Teaching

Oh yeah. That's what I came to China to do. Teach!

Recap: I arrived in the middle of the last school week before China's Mid-Autumn Festival and spent the first two days doing paperwork and getting logistical details worked out with the school, Access International Academy Ningbo, better referred to as AIAN: visa stuff, getting insurance, a bank account, figuring out class schedules/assignments, completing my medical exam, etc. Then I fell pretty sick and had to take a sick day on my third day, which was the Friday before the break. Luckily I hadn't started teaching. So I had the week-long break during the first week in October to recuperate and do a bit of lesson-planning.

So here's the story on the English Language Learning (ELL) program here at AIAN. Respected and working integrally with the other teachers and staff members at the school, the ELL program is run by a team of four of us teachers--two for Elementary, and two of us for Middle School/High School.

• Pat teaches grades 1-3. There are a lot of young ELLs (English Language Learners) that need individualized attention, therefore we implement a blended system of both pull-out teaching and pushing in support. In the pull-out method, students go to Pat's classroom during their Language Arts/English time. Pushing in means that Pat provides ELL support within the classroom (Pat co-teaches and plans ELL-friendly lessons with the grade level teachers).
• The ELL Coordinator, Line (pronounced like "Lynn") teaches grades 4/5 in a pull-out system (they come to her classroom for language arts attention).
• Naheed was teaching all the Middle School and High School ELLs (a class in addition to their language arts class). 
• But a need arose for an Intensive English Program (IEP) to be instated at AIAN. About a third of the MS and HS ELLs (~8) are new Chinese, Korean, or Japanese students, with very minimal and basic English skills. They need to be removed for their first semester at AIAN to take almost exclusive ELL class. 
• Now, with my arrival, Naheed will teach the IEP students, and I will teach the remaining intermediate-level MS and HS ELLs (~16 students).

The IEP launches later this week. So until the classes reduce and schedules change, I am teaching all MS and HS ELL students in a confusing, overlapping schedule that only Mom and Dad are interested in knowing, as far as I'm concerned. (Let me know if I'm mistaken; otherwise I won't go into scheduling details.) Flexibility is the name of the game with this program. It's a pilot and trial run, so we'll see what happens after this semester.

This is AIAN from outside the front gate. (My classroom
will be in the far lefthand side of this front building.)

The other matter has been regarding whether I have a classroom, and what that looks like. Well, about that... I haven't had a classroom. There was a bit of a scheduling/space issue, and after weeks of deliberation and finagling, looking available (and not available spaces), we finally just today came up with an option. One of our teachers (the Head of the HS Dept. and Curriculum Organizer) will be moving into another room, and I'll be taking his old room. It's on the third floor of the school's main building. AND it has working A/C, but more importantly HEAT!!! We'll be needing that in a month or so, I'm guessing. It's still pretty warm for now. It's a nice room. I'll put up photos when I'm settled in.

That's the school scoop for now. It's more than long enough!