Day 2 of training (middle of the night for North American readers) went well. The Chinese teachers overall are enthusiastically engaged in the training (though some say their ears hurt from listening to English all day). The focus for Day One was “what makes a great teacher” and the focus for yesterday was “what makes a great lesson.” The focus for today will be on “meeting students’ needs” – something that can be challenging with 30, 40 or even 50+ students in one classroom without benefit of teacher aides!
Yesterday, during our morning/early afternoon free talk time we talked about the story of a little girl who let others take a bigger loaf of bread – and later found that the man who supplied the bread rewarded her selflessness by putting six silver coins in the smallest loaf. We had some interesting conversations about the first person sometimes becoming the last and vice versa.
In a later, optional free talk at the end of the day, we talked about an essay in which an American community college teacher stated that she was “tough, steely, and sometimes mean.” That conversation went many directions, but we were able to discuss the concept that no matter how hard we drive ourselves, we sometimes fail and we need someone to forgive us and help us. It was good. One teacher told me afterwards that she enjoyed the afternoon free talk very much because she liked discussing the ideas. We trust that the upcoming free talks will continue to lead toward even more important discussions.
In this picture, Nancy and a teacher from northern China relax and chat during a break.
Thanks for your continuing interest in our activities here.
(Posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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