Friday, April 18, 2008
It was the last day at the Jinan Middle School #12. It was rather warm in my room last evening, for some reason even with the windows open it never really cooled off. I had my usual Chinese breakfast in the hotel which consisted of fried dumplings; something else that looked like a boiled dumpling; a hard boiled egg; sweet, warm milk; watermelon slices; and cherry tomatoes. Chinese breakfast food is a lot like luncheon Chinese food, only on a smaller scale. For lunch we had about 100 selections. For breakfast about 25 selections but no seafood, fish or meat. I packed my bags and was in the hotel lobby by 8:20 AM and my interpreter, Mrs. Hou was already there with the math teacher/driver, Mr. Lee. I gave them both a small gift for being so attentive and considerate.
Back at the school the principal had arranged for me to see one last class. It was a ninth grade math class taught by Mrs. Jho. There were fifty-three students in this class and it was again located in one of the three rooms with an LCD projector. The class started the typical way, with all students standing up and greeting the teacher a good morning. Then the teacher used an original PowerPoint presentation as the main instructional focus. The lesson was a geometry lesson involving proofs. Rules were given in the PowerPoint for establishing the congruence of triangles using the standard forms (i.e. angle –side-angle) and then various geometric problems were displayed on the screen for students to solve. Students were often given time to discuss answers with their partners, or turn around and discuss in small groups. Mrs. Jho called on students to stand up to give answers of some proofs, occasionally asked a student to come up to the blackboard to answer a proof, and occasionally had a student come up to the screen to explain the solution to a problem. She also circulated at times, coming down each aisle to review student work as they worked independently on problems. As in most classes that I observed, student engagement was superior, and so was “time-on-task.” Class ended with all students standing, and reciting something in Chinese that basically said that class was finished. Only the principal and I observed this lesson, but the principal once again took notes on a formal, observation reporting booklet. I thanked the teacher for a very fine presentation.
Back in the conference room I talked either with the principal or Mrs. Ho informally, unless they were called away for a task. I heard the regular music that was played between the second and third classes and walked to the window. I was surprised to see the entire soccer field filled with students, standing in straight lines, doing calisthenics. There were also students running in formation all around the campus buildings. I went up a flight of stairs to photograph this impressive site. It was impressive.
Next I walked around the campus for a few pictures of buildings that I never had chance to photograph and returned to the conference room for some final conversations. I presented the “Proclamation of Appreciation” signed by Dr. Brady and the Amity Board of Education President, Mr. Bill Blake. The principal was truly grateful and expressed sincere interest in visiting the Amity Middle School in the fall. And, since I had raved about the quality of lunch yesterday, they took me back to the very same restaurant for the farewell meal. This was typical of good Chinese hospitality. The “power” lunch included the two top ranking administrators: the principal, Mr. Zhang; the secretary of the Communist Party, Mr. Tan. It also included my interpreter Mrs. Hou; the driver/math teacher, Mr. Lee and me. After lunch I said thanked and said goodbye to Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tan. Mr. Lee and Mrs. Hou were given the assignment of dropping me off at the hotel. We had an hour to spare before I needed to meet my Connecticut colleagues at the Shandong Hotel, so they took me to a beautiful park just opposite the hotel. I walked into the Shandong Hotel just after 3:00PM. (The hotel is palatial and looks like the Times Square Marriot Hotel in NYC, only twice as large.) It was a sad goodbye to my two friends from the Jinan Middle School #12. I was amazed at how quickly we had established a relationship. However, my Connecticut colleagues were also arriving (or were also there), and we quickly began to compare notes, stories, and generalizations about our “Sister Schools” and our widely-varying accommodations for the past few days. These conversations were carried on for several hours, most at a local restaurant in the park that I had walked in earlier. I returned back to my room rather early, to finish my notes, update my blog, and to get ready for tomorrow’s trip to the birthplace of Confucius, a city named Qufu. (pronounced “chewfu”).
