Teaching Dystopia in the PRC

As most of you dear readers know I’m in Shanghai! Teaching here has been an experience for sure, but I have some pretty awesome students to make up for the parts of my job that drive me crazy.

I've only read 5/12 =(

I recently completed a unit on dystopia with my 9^th grade English class. Dystopia is one of my favorite genres to explore. Not only is trending in YA literature right now, but it’s relevant to the world today regarding government, security, advances in technology etc.

I did a dystopia unit in the US with 12^th graders. It’s probably important to note that my 12^th graders were all reading different dystopian novels. My 9^th graders all read the same book—Lois Lowry’s The Giver.

Here’s the reaction to learning about dystopia I got from my American 12^th graders:

“WHY DO THEY HAVE CAMERAS IN THE HALL MISS SULLY!? THEY WATCH US DO EVERYTHING! THEY DON’T TRUST US! WE EVEN NEED PASSES TO GO TO THE BATHROOM! THIS SCHOOL IS A DYSTOPIA!”

So the 12^th graders were a little dramatic. Naturally, this time I was prepared for more dramarama but that’s not really what I got.

Most of my Chinese students haven’t been exposed to the genre before. They’ve seen the movies for Enders Game and The Hunger Games but didn’t know what those types of stories are called. So, a lot of this unit has been building background knowledge and bombarding them with as many supplemental texts which I will list later on. (Oh, you know that The Giver book review is on the horizon.)

Anyone else think he looks like Darwin?

Now, The Giver is an interesting one. I hadn’t read it in a long time and there was so much I missed the last time I read it! Starting with the fact that the Giver is an asshole and ending with the fact that Lowry very cleverly critiques and promotes the society she creates. The conversations between Jonas and the Giver about what is good for the people of the community are wonderful. And even in the end Jonas still struggles with what is better—the “perfect” society or freedom.

And then it comes down to what this has done to me. Maybe it’s just the way the year is going (we did a unit on myths and fairy tales and debated the importance of books and storytelling in our society) but I have started to see dystopia everywhere. I feel like I am becoming one of my former 12^th graders. I’m pretty much convinced society is going to become MT Anderson’s Feed.

But perhaps that is a better rant for another day.

There is also the overall impact this unit has had on my teaching, because in the end I have not been pleased with this unit. There have been some hiccups along the way (not enough copies of the book for each kid to have their own etc.) but I’m the dystopia gal. YA is my specialty and this is my genre. I know how to rock a dystopia unit and I feel like I didn’t rock it.

And I think this is the reason why…

Most of my students come from Chinese Local Schools. They have to have a certain English ability to get into our school, however, most have never read a complete English book before or (more importantly) been asked their opinion about anything.

Never before have I appreciated so much the power of asking “why.” Asking students to explain themselves. Asking them to agree or disagree or stand in the middle and defend their position.

Our school promotes an “East Meets West” education and dystopia is where they come head to head.

SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!

There is me questioning Jonas’s bravery and the Giver’s good intentions.

Then there are my students who can tell me of course Jonas is brave and the Giver is good. Duh, Lois Lowry wrote it right here so it MUST be true.

But, this is really more about me. It’s about me knowing better. Me knowing the background of my kids and scaffolding the questioning. About me being more explicit and offering more practice for finding text-based evidence. Seeing that the kids come from a background where questioning isn’t encouraged and learning and memorizing are the same thing, so I should give them some more time.

Me saying that I will not lower my expectations but I can approach them in a different way.

Me saying next time I will be better.

Not to say there have been no positives in this unit. There were definitely students who embraced the genre and have started reading other dystopian novels. There were students I had to keep yelling at because they read ahead and tried to spoil the ending for everyone.

And there were students who were appreciative of the questions. Students who for the first time were told it’s ok to talk about the world and critique different societies—even North Korea.

One of the overarching concepts in dystopian novels is the idea of making everyone the same, and that if this were to happen the world would be a better place. In the end I’m confident I managed to hammer into my students that it is ok to be different.

In fact, I want them all to be different—with their own opinions and own questions—and that is what makes a western English lit class work. Bringing everyone’s different backgrounds and ideas together is what creates a richer and more meaningful reading of the text. This is something I will continue to work on and encourage with my students.

On the Move

I decided it was high time to revive this blog. A lot has changed since you all last read my Spinster English Teacher book reviews.

But no worries, I’m still a Spinster.

First and foremost I moved to China. Which has been a whirlwind to say the least. I’ve already been here for 8 months and it seems more like 8 weeks. I’ve made some great friends, had great adventures and of course teach the very best students I could ask for.

We aren't very good at making funny faces. 

So, to set the stage for future blogs I thought I would share some notes from the China experience.

7 of them of course, because I like things in 7s.

1. Face. Face is something I may not ever fully understand. It is pride and honor and family and a bunch of other stuff rolled into one. What I do know is that students are worried about it and I have none.
2. Taking care of my own face. Before I left I went product crazy (and have done it since in China) for face stuff. With the pollution here it’s important to have a good face regimen so the moneymaker is always pretty. And definitely sign up for the Sephora China card. Here’s a pic of my arsenal.

   

   We have, Vaseline Coconut body lotion, Origins Clear Improvement Face Mask, Clinique BB Cream, Dramatically Different Face Stuff, City Block Sheer w/ SPF, Eye Wrinkle Stuff, Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Face Wash, Some Vitamin E lotion, and that little jar is some free Sephora same I dunno what it is. I like Clinique a lot, clearly, because it is very plain. It has fairly simple ingredients and doesn't smell like anything. 

3. The Language. I’m in Shanghai so the language barrier is so-so. There are a lot of places that have Chinese and English on the menus. There is Chinese and English on the street signs and on the Metro. It’s easy to get around for the most part. However, also important to learn key phrases. Ones my friends and I refer to as “beginner restaurant and intermediate cab.” And be prepared to explain to people why you aren’t learning the language.
4. Your Realtor is your Friend. My roommate and I get along really well with the company that set us up in our apartment. This is wonderful. They helped us with Internet, bills, and making sure our expat status is registered with the police department. They are awesome.
5. This is all true.
6. Home. I love my SH apartment. I like coming here after a long day and cuddling up in my Ikea bed with my Ikea blankets and my Ikea pillows. But Home Home is important too. I always take time to Skype or Facetime with the parents, the bro, and my 2 bffls from home. My friends here are amazeballs but there is nothing like talking to someone who knows you better than you know yourself sometimes. 
7. Being a Spinster English Teacher. This is the nitty-gritty folks. First, it’s uncommon for a woman of a certain age to be single.  Students ask about it more often than I like, and their wish for me on my birthday was “find a boyfriend.” English teacher gets the eye from everyone else. It’s no secret there are many traveling expats who end up teaching English at foreign schools. They give us real English teachers a bad name. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to get the “And what do you do? Teach English?” *eye roll* “and what was your degree in sweetie?” Yes. I teach English. I teach English to kids who speak English at an international school. I teach the exact same English class I would teach in the Good Ol’ U.S. of A. And I don’t need your eye roll, didn’t your mother ever tell you your face will get stuck like that?

And there you have it (for now). Some important highlights of my move to China. There are more but I don’t want to bore you with my life, you’re here for the books right?

Come back soon for updates to the books blog. Where are we going next? The Giver and Teaching Dystopia in the PRC. Ah, it's good to be back. 

It's been so long!!!