways, they got me to think in new ways. After class I was so jazzed.
Actually my Critical Thinking class was my favorite. We didn’t just talk about the Japanese, but also addressed some traditional beliefs that my students have been telling me for years. Things like, “Going to bed with wet hair will make you sick when your older.” (Or “will give you a headache,” I’ve also heard) They very seriously believe this.
So I asked them “Why.”
“Because the water gets absorbed into your scalp,” they said.
“Okay, then what?”
They paused. “It goes into your brain.”
How?
“From your blood.”
“How does water, which enters your blood and travels through your body via your heart, end up hurting your brain.”Honestly, they all really struggled with it, because it is a very firmly healed belief but logically it doesn’t make sense. Some students said “I know it because it happens to me.””Well, if you think something is going to happen, then it usually does. It’s called a placebo affect. The same way people can get drunk on beer, even when they are secretly being given non-alchoholic beer.”
Some students refused to believe me, and I challenged them to find the scientific data, and the process of how wet hair gives you a headache and I would look at it. “Critical thinking is about doing research to find the answers.” I told them. I hadn’t found any, but maybe they could.
And we really went there in my last 2 weeks when we talked about sex. There is very little sex ed in China, and what there is mostly just covers body functions. You know, like periods and stuff.
But no-holds-barred, remember? We went there. I showed them pictures (drawings, not actual photos) of all the body parts, different sex positions and explained how everything worked. There was a lot of new vocabulary for them (they know things like butt, and dick, but don’t know words like anal, or intercourse) but needless to say they were riveted. I even did the old condom on a banana thing, showed them birth control pills and talked about masturbation and orgasms.
One girl asked to see the box of condoms and I left it on her desk. When class ended I discovered the condom were gone. It was okay, I figured if she wanted them, go for it.
The next week she came back and handed me back the box. “Here Becky, I took these last week.” I said it was okay. “No!” she said. “I kept them in a locked drawer all week and was so afraid someone would find them!” Yeah, that’s how nervous they are about sex here. (And my students are 21-23 years of age!)
It turns out what impressed most of the students wasn’t actually the sex part. (Although you should have seen their faces when I showed them a black and white line drawing of 69. Some of there faces were shocked/disgusted etc. It was so funny.) But it was the way we talked about it.
“You talked about it so freely, not embarrassed,” a student later told me. “It made us feel more relaxed, you weren’t shy at all.”
And that was the point. I wanted to address things maybe people don’t talk about but are important. I wanted to let them know that adults struggle with things just as much as students,and maybe burst the belief that adults know everything and have it all together.
And this class couldn’t have been done at any other time. To teach it properly I needed to understand things about China that it took me years to learn, and they needed to understand me. We had to build up a relationship to a point where we understood and trusted each other. And we all needed time to mature. They wouldn’t be able to have some of the conversations we had when they were freshman. It’s not the vocabulary, but the maturity of their thoughts that have grown over time. And I needed to grow up, to mature and figure some things out, and let some things go, before I could teach them.
I don’t know what affect this class will have on my students in the future (though I secretly hope that in 10 years a student will contact me and say they saved someones life by doing the Heimlich they learned in my class) but I do know that this class was meaningful. Not just in content, but in impact. And as a teacher I think that’s all you can ask for.
Hi there, with regard to the Sino-Japanese conflict, I’m curious. What’s your opinion of the fact that South Korea, not to mention North Korea as well, also has an ongoing dispute with Japan on the issue of Japan’s wartime atrocity in Asia and Japan’s interpretation of this history? Is South Korea also being unreasonable and trying to stir up nationalist fervour in order to distract its population from domestic problems?
You see, the problem is not that Japan has never apologised for its crimes; it’s that Japan has been insincere and inconsistent in its apology at best. This is evidenced by Japan’s frequent denial of responsibility on the issue of “comfort women” and its dismissal of the Rape of Nanking as a Chinese fabrication. Now we also have an ultra-nationalist Japanese leader who has openly stated that the outcome of WWII is nothing more than “victor’s justice” and who appears to be seeking to reverse the “injustices” that have been imposed on Japan by the US after the war.
