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- Best class ever: democracy September 18, 2007
- YuYao September 4, 2007
- Quantum aliens and gifted kids August 3, 2007
- Again, the summer school August 3, 2007
- Summer school July 21, 2007
- Breeding for mediocrity July 7, 2007
- Chinese dentistry June 19, 2007
- Chinese influenza and medicines June 12, 2007
- Critical thinking, “inappropriate for university students” May 25, 2007
- More bureaucracy May 23, 2007
- Legend and Arissa May 7, 2007
- Shanghai Museum of Natural History April 19, 2007
- Cooking segments April 7, 2007
- Fertile ground March 27, 2007
- Chinese superstitions March 4, 2007
- Beijing 3, The Great Wall of China March 3, 2007
- Beijing 2 February 22, 2007
- Beijing 1 February 16, 2007
- Frankenstein scar January 10, 2007
- Feng Shui management October 19, 2006
- Only English October 18, 2006
- Shanghai commuter trains 2 October 13, 2006
- Shanghai’s commuter trains 1 October 3, 2006
- Zheng He and Malacca September 7, 2006
- Banks August 12, 2006
- More visa crap August 12, 2006
- More around home July 21, 2006
- Home at Cloud Nine July 21, 2006
- Geography and another summer July 21, 2006
- Teaching futility June 30, 2006
- Huang Shan 2 May 25, 2006
- Huang Shan 1 May 21, 2006
- Longre April 29, 2006
- Nanjing April 9, 2006
- Be among women March 29, 2006
- Xi’an 4, museum March 16, 2006
- Xi’an 3 March 16, 2006
- Xi’an 2, Chinese archaelogy March 8, 2006
- Xi’an 1, terracotta warriors March 7, 2006
- Not booking flights February 18, 2006
- Another Chinese New Year February 17, 2006
- Zhongshan Park 3 January 30, 2006
- Zhongshan Park 2 January 30, 2006
- Zhongshan Park 1 January 30, 2006
- More on IELTS students January 7, 2006
- Staying for a bit January 6, 2006
- Hysterics and heresies December 19, 2005
- Not cancer November 2, 2005
- Bad attitude November 2, 2005
- Visa crap November 2, 2005
Tag Archives: china
Best class ever: democracy
I want to mention my last class for this phase in China which was last Sunday. I’ve previously mentioned those wonderful kids, aged 14-17. For comparison, the summer class I recently had to endure was the lowest level I ever … Continue reading
Posted in Schools & teaching
Tagged canberra, china, chinese, democracy, education, election, gifted, kids, politics, subversive, teaching
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YuYao
Last week we went to a historic town called YuYao. Actually the town itself isn’t historic, but in 1973 someone accidentally dug up some artifacts which turned out to be neolithic. Today there’s a large excavation of the archaeological site. It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Museums, Travel & transport
Tagged archaelogy, china, chinese, countryside, hemedu, museums, neolithic, ningbo, rural, trains, travel, yuyao
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Quantum aliens and gifted kids
I want to finish this rant with something positive, but first some background. Normally, native-speaking teachers of English can never really know how much Chinese students understand, or specifically what they hear. Students nod at the right times and give … Continue reading
Again, the summer school
I was going to leave the school topic but it turned out too good to resist. One sign that all may not be well with a school is piles of broken junk. Another, maybe worse, sign is geriatric classroom equipment … Continue reading
Summer school
For some teachers summer is quiet, but in Shanghai it’s the busiest time. For a while it looked like I might miss half of it. I’ve been working at that school for fourteen months, with variable hours depending on demand. … Continue reading
Posted in Schools & teaching
Tagged aeroplane, boredom, boring, china, chinese, competition, complaints, computers, DVDs, english, entertainment, equipment, feral, junk, paper, school, summer, teaching, visas
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Breeding for mediocrity
Recently at the uni school, I’ve been doing some of my standard topics: attraction and parenting. They’re great topics anyway, plus I’ve got a bunch of relevant BBC DVDs which add variety and interactivity. Even the dullest Chinese won’t mind … Continue reading
Posted in University
Tagged attraction, breeding, china, chinese, codependency, DVDs, education, english, mediocrity, parenting, partner, pregnancy, rationalisation, relationships, romance, selection, students, teachers, teaching, thinking, trogs
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Chinese dentistry
The preceding reminds me that I also haven’t experienced the joys of Chinese dentistry, and I don’t plan to. The 2×2 metre wooden back-street stalls offer a horrifying freak-show interest, as do the slightly more up-market places which remind me … Continue reading
Posted in Medical
Tagged anaesthetic, china, chinese, dentist, dentistry, drill, fillings, sterile, sterilisation
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Chinese influenza and medicines
The night of the previous incident I didn’t sleep well, which directly led to a completely different kind of misery. The following day I came down with a horrible Chinese flu. It always works that way with me: sleep maintains … Continue reading
Critical thinking, “inappropriate for university students”
While sometimes writing about my schools can be amusing, looking back I find more often these dramas upset me. This may be the first time where something happened but I didn’t write about it immediately. The reason was I was … Continue reading
Posted in University
Tagged betrayal, china, chinese, complaint, critical, education, flu, hostility, parents, problems, resistance, subversive, superstition, teaching, thinking, university
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More bureaucracy
Today, another tale of bureaucracy. For those who don’t know, as a backup career option (which I hope I won’t need) I plan to apply for registration as a science teacher in Queensland. I need to work in a scientific … Continue reading
Posted in Bureaucracy
Tagged bureaucracy, bureaucrats, check, china, chinese, criminal, notary, police, PSB, red tape
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Postcards from Shanghai 