In Class

Lately I've been having some fun in class. I just got a bunch of pictures developed. The pictures are all from Michigan this summer and a few from last summer. I tried to get pictures of all the boring stuff that I would usually think is a waste of time.

When I first came to China these things were boring to talk about or show. Also Americans have a great fear of being called "rich" but I've finally gotten over it and realize that it is painfully obvious and I only lie if I deny it. I am so wealthy compared to my students.
When I show them pictures of home like this

and then say, "This is my parents' house."

I begin to get students asking me if the pictures are real or fake. They just can't believe that a place so clean or a house so beautiful exists for non-celebrities.


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Another event in class has been the mid-term exam. I have different groups teaching about 25 minutes of a class about a different decade in American history. They need to find things that are interesting and teach them in a way that involves students and actually be able to check if the class has learned anything.

This is not an easy task in a second language or with a style of teaching that is unfamiliar to them. Chinese teaching is almost always straight lecture with little interaction. Most of my students will be teachers and it's important for them to see different methods.

Some of the fashion sections of the classes got a lot of laughs. I really wish that this picture would have come out better but you get the idea. Has anyone ever seen a top hat this tall?!