‘Chinese Corner’ comes to Kaegebein

by Karen Keefe
Grand Island Dispatch, October 2004

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience for all of us.” That’s how Michelle Becker describes the language lessons she and her fifth-grade classmates are getting from two Chinese teachers visiting Kaegebein Elementary School for six weeks this semester.

Each week, students in the second- through fifth-grade classrooms at Kaegebein gather for “Chinese Corner,” where they learn to say phrases and play word games in Chinese.

Li Han and Li Jia Shen, have traveled to this country from Changchun, China, about a two-hour flight from Beijing, to share their knowledge and culture with Grand Island youngsters. Changchun is a city of about 6.5 million people in he Jilin Province.

Reciprocal Visit

The two young women, English language teachers at a middle school, came to America on a reciprocal visit after Kaegebein fifth-grade teacher Michael Stark spent five weeks teaching conversational English in their Chinese hometown last summer.

There is an increased emphasis on learning English in China, especially in light of the 2008 Olympics to be held in Beijing. English lessons begin as early as first grade in China.

The best part of the teacher exchange for fifth-grader Kate Gilbert is, “You get to learn a different language.”

Classmate Emily Nitkowski agrees. “I like ‘Chinese Corner.’ You get the opportunity to do things other kids don’t do.”

Learning Chinese has other advantages. “I get to go home and bug my brother with the words,” explains Melissa LaMastra.

Unique Perspective

The kids in Stark’s fifth-grade class have a unique cross-cultural perspective of the differences between school there and here from their own teacher and the special visitors.

“I didn’t know the kids have so much respect for their teachers,” said Michelle Becker. “They have to stand to greet them.”

Shen demonstrates how Chinese students sit straight up in their chairs with their hands behind their backs. Then she slouches back in the chair, showing the more casual postures she has observed among Grand Island students. Chinese kids have a 10-minute break between classes, while American students come and go more freely, but have shorter breaks.

Bigger Classes

Sam Railey says, “There are a lot more kids in a Chinese classroom.”

In fact, class size is about 60 students in the 3,000-pupil middle school in Changchun. Stark taught about 30 students per class in China – still a high number compared to the average class size of 20 or so at Kaegebein.

Shen said Stark was called “Happy Man” by students and teachers alike at the Changchun middle school. She grins in imitation of his characteristic broad smile. “They like him very much.”

Stark’s teaching experience was so positive it prompted the school district in China to send two of their teachers here to return the favor. The school system in China paid for the two women to come here. Stark’s trip was paid for, in part, by the teachers’ union he belongs to, but he had to cover the cost of airfare, incidentals and any meals eaten in a restaurant.

Only NYS Teacher

“I was the only person in New York state that took them up on this offer,” he says. “When you get an opportunity like that, you make a decision. How often do you get to travel half-way across the world and make an impact?”

Stark says teaching in China “is much harder than here. They go to school seven days a week.” Classes run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Many Chinese teachers stay at school until 6 p.m. correcting homework and preparing lessons, while the traditional American teacher takes stacks of paper home at night. In China, school is in session year-round, although students do get two three-week breaks.

“I worked for 20 days straight before I had a day off,” Stark said. And even then, his first free day was spent giving two lectures on the American school system.

‘More Freedom’

The main difference Shen has observed between Chinese and American schools is that here, “Teachers and students have more freedom.” She said Americans “work hard from Monday through Friday, but on the weekend, they both can get their energy back.”

While in this country, Shen and Han have enjoyed their free time, picking apples at Becker Farms, visiting Niagara Falls and taking a trip to the Albright-Knox art gallery.

There is less time for such things in China. Middle school students have about one-and-a-half hours of homework each day and no weekends off.

Also in China, “the marks are very important to the parents.” The principals will decide which students are better on the basis of their grades, alone. Stark explains that for the classes he taught in China, only upper echelon students with prior knowledge of English and an aptitude for language were chosen.

Focus on Students

“Here, teachers pay more attention to students’ abilities,” Shen said, pointing to after-school activities such as musical instruments and singing lessons as an advantage for U.S. students. She says the ideal education would combine the strengths of each system – the hard work of the Chinese schools and the freedom of the American ones. “I think American children are luckier. They have a more colorful life.”

Shen brings colorful lessons to the Kaegebein students,too. She begins ‘Chinese Corner’ by singing a song in English to Andrea Solecki’s fourth-grade class. She prompts the children to name all the colors mentioned in the song – in English. Then she asks them to tell her their favorite colors.

“Green,” says Kevin Salonek, “because my Mom held me in a green blanket when I was born.” Shen’s own favorite is blue – for the sky and sea.

As each color is discussed, Shen introduces the Chinese name for it. “Look at my mouth, follow me,” she urges. They match her pronunciation and intonation, almost singing the words in a faithful echo of their teacher.

“They love her,” Solecki said. “You wouldn’t think they would remember the words from week to week, but they do.”

As the lesson comes to a close, the children line up to give her a goodbye hug. The next teaching assignment for Shen and Han is at Veronica Connor Middle. Then after Thanksgiving, they will visit New York City and Washington, D.C., before returning home Dec. 1.