Teachers' Training (7-19)

I was in Luzhou for the Peace Corps Summer Project for two weeks. All volunteers are required to participate in a Summer Project after their first year. The project is to provide teachers’ training for rural teachers. Five of us, the others being from Group 18, were sent to Luzhou Vocational and Technical College. 

Getting from Wenjiang to Luzhou was an experience. Yang had told me which bus station to go to in Chengdu and had given me directions for getting there. Then I’d asked at the Wenjiang bus station and learned that there are two buses directly to Luzhou: one at 9:10 and one at 3:30. So I went to the bus station early on Monday. When I was at the ticket window at 8:40, the woman said “No.” Since I wasn’t sure if that meant no bus or no tickets, I asked at the information counter and learned that there were no tickets for the 9:10 bus. Using her translator, the woman informed/showed me that I could go to “five Gui Chao tea san and transfer.” I figured out that “tea san” was “station,” but I had no idea where that station was and knew it wasn’t the station Yang said to go to because that one started with W. Since I thought I needed to get to Luzhou before evening and didn’t know how to get to the W station from the bus station near the metro, I decided to go back and follow Yang’s directions; I knew they would get me to where I needed to be. Half way into Chengdu, I realized that “five Gui Chao” was “Wuguichao,” the station Yang told me to use. (“Wu” means “five” and the translator translated that syllable.) So the woman was sending me to the same station as Yang. But I still didn’t know where it was and was happy to be following the original directions.

A bus was leaving five minutes after I arrived; so I was lucky. Four hours after I left home I was on the way to Luzhou. Within five minutes of leaving the station, we were out of the city. The countryside we traveled through has a lot of corn and rice fields. We arrived in Luzhou in 3.5 hours, which was faster than I had thought it would be.

We had about 150 trainees divided into five classes. All were middle school teachers. On Tuesday, we did a brief assessment of their English level to divide out the top 60 to form two classes. We all noticed a clear difference between those classes and the others. However, there were a few who spoke pretty well in each of the other classes. But, in general, their English level was noticeably lower and they were less confident.

We saw each class for an hour a day; so the days were long day even though we had the standard 2.5 hours for the lunch break. Teaching the same thing five times in a day was wearing, especially on the very hot—about 97^o—and humid days. My topic was Methodology and Classroom Activities. I ended out mostly lecturing to give them ideas about how they can teach. Their classes range from 40 to over 70 students; so teaching is challenging.

On Tuesday of the second week, we had class photos instead of the first class. We foreign teachers were in the photos with every class. While they were being organized and after they were finished, teachers took the opportunity to take photos with us individually or in pairs. They were in the photo-taking mood. One time Lindsey and I were standing together and two or three of the teachers grouped over us for photos. We felt like the statues in amusement parks that people pose with and around for photos. They just kept changing people and formations while we stood there like statues. But they had a good time. When I asked a class later if they were happy, they said “yes.” When I asked why, they said because they had taken many photos.

Classes finished Wednesday with short classes on Thursday so they could practice for their presentations at the closing ceremony on Friday. It was good that they finished when they did because I had finished what I wanted to say to them. For review

on Thursday, I had them write three things they learned that they will use in their classes, three things that will help them improve their teaching. After discussing with a small group, they each stood up and told the whole class. They all took this seriously, and it was interesting to hear what they said. Many mentioned the lesson organization, reading skills, and planning that I had discussed in the last two days. Many mentioned the activities I had mentioned. Some mentioned vocabulary notebooks, writing, and speaking English most of the time. I was pleased that they felt like they had gained something to take back with them. Even if they don’t actually do all that they said they will, the seeds are planted.

Each class gave one of us our gifts: a hand-made paper umbrella and a piece of silk. The trainees had collected money to purchase these. They were given to us on the side by one of the teachers in the class. It was so different from Thailand where such gifts are given on stage with great ceremony. Winnie had told me that we would be given an umbrella and a garment. Later I learned that they had intended to have a dress and something for the men made for us but that there wasn’t time to take our measurements and have them made; so we got the piece of silk to do something with ourselves. The umbrellas are oil-coated paper that is an old traditional craft. The paper is soaked in oil, which is why they have a slight odor. They came in lovely silk-covered boxes. 

In addition, Lisa, the woman in charge, gave us the photos of each class that were taken on Tuesday.

Thursday night we were taken to dinner. The five assistants joined us as well as three people from the local education department. We went to a restaurant with a large table in a private room. The lazy Susan in the center moved around automatically. Several dishes were put on it, and we watched them go around for half an hour while we waited for the officials from the local education department to arrive. Then they opened the dinner with a toast, and we began to eat. As the dishes go around and pass you, you take a bite from the ones you choose. More dishes were brought (and completed ones removed) until we had over 25 different dishes. They included shrimp dumplings, roasted dog, cow stomach, small fish, pork, pork dumplings, a few vegetables, ginger, bamboo, a sweetened tree root, a sweet melon, and a few bowls of soup-like dishes. Many were spicy; so they were not for me. But there were plenty that I could eat and enjoy. We had buckwheat tea and wine along with the food. 

Lisa and some of the teacher assistants walked around and toasted/thanked each of us. Other toasts were made. When a toast is made, the people or, for a general toast, everyone, raise their wine glasses and then drink a bit. Since the wine was a strong red wine, not to my liking, I had very small sips followed by some tea. Worked for me.

Friday morning we had the closing ceremony. The morning began with a whole group photo that included the local dignitaries. Afterwards, we proceeded to the auditorium for the program. Two classes did short plays. Two groups read poetry. The rest sang. We also sang. The teachers enjoyed themselves. Then the local officials spoke. Dan said they spoke for a long time. Since I was used to such speeches in Thailand that were much longer, I thought they were fairly brief. 

We foreign teachers were given a large bouquet. They were lovely but seemed excessive since we were all leaving and couldn’t take them with us. I left mine in the lunch room for the cooks. Others left them in their rooms for the building caretakers. Certificates were given to the class monitors who later gave them to the teachers. They were in folders with the certificate on one side and a class photo on the other. I thought this was very nice. Everyone, including us, was also given a laminated photo of the whole group that had been taken earlier. 

One of the groups that had presented a play had used fans and gave each of us a fan after the program.

After the program, we had our final lunch. Then Lisa arranged for someone to take the others to the bus station and me to my hotel.

The school treated us very well. We each had a room to stay in. We were given three meals every day, which were prepared for us and served in a special room. Breakfast was a typical Chinese breakfast—porridge (only rice cooked in water, no flavor)—with a couple vegetables to put into it along with bread and sometimes eggs. Lunch and dinner were several dishes and fruit. Although it was very oily, the food was good. In addition, they provided fruit each afternoon.

The campus is not very attractive. Buildings are the typical white tile buildings in this area. They are crowded together, and there’s not a lot of green space. It made me appreciate the beautiful campus in Wenjiang even more. 

Bathrooms in the classroom building have open stalls that have a half wall and no door. There is a long trench with a hole in it over which you squat. Water flushes automatically every so often to clean the trench. It’s an old campus; whereas that in Wenjiang is new. I was told that this school will move to a new campus in several years.