Opening for middle school

Each morning we start middle school activities with singing. Bridger leads the group in our morning song.

Post by Charlie

Alumni visit

It is great to visit with English Camp alumni. Mandy (left) and Cindy (right) attended the English Camp and now have moved on to high school. Mandy is attending the number high school one school in Doumen and Cindy attends the number one high school in Zhuhai. Both ladies worked on our camp newspaper and Cindy recently was a reporter for her school to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting in South China. It is good to see former English Camp reporters move on to bigger and better things.

Post by Charlie (middle)

Breakfast

Luke (Greg in the back) talk with students during breakfast. We all enjoy breakfast and lunch. These meals provide time for visiting with students and teachers.

Post by Charlie

Starting Week Two - The Children Invade!

I woke up this morning to the calm, cool sounds of my neighborhood.  Roosters were crowing (I live kind of on the edge of town and many people have gardens and keep chickens) and I could hear the sounds of a few neighbors starting to stir as they prepared to go to work.

 

But all of that is going to change in a little over an hour as THE KIDS COME!  As Luke mentioned yesterday, we had initially planned for a little under 100 primary and middle school students.  As of yesterday afternoon (Sunday for us), there were 128!  Various people with influence had heard about the camp (remember, it was on TV and in the paper!) and had called asking to get their children into the camp.  That means we go from about 13 students per group (in Middle School) to about 21.  It will be a zoo!  A squirmy, fun, smiley, loud zoo – but still a zoo.  The energy level will be high and it is going to be a lot of fun.  Personally, I’m not convinced that there won’t be a few more last minute additions – but we’ll see.  It will all work out.

 

So I’m going to read from my Book, commit the day to the father, and head out shortly.  All of us hope that you, too, will be remembering us as we start today.

 

Jeff Sherlock

Schedules for Camp are reviewed

Luke and Adam (one of the Chinese administrators) review our schedule for students.

Post by Charlie

English Camp Planning

Joy works on material for Monday's start of English Camp.

Week one done!

We have finished the first week of training.  It went very smoothly.  Everyone on the team is doing a great job.  Folks seem generally healthy except for a few minor digestive things generally associated with international travel. 

Since arriving, we found out that they had a difficult time controlling the number of kids enrolling in the camp beginning next week.  Lots of officials have asked for their children to have a place in the camp.  So, instead of the 96 students that we planned for, we will have 128!  A challenge, but not really a problem.  I appreciate everyone's positive and flexible spirit.

Some of the Chinese teachers seem very intimidated to teach in front of their colleagues and the American trainers.  By the end of the day yesterday, everyone seemed to be embracing the challenge, but there were a few stressful moments for folks along the way.

Bridger and Bronwen will join us in Doumen this evening.  Charlie is on his way and will arrive in Doumen at 11:00 AM on Sunday.  On Sunday afternoon, the whole Doumen team will meet at the training school to prepare the rooms for Weeks two and three.

Greg will be golfing this afternoon with Mr. Li, a very important official in the Doumen government.  We hope they will enjoy fruitful conversation about future expanded opportunities on the golf course.

Post from Luke.

What's wrong with me, Doctor

"Doctors" meet with "patients" to ask about "symptoms" and write notes and "treatments" on their "charts." Jana shows the teachers how to work with large classes. She can quickly get an idea of student's progress by looking at the charts.
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Publicity

As the camp has gotten under way, the news media has shown up. Early in the week, Luke was interviewed on TV. On Wednesday, the local paper came. Yesterday, a TV reporter attended our afternoon free talk.

In this picture, a group of teachers discusses moral lessons from the story, "Hans the Shepherd Boy.". The caption says something like, "American Professor comes to teach English."

(posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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How many students are in your class?

Many Chinese teachers teach classes that are unimaginably large by North American standards. In this picture, Jana Hoobler talks to two teachers. One teacher has about 70 students; the other has 64. Teacher's aides? Nope. This was Jana's introduction to her lesson, "Challenge #1: Managing a Large Class." a quotable Jana-ism from her lecture: "It's brutal out there."
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Ni Hao!

Hey there!

