Excited
I meant to blog about this L.A. Times story on Zhao yan feng, a University Instructor from mainland China selected by the college board and the Chinese language council to teach Chinese to high school students. In South Central Los Angeles.
Have you ever watched a horror movie, where the best friend of the heroine is walking through a darkened parking lot by herself? And you scream “NO, DON’T GO THROUGH THE PARKING LOT” but you know she can’t hear you, because she’s going to get slaughtered anyway?
Yeah. That’s kind of how I feel about this.
Truth is, I didn’t go to school in South Central L.A. but I DID take a Chinese language class in high school, taught by a guy in a very similar situation. And we treated him like shit. Except to our teacher, most of us were Asian – taking the class because we thought it would be an easy “A.” It was, but we still ended up playing cards, gossiping and mouthing off in the back of the class anyway. I’m sure he thought we were the good kids gone bad, and god help us if he ever had a kid, because I’m sure he would have put him in a private Chinese school.
It almost feels like an afterthought that of COURSE the educational systems between the United States and China would be completely different, but I’ve seen and heard the stories before; eager teachers hoping to make a difference in society, yet slowly becoming disenfranchised and some of them dropping out in the middle of the year completely. The article tries to end on a bittersweet note, focusing on students that took him seriously, but I can’t help but feel like it’d be a worthless cause, only because I’ve lived it.
How does this post make you feel?
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
NOTE: 8Asians.com is a community, and we thank you for being a part of it. While we welcome and appreciate differences in opinion, if you're rude or you're promoting spam, we have a right to edit or delete your comment. Read our comment policy for more information.
If you see a comment that violates the 8Asians.com comment policy, you may flag the comment by mousing over the comment and clicking "FLAG."
He didn't totally get screwed. People in a totally different culture (and race) are learning his language. Some students are interested and learning. Zhao himself is learning to adapt and learn himself. Not a total bust. If you can get just one to learn, I'd say, it's a success...and he certainly has more than one student learning Chinese. It's gonna take time for the culture shock on both sides to wear off. The man and his class are doing well.
Don't think it's quite...I don't know...for him to say that poverty isn't a deterrent to learning. All Chinese don't go to Harvard or are wildly successful. For poverty to not be an issue with that is a little naive.
Also, people will kill you for nothing. Depends on what nutjob your happen to be robbed with at the time. Heck, Lee Dong Gun's brother got stabbed to death for what...staring?
That was a really difficult article to read. My heart breaks for Zhao. Props to him, though, for taking it all with such grace.
Why the hell would Zhao Yan Feng be sent to South Central Los Angeles. That is crazy. An American teaching in that environment would have problems, let alone a foreigner! I feel really sorry for this guy - he got screwed.
Trackbacks
Custom Search
Recent Posts
- What if Jeremy Lin Weren’t Asian?
- Jason Wu’s Target Collection Debuts With Super Bowl XLVI
- Jennifer Yuh Nelson Wins Annie Award for Kung Fu Panda 2
- Report Reveals APA Gay & Lesbian Organizations Only Receive 0.7% Of Available LGBT Funding
- What I Learned From Posting A Dragon Lady Personal Ad
- Hard Boiled Egg Mold for Bento Decoration
- Is Classical Music Alive For Long?
Recent Comments
- : This is stupid, after a civil war, the loser shouldnt be considered a different country. Civil war in America, Ethiopia, Lebanon etc, didn't end with... – NPR / KQED: Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse
- : @Reechard That's my point... If he weren't Asian, he wouldn't matter (as much). My question is this: Why Jeremy? What makes him special? And what... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : Also, I think your fear that if he fails it will spur stereotypes is unfounded. Those stereotypes already existed before Jeremy Lin exploded into the... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : Also, I think your fear that if he fails it will spur stereotypes is unfounded. Those stereotypes already existed before Jeremy Lin exploded into the... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : I think America pretty much DOES recognize that "LinSanity" is spurred heavily on the fact that he is "Asian-American in a league devoid of them:... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
APA Events
Feb 10: (Los Angeles, CA) CAUSE: Women in Power Annual Luncheon
Feb 15: (Seattle, WA) Pork Filled Players Enter The Year of the Dragon Spam*O*Rama
Feb 16: Adam WarRock and Kirby Krackle: West Cost Tour Dates!!!
Feb 16: (New York, NY) Amar Chitra Katha: Monica Ferrell, Chitra Ganesh, Keshni Kashyap, and Himanshu “Heems” Suri of Das Racist
Feb 17: (Los Angeles, CA) All My Sons
Feb 18: (Stanford, CA) Stanford’s 16th Listen to the Silence Conference- Feb 18: (San Francisco, CA) NAAAP-SF Lunar New Year Gala 2012
Feb 25: (Los Angeles, CA) Past Present I Future Imperatives: Queer Space Time
Staff and Contributors
- Editors
- Ernie Hsiung - Founder, Editor-in-Chief
- Moye Ishimoto - Co-Editor, Editorial
- Joz Wang - Co-Editor, PR & APA Outreach
[...] we’re talking about teachers, 8asians.com wrote about a recent LA Times article on one Zhao Yan Feng. Zhao’s journey to America began [...]
[...] Cultural differences greatly enhance the problem; because there is still a dearth of Chinese teachers in America, many American schools and organizations have had to import teachers and professors from China. My old high school’s Chinese program had a visiting teacher from China who had no experience teaching Chinese at all; he taught English in his native country. Just because you speak the language doesn’t mean you can teach it. [...]