Michael.H.Prosser

Chinese Summer Camp: Michael H. Prosser, Ph.D. (Posted to my blog, July 22, 2011)

In 2001-2002, when I was teaching at Yangzhou University, every other Saturday I was a volunteer English teacher at a new foreign language school near Yangzhou for an hour for 200 primary school children, then another hour for 200 junior middle school children. After a nice lunch, I taught 3 different 20 minute classes of English for kindergarten children. About 15 of my own university students went with me and learned some skills about teaching English to such large groups of children. We had two little stuffed pandas, Amanda and Randy, and they had a lot of make-believe conversations with the students.

The owner of the school, Mr. Jin, gave me my first big present in China, a porcelain “laughing Buddha.” I liked this present very much, and I have suggested to the Director of Higher Education Press, which will publish Professor Li Mengyu’s and my intercultural communication text book for Chinese university students, Communicating Interculturally, that the Press can put a photo of the Laughing Buddha on the front, both because it was the first big present that I received in China, and also because the dialogues with imaginary university students, an imaginary Professor Zhang, and me have a lot of humor in them.

When I was teaching at Beijing Language and Culture University, I taught two diferent winter English camps to about 30 pupils, about 9 to 15 years old. Then I also taught English to a group of about 15 young teenagers on Saturdays. Also, I was Santa Claus for a couple of schools in Shanghai around Christmas time, and I gave Christmas concerts, often with several young students and teachers, in Yangzhou University, and then Beijing Language and Culture University, and finally at Shanghai International Studies University. Although my real job is being a professor at the university level, teaching young Chinese students English at different times and places was always a great chance for me to have a new view on Chinese youth.
Chinese students at all the different levels are very often taking various kinds of camps during their holidays. In the United States, students also go to summer camps, like sports, scouts, swimming, football, basketball, and other recreational activities, and there are even math, science, citizenship, literature, and other sorts of educational camps as well. There are even a lot of weight-loss camps as many young people are very overweight and can’t seem to manage to lose weight on their own. Additionally, teenagers who have gotten in trouble because of stealing, gangs, violence, or drugs, may be required to go to very strenuous and rigorous military style camps to learn to control their problems.

During July 2011, I had the invitation to spend a few days helping my former Yangzhou University student, Devon (2001-2002) in his summer English, math, and physics camp for 17and 18 year old students in northwest Jiangsu Province. His summer camp for more than 70 teenagers goes until almost the middle of August, but I only had time to spend about five days with the English part of his camp. Each class, English, math, and physics meets two hours a day. He teaches the English section of the camp, and I was kidding the students in the English section that my math ability does not yet allow me to add one and one and get the answer of two. (To be honest, however, I know that one and one can sometimes result in a three instead of a two. We call it serendipity—when more than two elements are actually included and make a result that is larger than the expected result). Devon taught English and two other high school teachers taught the math and physics classes. A problem developed when the first math teacher, and then the first physics teacher quit, and new teachers had to be found. Also, 20 of the original 90 students left the program. Some of the students took all three of courses; some took two; and a few only took one of the three courses.

I was the first foreigner that all of the students had ever had a conversation with and thus it was a special treat both for them and for me to talk together. At our first group session, all of the students were very shy and reserved, and many of them were very timid to talk to a foreigner. Andy, Hank, and Nancy (all English names that I gave these students because of the sound of their Chinese names) were leaders in the English class and could speak better English than some of the others were our early leaders in the conversations. That first evening, about 20 of them came to the hotel room and I had a few minutes conversation with each of them— most of them were still rather shy and reserved, but a bit more informal. While Devon taught the serious exercise style English learning, I was able just to chat with the students about any topics that the class or I would be interested in.

