Adventures in Guangzhou!

The best part of teaching Reality TV is that the final project. This involves the kids going up to the front of the classroom in groups and performing a 5-10 minute segment of a Reality TV show of their choice. Besides forcing every student to have a speaking role, it also lets the creative juices flow a little, which is always a bonus for these kids. As a teacher, you never quite know what will happen when you give students free reign to create or perform something from scratch; It's part of what makes teaching interesting and exciting.

This year I had several noteworthy performances that are blog-worthy. I explained the concept of the makeover and how many shows like to take people and give them new clothes, a new hairstyle, or, in some extremes, plastic surgery. I was actually surprised how many of my students had seen "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Anyhow, several groups took the opportunity to "makeover" other classmates and it was hilarious.

I had more than a few girls actually bring in makeup, jewelry, and even different outfits to change into. Most of the time they actually tried to do a good job but I had one group that took a different slant to the idea. This particular crew took a very pretty girl and tried to make her as ugly as possible in a five minute period. Needless to say, it was a riot. By the end she had hair braided on one side and clipped in front of her face on the other. She had purple and green eyeshadow, bizarrely dark lipstick, and a sweater that would make even a homeless person blush.

Somewhat along these lines, I found that for the second year in a row, I had at least thirty students pretend to be a member of the opposite sex. For some of the makeover shows, there were boys who were supposed to be girls. In addition, there were girls who pretended to be the boyfriends of girls getting makeovers. And no--it was not due to a lack of boys or girls. More entertaining, though, were those who pretended to be the opposite sex in imitations of "The Bachelor."

In these performances there were boys pretending to be girls dating boys and vice versa. Every time it happened, the students shouted out things like "kiss!" or "get closer!" and then laughed hysterically. The laughter didn't surprise me as much as the willingness by all involved to switch genders. I can't decide whether it would happen more or less in the States, but it's pretty funny.

Another one of my favorites was when groups did versions of "American Idol." Much like "American Idol" is a ripoff of a British show, China ripped off "American Idol" and created a show called "Supergirls." As such, it's a very familiar format to the students and one they all enjoy. For the second year in a row, I was thoroughly impressed with how many students were willing to sing without accompaniment in front of the class. It's not just the outgoing kids, either. I had some timid students get up there and belt out with a voice I had barely heard before. Again, sometimes you just never know. Once a kid is in the right situation he or she might just surprise you.

Without a doubt, though, the highlight of the entire week was one particular "contestant" in an American Idol performance. This girl had not previously made a name for herself, other than being completely lost in the crowd. With 360 students, I know all the really good ones, all the ones that struggle, and all the ones with strong personalities. It's the ones in the middle that often get lost in the shuffle. Sad, but true.

Anyhow, if I had to describe her, I would say that she's the quiet, homely type that probably doesn't do too many sports but always hands her homework in on time. She got up to the front of the class and without warning plugged her mp3 player into the speaker system and launched into a rap. I didn't know the song but it was definitely by an American gangsta-style rap artist and was complete with curses, sexual innuendo, and more slang than I would ever want to explain. I was *floored*. Usually I would stop something that involved so many four-letter words but I was just completely shocked! What brought it to the next level was the fact that her pronunciation was perfect--not an easy task, especially given how fast the words had to come out of her mouth.

She finished the song and I was flabbergasted. I have no idea where she found the song, how she learned it, if she had any idea what the words meant, or if she knew any other raps, but I was pretty impressed with her courage. A lot of the students seem either confused or disinterested, but I gave her a hearty round of applause.