凡事尽力就好

文/黄金艾琳

今天美国外教又遇到了人生难题，找我来诉苦，问我的看法。

以下对话原文：

外教：I don’t like that I teach specialized English. It doesn’t help the students understand anything. All they can do is memorize sentences, but it really has no meaning to them. They can’t produce language on their own. They can’t communicate with me. This is not the intercultural exchange environment I was looking for.

The students don’t care. They’re so bored, and often the environment is even unsafe for them, so I do have sympathy for them. But I also want them to be accountable. I learned that there is no such thing as accountability in the technical college system. With a slight of hand, I am supposed to alter grades, rewarding those who tried much less almost as much as those who really tried. There is no motivation for them.

The curriculum is too old. Yes, the context is fine because the students will need it for their jobs, but the methods of teaching are so outdated. And I have no way to change it, because if I stray from the materials, the students really cannot pass any test.

So, I hate this kind of teaching job. I can’t teach them English to use in their lives, I can’t change the way to teach them, and what I can do to motivate them, doesn’t even matter. I truly feel useless in this environment. I am not a teacher. I am just a native speaker talking to myself.

我：I really understand what you mean. you know I was a teacher before. My major is English education. I was at the traditional school and taught students for Half a year and I have found the job is not what I dreamed for.

Now it is around 10 years later. this thing still haven't change. China is a developing country, for the past 40 years, we are just struggling with poverty. we need to improve the education. but the goal is not for "special" ,not for "different",  but to train everyone the same. because we have too many people and we need to improve the "average" first.

And then the training schools and international  schools started to bloom. and they have learned a lot of new things and ways from abroad. more and more parents think this will be a good way for education. so the industry is developing rapidly. and now the government is trying to stop this. because that costs too much and made too much burdens and pressure to the normal families. It doesn't mean there is no market and doesn't mean people in China don't know what will be right.  But if their kids need to follow the steps of Chinese traditional way of education, they need to follow.

like you said: the schools know , the teachers know, the kids know, the parents know, it is not a good way or right way. but they cannot change. That's why some parents take their kids abroad. but they had better to be there forever. because if they come back. they will need to follow the rules still.

外教：So it’s not even something for me to think about in choosing a school. I just go where I want to go, and leave when I want to try something else

我： so I guess, now , I mean recent years, if you want to be a good teacher and really want to do something, maybe you can try some international schools. as I said,for  most of that schools, the kids or parents are trying something different since the kids was born and their goal later on might be going abroad.

I am not saying that there is no hope here. and not saying all the teachers and schools are doing useless things.

I just want to give you more information and background of my understanding.

because there are wrong things, so there are more things to do and to expect. sometimes, the government have no choice.

so come back to the topic. I think there are something we can change and something we cannot. Like the government's decision we cannot change, but we can try to know what we are really looking for. We want to change the government? the history? the situation of the whole country? Definitely no. we want to be a good teacher and do good things. we have passions, we have dreams, we want to do things good. this is right. and we just do what we can do.

have you tried your best to teach the students? the goal for them is : first pass the exam and graduate. second，you want to let them know more and learn more and talk more. there must be some of the students like this. maybe not all of them. but even help those few people will also make sense. because you give them a new world.

外教： If they put effort, they can pass the exam. Some students can talk more and have a little interests to know more.

外教：You’re right, I open the door for them. So, I can make a difference for those students.

But I also think my way for my life is right too. I need to experience more of China for my own career, so I will go to different places when I am ready. Now I know what to expect.

The thing I can’t change is the system. I can only change myself.