Tuesday, May 22

I introduced two new ‘art’ projects into my class today that riveted the kids’ attention.  One was a leaf rubbing—simple but beautiful!  And the other was gluing flat ‘jewels’ to black line outlines (a heart, a flower).  One aide conducted this last one-on-one so that the kids didn’t simply use up all the jewels in no time flat, and so that she could monitor the glue!  She was surrounded by 6 children at all times for about an hour, as they watched and waited.  While strictly speaking neither of these is teaching the kids any English, on the other hand, projects like these have reoriented the kids to the Montessori process, to the idea of ‘works’ and choice and follow-through.  Mr. Fickett’s “mystery number box” was also a big hit, when I opened the box and read the guesses, with each guesser’s name.  Their faces lit up! And they eagerly jumped up to take the slip of paper and deposit them in their cubbies.  This happens too when we sing “Mary’s here today, Mary’s here today, Let’s all clap our hands and say, Mary’s here today.”  Even though it takes quite a few minutes to sing every child’s name, which might be ‘boring,’ each child is amazed and delighted when it is his/her turn to be sung about!  Children are charming sometimes!

Every time I walked by Julia’s classroom, I could see all 8 kids engaged in active learning.  At one point, they were lying on the rug all together.  Ms. Alice added Julia’s name to the butterfly collection on the door—nice touch!  After she invited Maci to her birthday celebration, Julia was petitioned by the other two girls in the 2^nd grade for invitations—an overall good sign.  Of course, the person she is closest with in that class is Alex, but he probably won’t care about birthday parties.  I did confirm today that the Chinese have birthday cakes and candles (it came up on a worksheet I was doing with a child, counting birthday candles, and it occurred to me that it might be a cultural roadblock).  They don’t have napkins, per se, which, I have to say, is driving me crazy! 

Julia and Alex entertaining each other in the van this morning:

We scootered to Carrefoure after school, in search of a bike bell to add to the scooter—it cost 3.20 yuan, equal to about 48 cents!  Very plastic of course.  I suggested to Julia that we buy a dozen to take home, as replacements for the guaranteed breakage.  Along the sidewalk of Dong Hai Lui (East Sea Street) are modern city buildings—hotels, banks, office buildings, residences.  Interspersed are some interesting Chinese decorative elements:  sculptures and elaborate gateways caught my eye today.  I was struck by the fact that I have no idea what this giant urn sculpture is about; it might be as famous as the Statue of Liberty or the David, for all I know.  Even after the experience of the 20^th century, Asian culture is still mysterious.  I fear reducing it to a handful of obvious generalities/stereotypes, but I can’t really prevent that from happening, as my knowledge is so limited!

Much of the art and sculpture is very colorful

Some looks like the traditional images we often see in the West of China

One of the elaborate gateways

We are talking about changing the routine for lunch for the 3s and 4s at the school.  This has resulted in me discussing the idea of a lunch break with the principal—the Montessori classroom is the only room in which the teacher and aides don’t get a lunch break.  The principal revealed that the Chinese system is to hire someone to work for 8 hours with no break, and including weekend work, for a pittance compared to the ‘western’ staff members.  This was attributed to authoritarianism, devotion to the system, traditional ways, and the result of supply and demand for employees.  I have stored this away in a mental folder with the observation that in any store I enter, even the quick shop on the corner, there are what can only be described as an excess of employees.  In a department store, there will be a uniformed salesperson standing, hands behind back, every 6-8 feet.  There are jobs for everyone, of some sort or other.  Thus, the numerous crews of landscape workers who march out every day with garden tools, birch brooms, blue uniform jackets, and headscarfs.  Also in this folder is the observation shared with me that the Chinese are ‘doing a good job’ of using ‘national’ power to improve the country.  For instance, I was told that the government has planted 100s and 100s of thousands of trees in the recent decade.  Are these examples of how government can be a good thing?  (re the current American political dialogue).  I have been told repeatedly, too, that Chinese public schools have 50-60 students in a class, and often 30 or more classrooms in a school.  Too, this is the country which requires stamps and documents for all sorts of seemingly ordinary activities.  Julia has had to acquire an alien resident document, renewable every 30 days, because she is here on a student visa.  The local officials want to know where she is and when. 

It’s complicated! And it’s not like America is above reproach!  In terms of the aides, I have been given permission (even encouraged) to arrange informal breaks for them.  Do they want that? Would they take advantage of something so outside the norm?  am I imposing my western values on them? Or is this a universal issue—the right to and need for breaks while at work?

The aides and I had a brief discussion of adoption today; one was moved to tell me that although she might have had other views of the motivation for adoption, she can see, in meeting Julia and me, that the motivation could be a wholly good one.  It was quite a compliment, and made me very aware that for some people, Julia and I together represent what might be taken as a condemnation of China.  Our conversation today, obviously, entered the personal, which again I took as a compliment.  The younger of the two, after listening to me talk about homeschooling my children and Maggie’s trajectory from this program, asked me for advice on how to figure out what she ‘wants out of life.’  This was even more momentous than getting to name a child!  I begged away from having the answers to life!  And we all talked more about doing good and being/creating happy as significant goals.  Sometimes that can be hard to translate into day-to-day living, as we all know!  She is scheduled to get special Montessori training this summer; she told me she wants to be a Montessori teacher.  But the training is very expensive, and it is clearly a worry for her.  Her parents will help with the bill (and the school will give a small grant), but the expense will hit them hard.  Would that I were a fairy godmother who could rain some largess on her; she is amazingly hardworking and cheerful and amenable, and also clearly bright and analytical.  She will make a good Montessori teacher; she has delighted in the reinstatement of order and learning in the classroom. 

We ARE becoming regulars—we recognized someone on the bus home today (the boy and his grandmother who were mentioned in connection to giving up places to children on buses)!  Pretty good in such a big city!  Julia was again afflicted with a seat; she did her best to refuse but there was no gainsaying the three different people who sprang to their feet!  She desperately wants to stand by the door, hanging on to the pole.   I noticed her great increase in confidence on the bus today:  as we got to our stop, we had to negotiate the scooter, a box (with a new saucepan), her back pack and mine out of the seats and around the moderately crowded riders.  She claimed the box, shouldered her bag, stepped up to the door, and stepped off the bus when the door opened, never looking back, not checking to see if I was right there and not getting separated from her.  She stepped up on the sidewalk and started walking away, still not looking back!  Wholly different than two Saturdays ago when we took our first ride downtown.  Alas, there were no children riding the community hill when we got there, for her to ‘show off’ her bell to.  I assured her we would have many more days of riding that hill.  Reality is where you are at.

Our sweet, silly girl