classroom notes #11: then and now

What happened to imagination?

What happened to make-believe, dressing up in real and imaginary costumes, talking to imaginary people in outrageous imaginary scenes?

What happened to pretending that your house is actually underwater and the only way to get around is by swimming and you talk all gurgly because that's how people talk when they are underwater?

What happened to inventing out-of-this-world inventions that really saves the world or is this great big contraption that pops out strawberry mint drops?

What happened to round robin storytelling where each successive kid would add in an even crazier, more bizarre problem for the hero to solve with her super duper fantasticombustibal powers?

What happened to creative writing about an old miserly man who had a spider for a pet and the spider loved to listen to Rachmaninoff?

What happened to little outings out in the backyard that turn into journeys of epic proportions?

What happened to bath-time water wars; the sailboat lurking behind the caverns of the knees, ready to ambush the unsuspecting Captain Quacky Duck, but the little pony mermaid saves the day and they splash off into the porcelain horizon?

What happened to reading a storybook and believing that anything is possible, only to have your mum yell about the big hole in the yard when all you were really doing is practicing for a future career in archaeology?

What happened to flightful fancies of exploration, sneaking about in the safari of the living-room hoping to avoid the wild creatures before cautiously entering the Pyramids of the bedroom and daring each other to see who will get hit with King Tut's curse?

What happened to making your own treasure hunt with strange cryptic clues only to have no one able to find the treasure, but it's okay since that means more Skittles for you?

What happened to the kids of today?

classroom notes #10: just a job?

Today I felt so frustrated with my kids. I keep pushing them to go beyond themselves, to think deeper with more complexity, to make themselves stand out and I felt as if I was talking to air. Is this the product of the Hong Kong education system? Is this the result of a culture where priority is on examination placement and everything else is not of their concern? And then I thought, am I asking too much of them?

I always tell my fellow teaching friends that whenever they feel angry, sad, or frustrated to remember that in the end, being a teacher is only a job and to detach themselves from any negative feelings but then it's not that simple. You invest in the well-being of your students both emotionally and mentally and the resulting mass of frustration steaming out is from seeing them not growing to the potential that you know is there.

*pulls hair out*