I understand what you’re trying to achieve with your critical thinking class, and I commend you for it. However, I also hope that in conducting your class you’re also conscious of the need to examine your own beliefs to ensure that you yourself have not swallowed propaganda or outdated stereotypes. Far too often, people in America just assume the worst about China and dismiss the Chinese people as nothing more than brainwashed zombies who parrot what their evil government tells them. Americans, when it comes to China, never seem to consider the possibility that maybe it is they who have been brainwashed by their government or mainstream media because they live in an ostensibly free society.
Well, you proved my point of why me and my students need to build our relationship over time, as your reaction “Far too often, people in America just assume the worst about China and dismiss the Chinese people as nothing more than brainwashed zombies who parrot what their evil government tells them. ” is a common knee jerk reaction in China any time a foreigner brings up anything “controversial.”
Luckily, my students know me better than that, and that’s how we could have such an open, awesome conversation. They know my feelings about China, chinese people and such. I’m not a “foreigner” speaking about these issues, I’m Becky. (And this is the reason why with some other classes, of students I’m not so familiar with, I skipped the Japanese part. I knew my sincere inquiry would be written off as “foreign propaganda, not understanding China”, so they wouldn’t engage like my other students who knew they could really open up and talk to me.)
Also, as a teacher I am aware of the power of a teachers opinion, so I was careful never to state my own. (though truth is my own opinion has not shaped yet.) Instead, I just asked questions. To everything they said, I asked questions. Like I said in the post, the class was not about a final answer. It was about understanding the issue, how they got information, and to think for themselves in this very hot-button issue.
For instance my students complained that In Japan, they don’t learn about the war at all, cover it up. That young people today don’t know about the atrocities in the past. That the history books cover up the true atrocities.
“Where did you hear about this?” I asked.
“In the news,”
“What news? American news? Japanese news?”
“Chinese news,” they all said laughing, getting my point. Then I pointed out we have 3 teachers from Japan teaching in the same building and maybe it would be a good idea to get some information from a direct source, instead of an indirect one.
What’s written in the history book was of no importance to me. Where and how they got the information was the lesson.
So, this wasn’t a class about chinese/japanese relations from a western POV. This was a class about critical thinking, and thus, it was kept to questions, looking closer at assumptions, and having an open mind. (Both me and them. I dismissed none of their comments, nor did I offer my own opinions. Instead I just kept asking questions.)
There was no points for the right answer because there was no right answer. The japanese part was just one of several parts. We also looked at American assumptions, cultural assumptions and even common saying. (We did “If you don’t have your health you don’t have anything,” one of my least favorite saying of all time that we all just parrot without thinking about.)
First of all, I should point out that I’m from Taiwan, that little island country that wants to become (formally) independent from the PRC.
I’m glad that your relationship with your students is such that you’re able to have frank discussions with one another about sensitive subjects. However, the views you have expressed here is very much typical of the views that I have encountered countless times from other Americans: i.e., “We talked about how Japan not only has apologized for WW2 many, many times (they are told Japan has never apologized and fiercely believe it) but that China has never accepted it. (China keeps changing it’s criteria of what kind of apology it wants).”
Now, in your reply comment you appear not to have a position on this issue at all, but that’s not how you came across to me in the original blog post. I understand that this blog post is not about the Sino-Japanese conflict per se, but the issue was brought up and I didn’t want to leave the views expressed about it unchallenged. I should also add that the fact I disagree with you should not be interpreted as an unwillingness to have a meaningful discussion. You are most certainly able to share with me your views, if you so choose.
Just to give a little background explanation as to why the issue is such an emotive one for the Chinese people… Japan has a museum that celebrates its imperial rampage across Asia as a war of liberation to free Asian people from Western colonialism, and it also has shrines that honour Class-A war criminals, including Tojo, as war heroes. No one would tolerate this kind of blatant provocation from the Germans (who, by the way, have been exemplary in owning up to their wartime history and responsibilities), and South Korea, which was also a victim of Japan’s wartime atrocities, is able to feel offended and hurt by Japan’s antics without any issues. But the Chinese people have to put up with having the legitimacy of their grievances against Japan questioned over and over again.
