In the Classroom

I have been teaching for two week at Zhejiang University of Technology. Filling the full ninety minutes of each class I have found is not tough, but filling the time with substantial content is another matter. First off there are my English major classes where the students are obviously far more advanced than my graduate students who are taking oral English for credit to graduate. I am learning fast the difference in expectations between a mandatory post grad class, and my enthusiastic, English major, under grads. For instance after two weeks in my advanced listening class for English majors a student named Jarvis came up to me and said, “You are teaching the class wrong. This is listening class, not oral class.” Furthermore he went on to say he had such and such internship with a trading company and that he wants to be an entrepreneur who makes a lot of money after he graduates. At first I hesitated and then replied in a sincere manner that I would revise and amend that which was wrong. I really wanted to tell him to shut the hell up and that Jarvis is a stupid and unbefitting name for a one hundred pound squirt such as yourself. But I am a teacher, a position of leadership to my two hundred plus number of students. The attitude and knowledge I reflect upon these students will leave an impression upon their future in many ways still unforeseen by myself. As the semester goes on I will continue to correct mistakes and I will get better. But for now I can only feel my way through the dark, hoping light is not far ahead.