Most of the time, I could talk to them after the formal English lessons were over and over the five days, many of the students became more and more informal with me. We took many group and individual photos. First Nancy and a boy named John (his new English name as none of the students had an English name) came to see me at the hotel, and we had a lively conversation. Later both Hank and Andy came, and on my last evening, Nancy, and several boys came to see me before I returned to Qingdao. As the days went on, both the students and I shared a lot of humor and laughter. I taught the entire class, one of my favorite songs, and which one of the American teachers at an Ocean University of China English corner taught those students: “Michael, row the boat ashore.”
Michael, row the boat ashore, alleluia,
Michael, row the boat ashore, alleluia,
Sister, help to trim the sails, alleluia,
Sister, help to trim the sails, alleluia,
The River Jordan is chilly and cold, alleluia,
Chills the body, but not the soul, alleluia,
The river is deep and the river is wide, alleluia,
Milk and honey on the other side, alleluia,
Michael, row the boat ashore, alleluia,
Michael, row the boat ashore, alleluia.

We all had a good time singing it, which also made our time together more pleasant, and happy. It was actually a slave song in the mid 1850s , and then it became popular again in the early 1960s. Since the rower in the song is a Michael, I have always considered it to be my own song.

I also told the teenagers about my own 9 grandchildren, and as we were having classes in Devon’s apartment, many of the students saw the photos of my grandchildren and the several other photo albums on this international wordpress blog. They were interested to learn about their teacher Devon, when he was my student at Yangzhou University, and some of our travels together. Some of these incidents were quite humorous. Devon is a good teacher, and he and his wife took a lot of care of the students, especially those who slept on mats in the apartment, since their homes were too far away to go home each night and then be at class early the next morning.

Their questions were rare as their English is not yet very strong in general, but in our last session together as a class, I told them some about myself when I was also a teenager. When I was 15, I had changed from one all boys’ boarding school far from home to another one. Being very tall, the intramural (within the walls of the school) basketball team that I was assigned, all assume that I would be a good player, and made me their center. As I told my young Chinese friends, I made the first basket, but alas—it was at the wrong end of the basketball court. From then on, my friends all called me wrong-way Michael. Being afraid that I would make another basket at the wrong end (and for the other team), I never had the courage to shoot another basket during my high school period of playing basket ball (no doubt a relief for my own team mates!)

As I am a “hugger,” most of the students found this process rather nice and they often gave me hugs more than once, and certainly at the last class together and for those who came to see me the last night at the hotel before I returned the next morning to Qingdao, there were multiple hugs.

When Devon’s son was born, he gave the boy the English name “little Michael” but the boy doesn’t recognize that name, and it is likely that only 3 people know the English name, Devon, his wife, and me. Still, it is nice to have a little Chinese namesake, even if it is only for my benefit. In the meantime, I gave several of the students a simple English name, matching the sound of their Chinese name, but one chose the name “Lion King” as that was one of his favorite movies and his name had an “l” sound. Here in the blog, Devon’s essay is “My English name is Devon,” which he chose correctly his first year at Yangzhou University, after first accidentally choosing a girl’s name and having his male student acquaintances laughing at him. He was lucky that he didn’t get the nickname, “wrong name Devon,” as I got the nickname at 15 of “wrong-way Michael.”

Since I have finished my teaching this semester at Ocean University of China and I am leaving Qingdao in a week, this was a wonderful opportunity to assist my own student Devon (friends for nearly 10 years now) briefly in an informal teaching of the students enrolled in this summer English camp, and to get to know some Chinese teens who are the same age as my two oldest granddaughters, Christine (18 and turning 19) and Elizabeth (17 and becoming 18 in a few days) and to make friends with them.

Thanks Devon, Momma (his lovely wife), and the delightful young students in the Chinese summer English camp. In the autumn as I will be on a 189 meter long semester at sea ship with 600 students, 30 teachers, 30 staff, and perhaps 150 crew members, fortunately, I will not have to “row the boat ashore.” Now I had come the right way to see Devon (my fifth time to visit his community, including his wedding 6 years ago). Michael
___________________________________________________________________

michael  Jul 22 Essays