I 100% understand why this is an emotional issue for Chinese people. Trust me. Truth is, the average american (aka: me) has no idea about the current mistrust between the two countries. Of course we learn about Nanking, and other wartime atrocities that Japan committed but, like the west and germany, most people think it is old news and now the relationship is fine.
So I actually had no idea of the poor feelings between Japan and China before I arrived here, and it wasn’t until I arrived, did I realize. Over the years almost all the information I have learned about it has been from Chinese people. Many of whom were directly affected (as I live in Zhejiang province many of my students families have roots here and were directly affected.) So trust me, I get it.
But you surely must agree that Chinese media is not known for it’s openness in reporting. All my students know that, and constantly tell me, so it’s not just my western bias. And to disagree with your first comment, the idea that Japan has never apologized is still very much the issue. Many of my students were shocked to learn that indeed Japan has apologized. That there is even a wikiepdia page devoted to the apologies. Some knew, but most, honestly, had no idea.
And the way the class was set up, the way I approached it, was, yes, to argue their beliefs. We have talked about it many times in the past, so I knew what their grievances were. That’s how I was able to prepare my material. I knew one of their main objections “Japan has never apologized” so I researched it. Once I found the number of apologizes I researched why China has not accepted it. (They were surprised to find out the criteria that China wanted for an apology as most didn’t know Japan had apologized many times, they also didn’t know that China was given new criteria they wanted for a perfect apology.) So I knew their arguments, from listening to them in the past, so I fought their arguments. Not with “come on, Japan is so nice!” because that is subjective, but with facts. This is the only way to really get them to defend their beliefs, and think deeper about an issue.
It’s not western bias to say Japan has apologized. It’s fact. And it is fact that China has never accepted any of their apologies. There is no American bas in that, so I’m not sure how you see that as pro-Japan. To me the interesting issues is “Why?” Why does China not accept it? And I asked them honestly, I really don’t know. And my students were free to say anything, and I didn’t judge or refute or deny because there is no known answer to that. It was their own ideas, and their own ideas are never wrong.
I wasn’t trying to change their minds, and I’m quite sure that I didn’t. I was just trying to get them to think in new ways. After living in China for so long I have had to confront biases of my own, had to really examine some things that I grew up “certain” of, and I know that I’m a more open-minded person because of it, more willing to understand other cultures and other points of views than the average American. Many of my students won’t have the opportunity to live in another culture and to interact with foreigners on a regular basis, so I tried to bring it into class.
Really, you are making this much more political than it was in class. One part of critical thinking which we talked about was removing emotion, and talking from a place of logic, not blind emotion. We didn’t talk about the past atrocities, we didn’t talk about personal experiences, because even now those are too raw. We tried to keep it on a government level, not a personal one. It was my students who drew their own conclusions, not me. (And they drew all different conclusions and that was okay.) Like I said, the point was they think about it. It was about the journey, not the destination.
Honestly, the fact that you are saying I have an american bias is tickling me pink. I am mostly accused (even from my chinese friends and students) or being way too pro-Chinese in almost all my opinions. I am often accused of drinking the chinese kool-aid, so this is a nice change. 😉
Well, as I said earlier, the problem is not that Japan has never apologized for its war crimes; it’s the fact that Japan has never actually felt apologetic for what it has done. If you read or listen to Japan’s narrative about the war, you are left with the impression that Japan was the victim rather than the perpetrator of atrocities – which is frankly absurd. And can you imagine Germany having a shrine to honour Hitler as a war hero? Again, the Chinese are not the only ones who have a problem with Japan on this issue: South Korea does, too. I recommend that you check out this article to get an idea of what Japan thinks about its wartime history:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9930041/Japan-PM-dismisses-WWII-war-crimes-trials-as-victors-justice.html
Anyway, I see where you’re coming from now. In response to your comment about the Chinese media, yes, of course we all know that the Chinese media is heavily censored. I never suggested otherwise. But as you yourself have noted, the Chinese people are well aware of what they’re dealing with, so they’re not just a bunch of brainwashed zombies as many in the West make them out to be. That said, the fact that the Chinese media is censored doesn’t mean that everything it reports is false; similarly the fact that the Western media is “free” doesn’t mean it’s always fair and truthful. What I would suggest here is that people apply critical thinking 🙂 and have a more nuanced attitude about all sources of information.
