I signed a contract to teach at Tsinghua University in the fall. I will move to Beijing after I finish teaching in the summer institute at Hebei Normal University. After having resisted the lure of a big time university and the big city for several years, I have succumbed. Tsinghua is the #1 or #2 university in China (depending on whose rankings you read). I’ll be able to do some part time consulting as well. This effort is already well underway. I’ll be making a great deal more money which will allow me to stay in China longer. My current plan is to teach at Tsinghua for two years then see if want to stay in China longer after that. Right now, I have no desire to return to the United States. This is simply to great a life to give up.
I taught my last class at Huihua on Thursday. It was rather anti-climatic. I ended the class early so that students who wanted to could take their final oral exam a week early. Several teams took advantage of the offer. Next week it’s exams each day. I have not made a big deal about leaving. Many students have stopped by to say good bye or ask me to change my mind. The second year English majors are very disappointed. They’ve been waiting two years to have me as their teacher and now I’m leaving. Most are not shy in telling me why they think I’m good teacher or the impact I’ve made on them. David (a second year) said “We learn more than English from you. We learn how to succeed.”
Tonight I taught my last class at the #2 Middle School. The graduates of this school will all be admitted into tier one universities throughout China. These kids are good. Many speak English about as well as a native born American. They are an impressive lot. Chen, the guy who hired me to fill in for the teacher that left, asked if I would work there full time next year. For a second I was tempted. When I agreed to help them out I didn’t know if I would like teaching high school students. These kids were a joy to teach.
So, my bold experiment of taking a year off to teach in China has turned into my new career. I feel at home in the classroom (aside from the more than occasional anxiety of wondering if I’m doing well as a teacher). When I walk into the classroom and say “Good morning” and all the students look at me, smile and say “Good morning” back, I believe at that moment that it was my destiny to be a teacher.
My Tsinghua students will be preparing to go to western universities to finish their degree work. I’ll be helping them strengthen their English language skills, critical thinking skills, dealing with intellectual property issues, using common IT tools and working effectively in teams. Should be great fun.
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