US-CHINA School Administrator Shadowing Project 2014: Day 2 Sizhong

First, I had an opportunity to meet with the 8th grade English Department. Each morning they meet at 8:00 in their office and begin discussion about their lessons for the day. They explained that when they are not teaching class, they come to their office and plan, collaborate and discuss student work. They also have an open door policy for their middle school students for extra help or tutoring. This must be done during the students free time and they do not have to make an appointment. They also explained that they also frequent each other's classrooms to learn from their colleagues and to offer suggestions and feedback. I did notice four chairs in the back of every classroom for the colleagues to sit in. I then attended 2 grade 8 English classes and then met with the department to give feedback. They were very open to my suggestions and ideas. Class size really hinders personalized learning, it really is difficult to begin to comprehend how they manage so many students.

Next was lunch and a break --"to rest". After the break, I was told to be ready for 2:20 to be picked up by one of the vice principals. He showed up with his scooter and told me to sit in this little flat part of his bike on the back ( while dressed in my school clothes and had my school bag)--Not sure if anyone has ever seen the streets of China, or experienced the driving. But let me just say, walking on the streets is scary enough with the traffic, let alone sitting on the back of a scooter and having to trust someone to navigate through the crowds. But I survived

Wow..what a long day, it is almost 8:00pm,and I am just getting back to my room. I am trying to remember all the things did today--I learned how to make dumplings,learned calligraphy, gave a speech to 400 10th graders about American education, and watched what the Chinese call relaxation exercises ( 3 laps around the track and then marching exercises before dinner.)--Definitely,not my idea of RELAXATION. After dinner, the 9th graders and 12th grades come back to school to study for their exam until 7:30pm. Wow, Americans are not used to a long school day as this ----at all!