Saturday, September 02, 2006
Since I'm here on an educational exchange, I should write about the educational practices that I see. The first and foremost, of course, is their national exam!
Students leaving 11th grade take one exam that covers all the major subjects. For entering a university, this one exam dictates their future. All the course grades and previous report cards don't matter if you don't score well on this test - university admittance is dependent on this exam. Think SAT and Regents tests, and multiply by 10 (though the test is only several hours long). On my first visit to my school, I noticed students and parents were arriving at short intervals, to meet with the principal. Some students were happy and joking, and others were depressed. I asked and was told that graduating students (they leave after 11th grade in most schools) meet to go over the test scores with the principal and sign up for a university. The principal helps guide them to an appropriate school (that is, which school will accept which score). The students sign up through the principal, and once a university is full, no one else can be admitted (so don't wait too long to meet with the principal).
Because of the importance of this exam, students spend much of their 11th grade year studying. They take private courses outside of school, and neglect their regular class studies to the extent that many miss most of the last 2 months of school. They will get doctor's notes to excuse them from class, but everyone knows they're home studying!
Now, as an educator, to hear that great effort is being put into studying is wonderful. However, to weigh one test so much in an academic-minded student's future is crazy (especially if a student is not a good test-taker). As a teacher of one group of 11th graders, I will have mixed feelings. I will be preparing lessons, and yet may only have 2 or 3 students show. It will certainly cut down on my grading load. But I will also want my students to do well on their exams. It sounds very different than the "buyers market" mentality of U.S. graduates and colleges (certainly there are exclusive schools, but even MIT doesn't select students based on only one test).
For my 11th grade class, which meets 4 times a week, I am responsible for reading short stories and helping the students with their writing. Two other teachers (my team) will be teaching the grammar and literary analysis portion of the class. I have been given four paperbacks of short stories (many of the authors are taught in U.S. schools), and I am adding some of the stories and lessons I brought from home). My 11th graders are an advanced class, many of whom will be going to teach English in the future, so this class should most resemble my U.S. classes.
In addition to my 11th grade class, I have six or seven 10th grade classes that meet once a week. These are my project classes. The students will be taught "English" in another class, but their major project grades will come from activities I create. After reading a story in a class, the students will work on culminating projects based on those stories under my supervision (partly to give the students a class to do homework, since it wasn't getting done at home). I like this idea, as I get to be creative with projects, and after assigning the students work, I have some time to help them (and since I'm grading it, they should listen). If the students are eager to work, this should also make it an enjoyable class.
My last class, of which I have two sections, are the prep classes. These are made up of beginner English students, so there is a wide range of ability. I have yet to figure out how to approach these classes, and only have one week before they arrive. I expect to depend on the help of other teachers as I start this class. I'll let you know what happens later.
Thanks to all who have written positive feedback. I especially like to find out how my experiences resemble those of others (I never realized how many international experiences my peers have had). I still have to walk to an internet cafe, but we finally got our phone hooked up, so our own internet at our apartment can't be too far behind...
Students leaving 11th grade take one exam that covers all the major subjects. For entering a university, this one exam dictates their future. All the course grades and previous report cards don't matter if you don't score well on this test - university admittance is dependent on this exam. Think SAT and Regents tests, and multiply by 10 (though the test is only several hours long). On my first visit to my school, I noticed students and parents were arriving at short intervals, to meet with the principal. Some students were happy and joking, and others were depressed. I asked and was told that graduating students (they leave after 11th grade in most schools) meet to go over the test scores with the principal and sign up for a university. The principal helps guide them to an appropriate school (that is, which school will accept which score). The students sign up through the principal, and once a university is full, no one else can be admitted (so don't wait too long to meet with the principal).
Because of the importance of this exam, students spend much of their 11th grade year studying. They take private courses outside of school, and neglect their regular class studies to the extent that many miss most of the last 2 months of school. They will get doctor's notes to excuse them from class, but everyone knows they're home studying!
Now, as an educator, to hear that great effort is being put into studying is wonderful. However, to weigh one test so much in an academic-minded student's future is crazy (especially if a student is not a good test-taker). As a teacher of one group of 11th graders, I will have mixed feelings. I will be preparing lessons, and yet may only have 2 or 3 students show. It will certainly cut down on my grading load. But I will also want my students to do well on their exams. It sounds very different than the "buyers market" mentality of U.S. graduates and colleges (certainly there are exclusive schools, but even MIT doesn't select students based on only one test).
For my 11th grade class, which meets 4 times a week, I am responsible for reading short stories and helping the students with their writing. Two other teachers (my team) will be teaching the grammar and literary analysis portion of the class. I have been given four paperbacks of short stories (many of the authors are taught in U.S. schools), and I am adding some of the stories and lessons I brought from home). My 11th graders are an advanced class, many of whom will be going to teach English in the future, so this class should most resemble my U.S. classes.
In addition to my 11th grade class, I have six or seven 10th grade classes that meet once a week. These are my project classes. The students will be taught "English" in another class, but their major project grades will come from activities I create. After reading a story in a class, the students will work on culminating projects based on those stories under my supervision (partly to give the students a class to do homework, since it wasn't getting done at home). I like this idea, as I get to be creative with projects, and after assigning the students work, I have some time to help them (and since I'm grading it, they should listen). If the students are eager to work, this should also make it an enjoyable class.
My last class, of which I have two sections, are the prep classes. These are made up of beginner English students, so there is a wide range of ability. I have yet to figure out how to approach these classes, and only have one week before they arrive. I expect to depend on the help of other teachers as I start this class. I'll let you know what happens later.
Thanks to all who have written positive feedback. I especially like to find out how my experiences resemble those of others (I never realized how many international experiences my peers have had). I still have to walk to an internet cafe, but we finally got our phone hooked up, so our own internet at our apartment can't be too far behind...
# posted by Michael Strich @ 1:58 AM 
