dream out loud

Last week, we had the pleasure of/were subjected to three full days of professional development. My brain is still mush about it but I know it was valuable because it gave me reason to pause, reflect, wonder, question and progress what I have been teaching and planning. I realized how much of a Bank Street disciple I am because when I got home, I wrote pages and pages in my journal in the form of a classic reflection or response. And it wasn’t even due to any hippie professor.

Two days were PYP workshop (International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme) which is inquiry based, right up my alley, you would think. But there is a framework that’s a little different from progressive education that I’m used to. So I’m still in a struggle about implementing these activities, or excuse me, learning engagements that seem like games to me. In my training, activities were supposed to be investigative and experiential. Not sure I have seen that in practice here yet.

The third day was about English language learners, who make up the entirety of my classroom. I am sinking on this front; I have my work cut out for me but I don’t know how to do it. This is an ongoing learning process for me.

It has been quite the interesting week at school. On Tuesday, we went on a whole-grade field trip to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Fun exhibits, but two hour bus ride and two hour bus ride back makes for unhappy children and teachers. Plus, there was puke on the way there and puke on the way back. Gross.

Yesterday were parent/teacher conferences. I had 16 out of 18 families show up, which meant for a back-to-back-to-back day. Another humorous part of my life these days… I conducted four of those conferences in Chinglish. Yes, that’s right. Oddly enough one of those four was with Korean parents.

More soon.

So JB made a fairly awesome find earlier this week… which was an arcade at the top floor of our neighborhood center. For the uninitiated, there are several “neighborhood centers” which would be called mini-malls or strip malls back home. (Yeah, didn’t I tell you I live in the ‘burbs?) We planned to make a night of it and during the week, JJ who had been there too, described it to me as Japan ten years ago. That in itself is a reason to go see it. For some reason I’m having a hard time posting photos to Blogger. I’ll make a little album and post it here.

After fun at the arcade, we went to a real live movie theater and saw “Quantum of Solace.” We thought it was pretty funny that we got to see it before friends back home… and not on a pirated DVD.

So I haven’t posted in a while because it’s been extremely busy. (What else is new?) We are writing interim comments on the kids. I’ve got a few more days to go…

Life is really just a day-to-day existence at the moment. I never know what’s going to happen next. Last week we went to a very random Halloween party hosted by Chinese locals at an English school. I ended the night by doing two cartwheels in front of TGI Friday’s in old Suzhou. Yeah.

Very excited for the election tomorrow! Unfortunately my absentee ballot never arrived.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and it looked like my windows had been painted white. I went out to the balcony to investigate: