Just Relax, Take it Easy, You're Still Young, That's Your Fault

This picture of Maowei and Tenzin is merely a pretty image for you to appreciate. It does not relate to the following.

It took me all week to catch up with school after going to Chengdu last weekend. Chengdu was being resistant, and my lame errands felt especially difficult to accomplish. China's beginning to get to me in that way again. I'll be happy when I'm back in Louisiana. America is inefficient, but in much more familiar ways.

Last semester, when I used the middle school books, we had time for decent activities and casual explanation. This term's high school books are solid, but with four months to teach a year of material there's never enough time for fun stuff. Every week they read newspapers, writing letters, essays, rewrites and diaries, and the first ten minutes of class is devoted to speeches. It was getting to be too much even for me.

I realized on my first break from class since the semester began that I wasn't being efficient enough with the student's time. The term is over in two months, and it's basically my last chance to pull some of the lower students out of a slump before I leave. Some of them have gotten so much better since I came, and some of them act as if they haven't learned a thing.

That said, I've shifted most of my blogging energy to Cenlamar, where I hope to raise the profile of interesting stories and issues relating to Central Louisiana. I am also receiving a week off for the People's Labor Holiday next week. I'll be traveling west to a few students' homes for the vacation.

Yesterday I taught a unit on musical styles. It was nice to have fun in class again. The listening tape for the book played a few American songs for the students, including John Lennon's So This Is Christmas and Father and Son by Cat Stevens. I had them listen closely to Cat's words on the second listening, which also got me listening closely to the song's lyrics,

But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow,
But your dreams may not.

The backs of my eyeballs began to get hot. Named Dekji lowered her face to hide her wet eyes. These students, especially my girls, think a lot about their friends, families, and what will happen after high school graduation. They open up to me in their diaries in the most amazing ways. They're Tibetan, but they always remind me of me (us) at that age.

Now that Blogspot is not being blocked at the moment, I'm going to begin posting student essays. It will give them a big kick to see their words online in English, and the rest of you will be able to get a glimpse into why I've grown so attached to these teenagers.