Ping November 18th, 2008
We’re almost approaching the end of our stay in Shanghai and I guess it is a good time to reflect on the 1 and a half years so far. Ajeet has been working with Great Wall Airlines and I have been taking on part-time teaching positions. I can still remember how challenging it was to find a job. There were many available from tuition agencies, schools and companies. However, getting one wasn’t so easy. Most employers only wanted teachers holding American, Canadian, Australian or British passports. I managed to get an offer to teach at Yew Hwa International Education School for 3 weeks during their summer vacation programme. It is a private school which prepares its students for the Cambridge International Education System. Having taught in a government school in Singapore, it was definitely an eye opener stepping into an international school. Most students came from well-to-do families. They were very confident and outspoken too (at times too direct for my comfort level). Most of the students were either Chinese, Taiwanese or Korean. Though I taught there for only 3 weeks, it was an enriching experience. I had to teach a subject called ‘English for Science’. Basically I was teaching Science and getting them to familiarize with the terms in English. As I prepared each lesson, I was also learning new things.
After this teaching stint, I was hunting for another job again. Soon, I was an English enrichment teacher at the Singapore International School. For one academic year 07-08, I taught Grade 1 and Grade 5 students English every Saturday morning. I had students from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and China. Though the diversity sometimes proved to be a challenge in lesson preparation, it made lessons interesting with the different experiences and views they shared. Here is a picture I took of some of my Grade 1 students on the last lesson. The rest couldn’t wait to run out of the class and begin their summer holidays!
Below is a picture of my Grade 5 students consisting mainly of Chinese and Taiwanese. Although they were not too eager to do grammar or writing exercises, they were certainly excited to play word games.
The small class size and the big spacious classrooms in both the schools I taught here were great. Students could move freely during certain activities without bumping into each other or furniture. Also, the small numbers in each class made it easier for me to manage the class and give more attention to those students who needed it.
I did not continue teaching at the Singapore International School anymore after one year as we wanted to use the remaining time to travel around China. Instead, I started giving tuition at home and have been doing that since. This has given us a lot more flexibility in planning our trips.
Apart from teaching, I did some volunteer work with Hands on Shanghai- a volunteer organization that plans and organizes charity events and programmes. My duty was to monitor enrichment programmes in a migrant school. The migrant school I went to was pretty basic. It had a small compound with about 7 to 8 classrooms and each classroom was packed with 45 to 60 students. Tables and chairs were old and sometimes broken. Despite the humble setting of the school, students were always full of energy, cheerful and keen to learn.
I was also involved with the English Corner Programme at the Jian Qiao Private School for a year. Together with some friends, we conducted English oral lessons for the chinese students there. Through these activities, we found new friends whom we meet up with occasionally.
Many colleagues of Ajeet’s and their familes live in the same compound as us. We get together sometimes for dinners or a game of badminton. It’s nice having a small community here. In between work and meeting up with friends, we try to travel around China. I must say that apart from the occasional food scares, it has been enjoyable living here. We have a few more months here before returning home. Time will pass very quickly but I’m sure we will make the most out of it! =)
Links:
Hands On Shanghai: http://www.handsonshanghai.com/
