Kamehameha Schools

Reflections of TWB - China

By: Erin Wilson

In July and August of 2006, I completed my third consecutive summer as a Teachers Without Borders volunteer, and as in previous years, I came away from this experience learning far more than I had hoped for. Even though I consider myself a seasoned volunteer and traveler, this summer’s trip to China had some surprises that stretched both my personal and professional abilities to their limits and taught me the ever-important and difficult lesson of humility, which is probably the single best reason for supporting service-based professional development. While in China, I met many gracious, hard-working, respectful, and elegant people. If I were a teenager again, I would want these types of people to be my teachers, and even though I can only hope to emulate the character of some of these incredible educators, administrators, and students, by doing so, I think that I am a better teacher and person.

China is a country rich in history, tradition, and natural beauty. Yet Chinese society is still very dominated by communist principles, and this summer, I became much more aware of the concept of the individual verses the collective whole. I was nurtured in an environment that supported and encouraged me to be an independent person, and although I always understood that there were other people in my world, it took a considerable amount of maturity before I recognized my role as a citizen in the greater American society. In China, both students and teachers are dedicated to the success of their country; the government ensures patriotism. For example, a Chinese mailing address starts with the name of the recipient’s country and then the name of the recipient. This is almost the opposite of a western mailing address. In China, teachers and schools are evaluated on average test scores of all their pupils, and there is not a lot of room for failure, especially in terms of the mandatory standardized tests that all Chinese students need to pass in order to move from middle school to high school and from high school to college.

After working with Chinese teachers in JinTang and Du Jiangyan this summer, I am grateful that my students at Kamehameha Schools are guaranteed an education through high school and that their future after high school is determined by many more factors than a single exam. SAT scores are a large part of a college application, but, for the most part, American universities evaluate their applicants as complex people who cannot be accurately represented by a set of numbers generated by a standardized test. After talking with the Chinese teachers about these cumulative exams and their working situations, I better understand the value in annually accounting for student knowledge by using standardized tests, but I am glad that my administration does not put the type of pressure on me that the Chinese education officials put on their teachers. In China, every student in every class is expected to succeed, and the responsibility for making sure this happens falls directly on the teachers’ shoulders. I had several teachers tell me that they are often required to work with students who are behind academically, for hours after school. I admire the dedication of these teachers, but after this summer, I have a much greater respect for the resources available to my students, and me, in terms of counselors and education specialists. I plan to better educate myself and utilize every one them.

Classroom situations for Chinese teachers are considerably more difficult than it is for the majority of American teachers. Not only are their facilities smaller and less comfortable, but they also have class sizes in excess of 60 students. While teaching, their focus is on the entire class; whereas, my focus in the classroom often shifts from how the entire class is doing to the progress of a single student. Through my experience in China, I have become much more aware of how lucky I am to be a Kamehameha Schools teacher and have the ability to work individually or in small groups with students. I will not take this fact for granted, and I will better utilize this resource. As a result of my experience in China, I will spend more time working one-on-one with each of my students, and when needed, I will find additional resources to help each one be successful. I work at an incredible institution, and there is no excuse for students to fail or fall behind academically.

The Chinese teachers taught me some better ways to assess my students for understanding while covering new concepts. They shared some common hand signals used in the classroom to non-verbally communicate with teachers. The use of hand signals allows students to ask a questions without stopping the flow of a lecture, disturbing the entire class, or, perhaps most importantly in the world of adolescents, drawing attention to themselves. Since I was working with middle school educators who teach English as a foreign language, their students had many hand signals having to do with oral language skills. Chinese students use hand signals to ask teachers to slow down , to speak louder, or to repeat words or phrases. Teaching a science curriculum may involve hundreds of new vocabulary terms, and it can be very similar to teaching a foreign language. I plan to use these hand signals in my classroom this year because I want my students to be more comfortable with biology vocabulary. I want my students to correctly use scientific terms in order to articulate their ideas when completing written assignments or participating in classroom discussions. I think that using hand signals will encourage students to let me know if I am getting ahead of them during a lecture and to ask questions about new vocabulary. Because of this improved communication, it will be easier for me to make sure that my entire class understands the material I am presenting before I move from one concept to the next.

One of the reasons I became a teacher was because of the types of people I meet on the job, and this summer was no exception. I learned so much about myself as an educator and a person, from the other members of the TWB team; everyone of them was an inspiration. I am especially grateful for the time I spent with Fred Mednick, founder of Teachers’ Without Borders, and Yunus Peer, founder and director of Teachers’ Without Borders-South Africa and TWB - China. These two men are world class dreamers and somehow when I’m around them I am inspired by the positive change they are making on a global level through their dreams, hard work, and their passion.

Working as a volunteer facilitator for TWB-China was a way for me to “give back” some of the educational privileges I have had in my life. Teaming with TWB colleagues Diane, Andy, Gail, Freddie, Harold, and Katie was truly a pleasure. I am grateful to Kamehameha Schools for providing me the opportunity to join Teachers Without Borders - China in 2006.