It was the last day at the Jinan Middle School #12. It was rather warm in my room last evening, for some reason even with the windows open it never really cooled off. I had my usual Chinese breakfast in the hotel which consisted of fried dumplings; something else that looked like a boiled dumpling; a hard boiled egg; sweet, warm milk; watermelon slices; and cherry tomatoes. Chinese breakfast food is a lot like luncheon Chinese food, only on a smaller scale. For lunch we had about 100 selections. For breakfast about 25 selections but no seafood, fish or meat. I packed my bags and was in the hotel lobby by 8:20 AM and my interpreter, Mrs. Hou was already there with the math teacher/driver, Mr. Lee. I gave them both a small gift for being so attentive and considerate.
Back at the school the principal had arranged for me to see one last class. It was a ninth grade math class taught by Mrs. Jho. There were fifty-three students in this class and it was again located in one of the three rooms with an LCD projector. The class started the typical way, with all students standing up and greeting the teacher a good morning. Then the teacher used an original PowerPoint presentation as the main instructional focus. The lesson was a geometry lesson involving proofs. Rules were given in the PowerPoint for establishing the congruence of triangles using the standard forms (i.e. angle –side-angle) and then various geometric problems were displayed on the screen for students to solve. Students were often given time to discuss answers with their partners, or turn around and discuss in small groups. Mrs. Jho called on students to stand up to give answers of some proofs, occasionally asked a student to come up to the blackboard to answer a proof, and occasionally had a student come up to the screen to explain the solution to a problem. She also circulated at times, coming down each aisle to review student work as they worked independently on problems. As in most classes that I observed, student engagement was superior, and so was “time-on-task.” Class ended with all students standing, and reciting something in Chinese that basically said that class was finished. Only the principal and I observed this lesson, but the principal once again took notes on a formal, observation reporting booklet. I thanked the teacher for a very fine presentation.
Back in the conference room I talked either with the principal or Mrs. Ho informally, unless they were called away for a task. I heard the regular music that was played between the second and third classes and walked to the window. I was surprised to see the entire soccer field filled with students, standing in straight lines, doing calisthenics. There were also students running in formation all around the campus buildings. I went up a flight of stairs to photograph this impressive site. It was impressive.
Next I walked around the campus for a few pictures of buildings that I never had chance to photograph and returned to the conference room for some final conversations. I presented the “Proclamation of Appreciation” signed by Dr. Brady and the Amity Board of Education President, Mr. Bill Blake. The principal was truly grateful and expressed sincere interest in visiting the Amity Middle School in the fall. And, since I had raved about the quality of lunch yesterday, they took me back to the very same restaurant for the farewell meal. This was typical of good Chinese hospitality. The “power” lunch included the two top ranking administrators: the principal, Mr. Zhang; the secretary of the Communist Party, Mr. Tan. It also included my interpreter Mrs. Hou; the driver/math teacher, Mr. Lee and me. After lunch I said thanked and said goodbye to Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tan. Mr. Lee and Mrs. Hou were given the assignment of dropping me off at the hotel. We had an hour to spare before I needed to meet my Connecticut colleagues at the Shandong Hotel, so they took me to a beautiful park just opposite the hotel. I walked into the Shandong Hotel just after 3:00PM. (The hotel is palatial and looks like the Times Square Marriot Hotel in NYC, only twice as large.) It was a sad goodbye to my two friends from the Jinan Middle School #12. I was amazed at how quickly we had established a relationship. However, my Connecticut colleagues were also arriving (or were also there), and we quickly began to compare notes, stories, and generalizations about our “Sister Schools” and our widely-varying accommodations for the past few days. These conversations were carried on for several hours, most at a local restaurant in the park that I had walked in earlier. I returned back to my room rather early, to finish my notes, update my blog, and to get ready for tomorrow’s trip to the birthplace of Confucius, a city named Qufu. (pronounced “chewfu”).
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