Generally speaking, the Chinese media applies censorship to information that is related government actions or policies, and as such, stories and reports about domestic issues are where you’re more likely to find biases and falsehoods in the Chinese media. In terms of international news, the Chinese media is actually pretty good. As an exercise/experiment, you should watch CCTV’s international channel and compare it with CNN or BBC.
God god, I never said the western media is “right” or “better.” I think your putting a lot of words into my mouth. And I know about south koreas feelings about it all but that wasn’t at all what we were talking about in class.
I kinda feel like you are attacking me for all the stupid things american have said in the past, just because I’m american? I know americans say the stupidest things, and I’m not going to defend someone just because were from the same country, so don’t lump me in with them, or blame me for things you’ve heard in the past.
I think just a quick look through my blog and you will know that in no way shape or form do I think Chinese people are brainwashed zombies. Or stupid, or an uneducated masses or any of that. Why would I even stay in China if I had such a low opinion of all my friends and students that I spend 99.9% of my time with? I rail just as much against the western media as you do. Actually, probably quite a bit more. (I got all bent out of shape recently on Facebook when someone compared weixin and Facebook. I mean, they have two totally different functions as social media and anyone who uses them knows that. So obviously the reporter had never used weixin seriously and just compared them because they were popular. I know, not a world issue, or policy or anything of actual importance, but sometimes they can’t even get the little things right. And little things matter in todays world.)
And in my newspaper reading class (in past years when I actually taught reading the news ) I do the country comparing thing. I take one issue and look at it through the major english language newspapers of not just China, England and America, but Australia, south africa, India, New Zealand, etc. It’s is quite interesting. Not even just a chinese issue, but an international issue, such as a G20 summit meeting, or a banking scandal is reported quite differently. I think it’s more interesting to notice a nations bias when it is reporting on an issue that doesn’t directly affects them.
I didn’t mean to lump you together with all other Americans. In bringing up what I have heard from other Americans I was simply trying to establish a context with which to better understand why a Chinese person might become defensive when his/her feelings about Japan are being challenged. It’s for a similar reason that I have brought up South Korea: it’s to show that China is often singled out for criticism despite the fact that China is not alone in its position. But I understand now that you were just having a discussion in class as an exercise in critical thinking, and you were not taking a position at all. It now looks as though we don’t have any disagreement.
Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to go to China? Has the country always been an interest of yours, or were you just looking for an adventure and chose China randomly? If you’ve written about this previously, you could just point me to the blog post.
Glad we cleared that up. 😉 I knew we weren’t actually disagreeing, you were just making some assumptions about my beliefs because of where I’m from. I get that a lot, both on the chinese side and the American side. (Like a lot of western girls are like “you like chinese guys? Why?!?!” Like I’m breaking some western girl code or something. Assuming because I’m american I would naturally be into western guys.)
And I originally came to china because it was a good opportunity to make a little money and have time to travel. I was never a big sinophile or anything and just thought of it as an adventure in an exotic land. I originally signed a 6-month contract, expecting that if I liked it, I would stay one year and then go home.
But one year turned into two, two turned into 3 and so on until now I’m in my 5th year and have no plans to leave China anytime soon. I guess I was so surprised at how comfortable I felt in China, even though things were so different and such a struggle. And now that I have reached a level of fluency in Chinese things are even getting better.
I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I have a feeling I’ll be spending a year or so in Taiwan before I leave the east for good. I went last winter and I really liked it there, and made a few friends. So moving there is now in my vague life plan.
I see. Taiwan is basically China-lite. For foreigners, Taiwan is not so harsh on both the body and the spirit, but it’s probably also less exciting. And Taiwan has a lot of Canadians: ROC apparently also stands for “Republic of Canada”. 🙂