Just To See You Smile

In the last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about my students. After “the incident” (having to hear and see a student be beat by his mother at school), I’ve really been trying to make sure that I teach my students more than just English. I want to teach them love and kindness. The only way I know how to do that is to show them it every day. Sure there are days that they drive me crazy and send me nearly to my breaking point. But at the end of those days, I think of a funny thing that happened. The heartwarming moments far outnumber the pull-my-hair-out moments. There is really nothing I wouldn’t do to make my kids smile. After all, a smile on their faces is far more than likely to put a smile on mine.

Class One, Grade One

If these kids love anything, it’s dancing and singing. They have learned and memorized all of their unit songs with such gumption that I can’t help but play them all over and over again. Seeing them pretend to be dogs and rabbits and then quickly switching over to singing about oranges or bouncing balls and how much fun school is will make anyone smile. And singing along with them in my not so good voice makes it all the better.

Class Two, Grade One

One thing that has amazed me about so many of the Chinese people I have met is their ability to make jokes in English. Most of them claim to be very terrible at English, yet they throw out puns and jokes as if there was no tomorrow. My six year olds in this class do it better than the best. Their vocabulary is so incredibly small but they can intentionally make me laugh. The best example I can give is from when we were singing our “School is fun” song. At the end, it says “We are Number One!” and as soon as the tape cuts off from saying “one” I overhear one of my students singing “We are Number Twooooo!” I don’t know why I thought it was so funny, but they were clearly pleased for making me laugh.

Class Three, Grade One

Now these kids are as rowdy as can be. If there is ever a moment in class that I am not keeping them active and participating, I will lose their attention instantaneously. Any and everything is exciting to these kids. It’s an endless chorus of, “Ashley, what’s this?” while pointing to various things. One even tried to get me to explain why girls look different in the front. I figured they should get that particular explanation from their parents.

Class One, Grade Two

Beliebers of the world, watch out! This group of 40 seven year old Chinese kids will have you beat in adoration and passion when it comes to the Beibs. I had one boy in near tears when I put on one of his songs as a reward for keeping an A+ grade for the whole week. Another student was dancing his little heart out, like nothing else mattered. I can’t even say the word “baby” in the class without these kids freaking out. It’s quite comical. I had a very touching moment with one of the students in this class the other day. She was standing at the top of a stairway and trying to high five me when she dropped her folder. Of course the folder goes over the handrail and into the 4 ft. high bushes at ground level. She immediately starts crying because she thought her folder was lost forever. So what do I do? Start climbing through the bushes, trying to block out images of spiders, rodents, or who knows what else. I find the folder and the girl just instantly clings to me, crying even harder than before. For the next ten minutes it was an endless stream of “I love you so much” with tears soaking up my shirt.

Class Two, Grade Two

Even though this class is probably my class that behaves the worst, I love them the most. There are definitely methods I’ve found to get them to listen more and talk less, but I think it is best to just let them be themselves. I’ve had to adjust a lot of lesson plans in order to fit their style of teaching. But I can tell how much they are learning. Repetition has become my best friend with them. And it’s no wonder their favorite thing ever is “Five Little Monkeys” because they are all just a bunch of monkeys. One boy (Jason) will literally run up to me and just jump as if I were a tree to climb. He then climbs up me using only his legs. One of my favorites, Bill, also feels the need to explain everything to me. And he wears the cutest little sweaters and rubs his belly every five seconds. I have one girl, Rainbow, who loves to play with hair and would die if she ever got the chance to put mine in knots. Then there is Tim. He holds quite a special place in my heart. He’s a rather sensitive boy and gets really upset over what seems like really minor things. I’ve tried so many times to explain to him that he doesn’t need to worry, but his reassurances never seem to last long. But I love that every time he sees me, he’ll blow a kiss and then he always catches the one I blow to him.

Class Three, Grade Two

So I love these kids. Their Chinese teacher is as sweet as can be but she is also terrifying. It’s as if they try really really hard to behave in class, but then they eventually give up and become a rioting mob of children. But there are a few things that stick out in this class, particularly Yoyo and Nick. They always sit next to each other, and I’ve basically already written their love story. Dating is strictly forbidden at the school, but I just can’t get over how cute I think they look together (they are seven, but still!). They are both super short and completely heart-meltingly adorable. Yoyo has a little bowl cut type haircut and purple glasses and she is so incredibly smart. Nick has the chubbiest cheeks you’ve ever seen and the shyest but most sincere smile.

Class One, Grade Three

Now the older the students get, the more defiant they start to become. I definitely struggle more with my third graders. There is still quite a bit of a language barrier between me and them which makes it difficult to try and discipline the bad behavior. This class is also particularly hard because the students are in different English levels. Half of them use the same book as my 2^nd graders and half use what the 4^th graders are learning out of. So I always have half a class mad at me for not choosing their book. It can get difficult at time, but I have seen a lot of growth in some of the students. One boy, Tom, has always been one of my favorites. He’s the one I would smuggle home in my suitcase if I could. There is also one girl, Amy, who I can always rely on to be paying attention and trying her best. Even when she makes mistakes, she is eager to correct them. I love seeing the light bulb of recognition and understanding go off as their little brains make connections.

Class One, Grade Four

And finally I get to the kings of the floor, fourth grade.  For the most part, all of these kids want to prove themselves. The whole class is a chorus of “let me try!” (side note, whoever thought it was a good idea to teach these kids those three little words is just pure evil).  It is next to impossible to call on anyone because I often try to instill the policy of “raise your hand”. But when that is simultaneous with shouting, it never works out too well. The semester started with really only one student (a girl named Yonex) who wanted to get called on for everything. Now I have about 10 of the 40 students actively participating and raising their hand for nearly every question and exercise. I have seen so much growth in these students. Their reading skills have increased, they can now write sentences on their own, and can have full conversations with me in English. Pretty much every class we have together, another student starts volunteering. Every time a new kids raises his or her hand, I do a little victory dance on the inside.

So, if it isn’t clear yet, I love my kids. I originally intended for this post to be short and sweet. I was just gonna tell a story about my “Five Little Monkeys” but it turned into so much more. It’s the weekend, and even though I only spend two days apart from them, I miss my students. I don’t smile as much when they aren’t around. I would do anything just to see them smile. Even if it means crawling on the ground outside after a fresh rain (yes, I did this). Even if it means getting climbed on, poked, and being endlessly sick. I’ll take it. Because the warmth of their hug, the soft little pecks on my cheek, and the shouts of “I love you!” will forever be ingrained into who I am. These 300+ children will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ll never forget those smiles.