Sports Week: Part II

(Find Sports Week Part I here.)

Friday was the teachers' day for competing. Finally, a chance to show American dominance! I did my part by taking lots of photos. Gareth did his part by actually doing something.

Gareth and Richard competed in the 4x100 relay, which consisted of running back and forth since the running "track" (dirt path) wasn't big enough to accommodate four teams. Can you guess who won?

Winning is so tiring. And great.

That's right, 7th grade! I don't know what we got for doing well in the competition, but it probably has something to do with the 60,000 RMB ($9,000) per year budget that the school has for entertaining teachers and guests. I look forward to the meal!

The official name of Sports Week is something more along the lines of "Sports and Culture Week." On Wednesday night, we got to see the "culture" part of the week. For at least a few months, students have been preparing dance routines and singing duets to share with the rest of the school during the evening concert. Numerous groups dressed up in local minority group clothing to dance to traditional music, while another group focused on modern music and danced to Nelly's "Hot in Herre." For those who don't know, lyrics include, "It's getting hot in here/so take off all your clothes." Watching Chinese middle school students dance hip-hop to this song was, well... they tried really hard and had fun!

Girls trying really hard and having fun.

Gareth and I decided earlier in the day to put a song together and ended up performing a duet of "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. The microphone situation was pretty sketchy (Richard held one up to my guitar the entire song), but I'd say we played well and without any major hiccups. Many students told us that they liked our song and that we sang very well, so I'll take that as "not a total bomb." My first concert of many, perhaps. Once I get some hands on some pictures I'll put them up.

Sports Week was a great chance to be around my students in a relaxed atmosphere. Instead of requiring them to pay attention to everything I say and diligently take notes, they were free to compete in athletic events, sit around and chat with friends, or sit on the side of the field and play cards. Another unforeseen benefit: Whenever a student was being particularly annoying, I could just walk away! Not a luxury I have in the classroom.

It was also a great opportunity to see the greater variety of things that students are good at. I allowed a fair number of my students to borrow my camera and take pictures. Thanks to them, I have a lot of great photos that I never would have taken myself. In a school system where essentially two tests determine your academic fate (though you can choose to take none), I'm left wondering what kind of talents and interests students aren't able to develop because of the strict and oftentimes life-draining curriculum. Sure there's art and music class a few times a week, but it's prohibitively difficult for students to develop those skills to a high enough level that would grant them access to better opportunities.

It's now more clear than ever that all of my students have talents, though many of their talents don't fit directly into what's required to be successful in school. Good grades are rewarded, while all but the most exceptional athletes and artists have no chance of becoming successful enough to do much in those fields. I'm going to have to figure out how to turn their abilities outside the classroom into abilities inside the classroom. "Kevin, you can't become a fast runner without exercising. It's the same way with studying - you can't become a good student if you don't practice." We'll see how this works out.

Oh, and remember Kevin from part I? My students ended up raising a fuss about his 2nd place finish. After all, they argued, the first two to cross the line completed the race in 5 minutes and 39 seconds. Their logic swayed the teachers, so first place was awarded to both Kevin and the other student. Tragedy turns to victory!

See all of the photos from last week here. Below are a few of my favorite shots from this past week.