China Trip (Finally)

Well, I finally got the chance to put some pictures up from my trip to China. It was a good trip and I got to see a lot of great things. When I tell people that I went to China, they ask where. I tell them Wuhan and Xi'an. They seemed shocked that I did not go to Bejing, Shanghai or Hong Kong. I guess its similar to going to America and not going to New York or LA. Probably like a foreigner going to America and visiting Indianapolis or Cincinnati. Hey, just had some things I wanted to see.

Anyway, the first two pictures are of me (obviously) at Hua Shan. Hua Shan is a sacred mountain, one of 7 in China (I think that number is correct). It interesting. We left at about 7am, and it was a two hour ride to the mountain. Well, we would expect to get there around 9:30 or 10. But we stopped at some temple for a while and ended up not getting to the mountain until noon. Then we had lunch and didn't actually get going to the mountain until 1pm. You could walk all the way up or you could take a life that would take you most of the way up (three hour walk, one way, or a 5 minute lift). Problem is the line for the lift was over an hour.

We finally got to the top and could not see hardly anything with the clouds. Started walking around and it was hard and hot. The steps were steep and there were a lot of steep cliffs. Had to hold on to chains in certain places to simply make it up the steps. But it was still interesting. did not get as far as I would have like, or all the way around (the path makes a loop going up and down certain peaks), since we had a time limit to get down to the bottom and there was another hour long wait for the lift back down to the bottom. Still, it was a good day and a good experience.

The next picture is of the Bell Tower in the center of Xi'an. There is a giant bell in the tower which would ring when the farmers were supposed to come home from the fields. Xi'an was a very interesting city. I really liked it and even looked into international schools there. I think there was one, but it was very small and I feel I would have similar problems there as I am finding at ASB with the schedule and lack of resources. But it is a very neat city and a place that I would consider living if I could.

The final two pictures are of the Terracotta Warriors. This was a really cool thing and I am very happy that I was able to make it to see this. In fact, it was the main reason for me even going to Xi'an after Wuhan. I was very impressed with this and even got a chance to take a picture of the farmer who found the first warrior while drilling a well (though I wasn't supposed to take a picture). The pictures are of Pit 1, which is the largest pit. Pit 2 was not completely uncovered yet and Pit 3 was a lot smaller.

One thing I didn't understand about this was the fact that these were first discovered in 1974, but they only have three pits. There is a tomb of the emperor who built these and that has yet to be excavated. The tour guide said this is because of some rivers that run underneath and around the tomb which do not allow people to get in. I have a hard time believing that people cannot get into the tomb to excavate it or we have not found more pits. It seems odd, with all the technology, that more has not be discovered. The guide said they are looking, but I would think they would have found much more between then and now. Something seems a little odd about that.

Another thing about the trip that was interesting, the emperor (and I forgot his name) who built these warriors also built the Great Wall and they kept on saying how great of an emperor he was, uniting China into one nation. But in the same breath they talked about how mean he was and how he worked the slaves to death and trapped some of them behind or under the wall. Odd that he can be this great man, yet he can also do so many horrible things.

Anyway, it was a really good trip and I had a great time.

Aaron

Slick

I have a student that just came in during a break to read me his summer story that he wrote for Language Arts class. He talked about going different places and traveling and what he did. The reason he wanted to read me the story is that he included me in it. I never saw him this summer, but he did go to America for a little bit and he's a pretty big wrestling fan (WWE). He told me the other day that Wrestlemania is might come to Indianapolis in a few years and that he will see me there. Thats what he put in the paper, that he can't wait to get back to America for Wrestlemania and visit with Mr. Aaron.

This is a kid who had some problems last year with different things and was/still is on medication for certain things. I don't know what the deal is, but I've really connected with him this year and he seems to be thriving on it. He still struggles in class and staying focused, but he has a little more energy and enthusiasm about himself this year, which is a good thing. I even started calling him "Slick" as a nickname and he loves it, gets a big grin on his face when I call him that and is happy.

He wanted me to come watch him give his presentation during his language class today, but I have classes and cannot make it. It does make me feel really good that he would come to me and ask me that. Makes me feel like I am doing something right, makes me feel that I am helping, like I felt with my kids that I coached back home. Been a while since I really had that feeling, and I like it, can't get enough of it. I hope I can build on this, because this is why I changed and went into teaching. This is the reason I am doing what I am doing right now.

Slick... thats one cool kid.

Aaron

New School Year

Started the school year up again today. It was pretty hectic, as bad as last year if not worse. I thought we had planned for a lot of things before we left last year and had a lot of things organized and ready for this year, but things still are chaotic. This is attributed to several aspects,

1. Our curriculum coordinator/assistant principal took a leave of absence for the year. This forced one of the HS Social Studies teachers to take the assistant principal position and give up a few of his classes. So, even though we are extremely over-staffed, we were running around trying to find a social studies teacher. A few times people were placed there and then it was changed (for various reasons). Not sure how it will end up, but its crazy.

2. There is a new bell schedule for the school. HS is on a block, MS is on half-blocks/semi-block (most middle school classes are half a HS block, the core subjects have a full block one or two days a week) and I do not even know what Elementary is doing. Anyway, there are some teachers who teach both HS and MS, or all three. Trying to fit their schedule into the actual schedule is a mess. It is forcing the MS kids to not have the same class at the same time on a daily basis.

In fact, on the first schedule given to me, I had 7th grade for 3 bells on Monday and 3 bells on Tuesday, and didn't see them the rest of the week. It is better now, but still confusing with all the differences in the schedule. I've been told this comes from above and is something that has been decided well above the principal. I'll just smile and do my best to make it work and have some fun while I'm at it.

I know I am not fully prepared for the school year. I am teaching pretty much the same classes, but I am changing up the way I teach them a little and I could have prepared better for that. I was going to come in last week but got busy with MEDO classes. So I'm catching up a little the rest of this week and seeing how things are going. I'll try to prep a little more each day and go from there.

The classes are also much smaller than last year. Enrollment is down and I notice it in the classrooms. Right now, I have 5 students scheduled for my Geometry class next semester. I'm also team teaching Pre-Calculus with another teacher. That will be good because I'll be able to see his style and incorporate it into my style if I want. Hopefully it will make things better for me as a teacher.

I know things will improve, they always do. But I am upset that things are not going as smooth as I expected. I really thought we had things sorted out before the start. However, we do have a new principal as well and I think that plays into the confusion some.

Aaron