JOHN'S PORTFOLIO: May 2009

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Participate in a Service Activity organized by a GCA teacher

Go to East BeiJing Road primary school
About one month ago, Ms bartell conducted us to go to East BeiJing Road primary school to help some Grade 5 students to study English.
Before we went there, we spent some time to prepare the “lessons” which we would teach them. Before this time, I think for the job of a teacher, that could be quite easy. In my mind they just need to teach the students in their class, and dispose the homework after the lessons. Instead the fact was in order to make the UTO card. We nearly spent the whole class, and we also need to plan the teaching schedule… things were much more intractable than what I have thought.

For teaching a student, I felt the process was very pleasant. Firstly we read the dialogue together, and change to read again. Then I tested them! I said: “ if you could recite it, I would give you a special sticker, as a reward.” he smiled and have a strenuous foray. Luckily he succeed. I thought: “ for teaching the younger teengaers, one of the effective teaching is to offer the reward.”

Later I also taught him some simple antonyms, and the synonyms whichcome from the text book… after the teaching part was over, Genesis and I organized them to played “UTO” together, but the rule was: “ only english is acceptable.” Most of the kids were quite curious, and excited. Although English is still a obstacle for them, they didn’t give up a have a maximum foray…

This was my first time to become a teacher, I felt quite honorable, maybe it crystallized my future job…

Act in a Performance

Act in a Performance

During the New year, on the january1st, we held
a performance at the third floor of the cafeteria, the performance was called “ Snow White”. At that time, I remembered I hid behind the stage and waited for the dub the voice for the Hunter, my heart kept palpitating, and erstwhile experience seemed blur my eyes…

One day, in class Abby announced a surprising news! She said: “through the class meeting, we decided we would have the performance in New Year’s celebration! I chose our performance was “ Snow White”! I felt very ambivalent, in one way I wanted to have a try, I want to have more chance to train my timid personality. However I also felt extremely frightened, I really didn’t have that courage to act in public. As the time elapsed, I felt more paradoxical. Finally I asked Abby: “ Can I dub the voice for someone.” She agreed and be willing to help me….
After the whole actors, actresses were chosen, we began to rehearse. For the simulated one, I didn’t feel nervous anyall. When I read the lyrics in class, nothing bad happened. Finally we joined the performance contest, if we won, we would perform in the New Year’s celebration, in my mind that was such a wondrous thing!

During the contest, I became very intimidated and nervous. Especially when I saw the judgers, my heart nearly bounced out of the mouth. I shuddered and adjusted my voice… “It’s your turn, John!” Abby whispered to me. I wanted to say something, accidently I became dumb and kept saying gibberish…things were so deplorable. I tried for many times and stammered for a while, finally I at last spoke out loud, and faced to judgers…after the contest, I felt quite guilty, I afraid my bad performance could let our class be winnowed out of the good performance. Luckily we won! I was shocked and didn’t speak any thing for a long time…

Now it time for our class to have the performance in New Year’s celebration. I would dub for Genesis. Before the show, I tried to calm down. Shortly after I began with the lines “ you are the most beautiful woman of all!” at first I felt still nervous, however as the performance goes on, I felt more and more confident, I didn’t worry things
Any more, finally I finished it and felt a sense of accomplishment.

Through this activity I found a chinese motto is totally right it called “ one minute on stage, ten years for preparing.” I felt if we wanted to be successful in our life, the prerequisite is we must try and keep practising on it.

Community Involvement

Doing the volunteer work
In this half semester, I mainly worked as a volunteer in community, teachers’ office, and in fashion show
In Ms baretell’s office, I did many kinds of the works, some works need people have the distinct thinking ability. Some need people to have the coherent organization. Some works were just quite trivial like clearing the office, carry the buckets…in teachers’ office things are always quite hectict. Sometimes they needed some students to help them to count the points, for the quizs which we have taken. Sometimes teachers need some students to do the computer research for the planning vocabuary. In some case they also need the students to help them organize the drawer.

I remembered when my first time to go there, I felt so exhausted, my mind was so crazy. I even couldn’t wink, because if I did it I could sleep. At that time time I applied to do some count project, like calculating the numbers, counting the the points. Ms Bartell stared at me and checked my sight for a while. She smiled, and in order to let me awaken, she let me to transport the buckets, and cut some picture from the poster. At the meanwhile some other students were doing what I wanted to do. Things like this last for few weeks. I felt like it was similar to a person to apply a job, if he/she didn’t show the good attitude to the company, and leave a bad impression to it, probably that applicant will be failed.

One day, finally I began to do somethings different. I began to do some more “official” work. Translating , for example. My goal was to translate chinese ancient folks poems “ SAN ZIJING” in English, that was the first challenging task I had met. In fact when I first saw it , I even didn’t understand it in chinese let alone translating into English . I found for doing these kinds of jobs require coherent linguistic organization, and the sense for the liberal art. Viscerally I like these kind of the works, because I think it not only help me to improve my English, but also to earn the volunteer times. As the time goes on there is a vehement feeling smouldered in my heart, my organization was : “ in GCA no matter where you are, and what do you do, English is the most important things which you to improve.

Sometimes teachers have too much, and distributed it to students randomly. So for us in order to finish it on time, colaborative spirit is extremely important. I found students could change their jobs with on another to do what they good at. In GCA, students have their own advantages in different aspects. For example, If I worked with a student who is good at modern technology, and at the meantime I was doing it, so I would probably exchange mine with him, to have the higher working efficiency. For the individual if they want to be successful, they should try to choose what they good at, however if people did something they didn’t like, that is still beneficial for them. They could learn a new skill from their weakness, and be familiar with it. Later they could reverse it as their new skill.

Through the working in the teacher office, I found although that was quite meaningful, it not only help teacher to alleviate their burden, but also let me to study some important lessons. For example, the importance to collaborate with others, to do what you are good at, and the salutary experience to deal with something which you do not like…

Fashion Show (go to see a performance)

Go to a performance

In GCA there is a unwritten tradition, that is the annual fashion show! In students’mind that could be the sleepless night, singers sang the popular songs, dangers flailed their bodys, models walked alone the stages and be punctuated by the applause… that is really a crazy night! So on the 27th of April, I decided to watch the performance anew, I choose to watch this because I think it could relax me, that is one of the therapeutic activity. In GCA I usually have much stress, pressure, in some case life is quite strenuous. So I hope the craziness could alleviate it…and make me feel better.

This time things were much more convenient, because in this year, we have the alfresco performance. It was held just beside the chinese library, not far from GCA’s gate. The performance would be held at 6:30 pm, so about 5 minutes earlier Victor and i have been there.
In this fsahion show I played a double roles, one was audience, the other was the designer! Exactly in this performance, I designed the costume for the Mr burtler. In some degree I felt quite nervous, my heart palpitated during the show. I didn’t know what terrible things could happen, because our group just made the clothes by ourselves without using any modern technology. As a result the texture made people feel quite rought… However, things were better than what I thought. During the show Mr burtler looked like a clown, and made many funny stances etc. finally it amused many people. I felt very exciting, because it was my first time to decided that “greatful” artwork!

However in general, I felt the fashion show was not as wonderful as last year’s. Relatively this time, the performance was just last for 40 minutes, I felt this time the models seemed less enthusiastic, some even looked so cold…

Through the fashion, I felt the connection between the real life and art is more more and more inextricable. While I have the good material success in some case the art culture is more important. It can relax me when I have the trouble, and sometimes when I had the work, It promotes more inspiration from the mind…