BEIJING - Lately I've been thinking quite a bit about high school. Was it really that bad? At the time, I hated being cooped up in the same building for four years, not being able to use the toilet without a pass, easily detained at the whim of a hall monitor. I took my diploma and headed to Boston, returning only to Albany sporadically, and hardly ever to Colonie High School.
But now at Tsinghua I spend my days in one building, where every 50 minutes a bell rings to mark the beginning, end and periods of the school day. In between classes, students gather in the halls to talk about how that test was, what happened last night at the bar, and "can you spot me four kuai so i can buy a drink at the supermarket downstairs?" All of which happened pretty frequently in high school. There are even cliques here, although instead of goths, jocks and preps, here there are Americans, Koreans and Old Men Who Wear Beanies.
Today my life took another step back to high school land, as Lin Laoshi (aka Brown) handed back her most recent test with a sour look and a lecture. Apparently the test didn't go so well. To illustrate her point, Brown drew a diagram on the blackboard comparing our class' results to the one across the hall, which she also teaches. That class had a bunch of 80s and 90s on the test, while our class had an average right around a 72.
"I don't understand why the classes are different," Brown said, with that nagging tone that must come with a teaching certificate. "The lessons are the same, the teachers are the same, the methods are the same. I can only think of two reasons why it could be different. That class sits in a 'U' shape. (She actually didn't say "U," but rather drew the shape with her finger. Our class sits in rows.) I don't think that's it. Perhaps the people in that class are better students than this class."
Ouch. Brown offered at least the hope of redemption though. The class still has two weeks until the midterm, and promised results if we followed her advice. In true Chinese fashion, she presented it as a slogan:
下课 力学习
上课好好听
考试不错！
Which basically means if you study a lot outside of class, and pay attention in class, the test will go pretty well. Nothing revolutionary, but good advice.
I don't have much to worry about -- I actually did pretty well on the test, but I appreciate Brown's attempts to get the class in shape. Especially if it means bringing out some intriguing Chinese slogans to prove her point. That's something we never had at Colonie High School.