My time here so far has been wonderful! The host family they connected me with is awesome! They love to laugh! Sometimes we sit around the table at night laughing hysterically about four different things (because of the language barrier)! AND I LOVE IT! They are such good hostesses. They have helped me feel right at home.

The teachers camp has been going very well. We have "Free Talks" everyday so that the teachers have an opportunity to speak and practice their fluency. My group becomes more and more comfortable speaking in English.  In some ways, I feel honored that they feel safe around me and the rest of the group to step outside of what might feel comfortable to them. I thoroughly enjoy hearing about their lives and families.
 
(posted by Joy Hersey)

Using the textbook effectively

Like American teachers, Chinese teachers have proscribed textbooks - and very important tests for which they must prepare their students. Val talks about how to plan activities that help students manage their class time for effectiveness.

(posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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Family Coat of Arms

My family has...
My family is...
My family enjoys...
My family goes to...

Susie leads the teachers in an activity called "Family Coat of Arms." The activity helps students enhance learning through visual, aural and spatial involvement. That's what Susie said, at least.

(posted by Jeff Sherlock)
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Day 3 is about to begin

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)

 

Technology shrinks the world

Anne introduces her Chinese host family to her family in Pennsylvania using FaceTime on her iPhone.

The first week of training continues

Valerie makes a point during her lesson, "What makes a Great Lesson?"
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A Great Teacher is Like ...

Teachers write metaphors to describe the characteristics of great teachers.  My group used the following metaphors to describe great teachers: candle, farmer, the moon, a policeman, a gardener, a mountain, the sea.  They then had to explain why they chose this metaphor, and write out their descriptions on butcher paper.

 

Day One went relatively smoothly; we have a few “tweaks” for tomorrow, but we are off to a good start.

 

Thanks for your continuing thoughts.

 

Valerie talks with teachers

Val asks teachers to make objects with Play-doh (dog, letter P, tree, book, map of China), then uses those objects to discuss the vital role of a teacher.
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Teacher training begins

Luke opens the teacher training by introducing the goals of the camp.
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The team arrives in Hong Kong

After a LONG flight, the rest of the team arrived in Hong Kong (except Charlie who will come next Saturday). We all got checked in at the Booth Lodge, and most of us went out to eat at the night market. Sitting outside eating Chinese food and sweating - it's a great introduction to Asia. Tomorrow morning, we take a morning ferry to China, meet our host families, and we're ready to go. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Enjoyed a day in Hong Kong

We enjoyed a day walking around Hong Kong with Bridger and some of his college friends. They helped us snap a family photo at the Temple Street Market. Another night at Booth Lodge and then off to Macau tomorrow.

Fetters together in Hong Kong

Audrey, Bronwen and I arrived at Booth Lodge in Hong Kong last evening - just about 24 hours after leaving our house. I'm enjoying Rice Krispies and coffee from the Booth Lodge breakfast buffet. Our son, Piers, met us at the airport and stayed with us last night. We had a nice dinner and got to hear about his internship getting off to a good start out in the New Territories. Our other son, Bridger, will be coming over from Macau to Hong Kong this morning - our first time together as a family since March 1, 2010. We'll send a picture! Please be thinking about the rest of the team as they get ready to travel from Fort Wayne on Thursday morning. We'll converge in Zhuhai on Saturday morning.

Jeff arrives in Hong Kong

Charlie Chapman told me that in my last posted picture, I looked like a convict and that I should smile. After a 14.5 hour flight (which was about 40 minutes shorter than expected), I'm a little too tired to smile, so I'll post a picture of the Hong Kong skyline instead.

I'll stay in Hong Kong a couple of days, then head to China. I will visit a student doing an internship there, then head back a week from today to meet the rest of the team coming in.

Jeff heads to China

Jeff Sherlock leaves this morning. Here, he does some last minute emailing from the Chicago airport.
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Team Training

Here is our team picture.  Back row from the left; Terry, Greg, Charlie, and Luke.  Middle row, Ruth, Susan, Valerie, Jeff, Nancy, Audrey, and Bronwen. Front, Anne, Joy, and Shoshannah. Not pictured; Bridger, Jenaya, Donna, Jana, and Agnes.

 Left to right, Greg watches as Ruth listens to Valerie describe a role-play exercise.

 The team reviews TESOL material (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages),