Parent-Teacher meeting and getting the Reading Room set up. These last two weeks have been really something and I almost lost my cool in front of my boss because of the latter. In my defense, I did tell him that I was an advocate for reading and the arts when I was interviewed. In fact, I told him that I value reading and the arts over everything else. But I should start from the beginning…
See, the Chinese Educational Board isn’t a huge fan of having anything western in the libraries. It’s odd, really. They want to have western influences in the school and they want the students to learn English, but they want them to be in their “space”. Quite hypercritical, but I was trying to make it work…until they mishandled the books.
That’s right. They broke the cardinal rule of an English teacher. I had to look for my books (they were in the gym storage room) and, when I found them, get them to a room that we (me and the DIY club) were planning to convert into a Reading Room. But, them being them, they were giving me the run around involving keys and time. This went on for a month before I snapped and raised my voice demanding the keys. I even threaten to quit if I didn’t get the keys while yelling at the Chinese staff about their blatant disrespect towards literature. I was bluffing, but they didn’t know that. Besides, I was just aiming to make them feel like shit for disrespecting art – and it worked.
I got the keys and I got the books to their new home. Of course, my friends and students helped me. To be honest, my students were mainly curious about what books were there and see if they could borrow a few of them. They got an obvious “Yes”; I will never say “No” to a student reading a book.
Oh! I got tattled on. The Chinese staff didn’t like what I said or the fact that I was yelling at them. Well…screaming is more like it. I’m not going to deny it nor am I going to deny the fact that I screamed at them some more for telling on me when they were clearly in the wrong. My boss took my side but still reprimanded me for losing my cool. Not a huge fan of that, but I could see where he was coming from. Still, a victory is a victory.
So, we have been spending all this week transporting all the books to the new room while getting ready for the parent-teacher meeting. I can tell you this right now…the parent-teacher meeting was a cakewalk compared to what I had to deal with regarding those books. The parents are a fan of my teaching methods (it took them a while to warm up to me) and they welcome the fact that I’m helping their kids figure out what they want to do in university. It’s a great way to end the week, don’t you think?
Now, please don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads) on my web page’s right side. Also, I do love hearing suggestions of what books to read outside of my norm (Science fiction and fantasy) as I am a part of the Goodreads’ reading challenge for 2022. I’ve already completed this year’s reading goal, but I’m not stopping. Right now, I’m at 199.
