Ebs and Flows...

Another day full of ups and downs... I'll start with the bad stuff...

I got an email from Xiaoxian today with some student-made criticisms of my Oral English Class. That's not bad news. I want the critiques. I want to improve. I want to teach these kids.

Please, tell me, is this helpful?:
"What the teacher plans for our class is simple and not demanding and is not helping a lot to improve our Oral English."

That was all I was given, in terms of feedback. I was more than a little frustrated. So I, as requested, wrote a response. It follows:

"I feel I'm between the metaphorical rock and hard place. To whom, I ask anyone who can/will reply, should I be teaching? The top level students of the given class, who have a strong grasp of many of the elements I might be going over that day, and are consequentially bored? Or the students who don't "get it" - who don't understand, and would get completely lost were we to move faster, and at a more challenging pace? In any given class - be it writing, or conversation - I have a range of skill levels from "competent" all the way down to "unable to communicate." Who should I focus on, and who should be, for lack of a better word, forgotten?
The first time I became even remotely aware of my students' capabilities was on the first day of class. And only now, 10+ weeks into said plan am I getting any sort of feedback. I hope it can be understood that it's frustrating for me, as well. I've been given little, if any direction vis a vis class design. What is the goal for the conversation class, if not to promote continued growth and communication skills through class discussions and conversations? Moreover, how am I supposed to adjust my lesson plans accordingly, if the SUM TOTAL of 10 weeks of teachings' comments are "What the teacher plans for our class is simple and not demanding and is not helping a lot to improve our Oral English"???
Simple. Not demanding. Not helping.
In what ways? Where do the students feel improvement can be made? What do they feel are their strong points? their weak points?"

Sigh. I think that pretty well encompasses my frustration right now. 10+ weeks, and this is what I get. How am I supposed to work with that? I suppose I'll just have to make up a questionnaire and give it to the students myself.

But onto better news...

I HAVE A BASS GUITAR!!! AND AN AMP!!! And I got it ll for a screaming deal! It's a 5 string, dual-pick-up SX Custom Handmade Vintage Series... made for export. I found this music strong called "Dong Dong" I think, ad they had it all. The owner, without either Nancy or myself even asking about it, offered up a comprehensive 25% discount. The sticker-price for the bass itself was 2200RMB (~$330) which is a good deal anywhere! And especially since the best one I'd found prior to this was 2200, was a 4-stringer, and just generally crappier, I would've been happy with that. But I got this nice bass and a nice little practice amp for only 2060RMB! just incredible! Usually I'd be looking to pay at LEAST $750 for a setup like this. And instead I got it for less than $300. Additionally, He gave me "as gifts" a free shoulder strap and carrying bag. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was being buttered up for something... or maybe all the good karma's paying off. ;)

In other news, I'm pretty much chomping at the bit right now. The expansion to the game I play, World of Warcraft, has just been released. It's called The Wrath of the Lich King. I was able to download the client from the internet (don't worry, it's legal). However, I can't upgrade my account without purchasing a CD-Key. Sounds simple, right? Not so much. that entails me finding a US Copy of the game, and then buying it. not usually an issue, but here there's a relative dearth of US games. They've ot World of Warcraft...but it's the Chinese client version. I think I'm going to ask my parents to take $50 from my account, buy a copy for me, and then email me the CD-Key. It's just a string of numbers and letter... but to me that string is worth $50 ;D Months, if not years of entertainment lie within...

And then, darling, tell me when.