Skip to content
  • Epic Quest
  • Contact Me!
  • About Me
Instagram YouTube Facebook
Menu

Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker.

Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker. Doing all three in China
Instagram YouTube Facebook
  • Epic Quest
  • Contact Me!
  • About Me
Hit enter to search or esc to close
Home  >  China • Teaching English  >  The End of an Era
Posted inChina Teaching English

The End of an Era

Posted By Becky Ances Posted on June 5, 2014
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

A typical classroom view from the teachers podium.
A typical classroom view from the teachers podium.

Today I taught my last class at Zhejiang Agriculture and Foresty University. It was 2nd year students from Survey of English Speaking Countries. I still have paper work to submit, and all the annoying bits of teaching but that’s it…I’m done with class.
I started in the fall of 2009 and since then I have taught:
Oral English
Book Club
Advanced Video
Basic Writing
Listening/Speaking
British and American Culture
British and American History
History of English Speaking Countries
British Culture and Society
Newspaper Reading
Western Culture Through Movies (a class of my own design)
Class Pictures
All in all I’ve taught 2,224 hours of class to a whopping 1,200 students!! (Even I had to double check the math on that one because it is unbelievable to me. But it’s true.)
This school has been good to me, the students have been good to me and Lin’an has been good to me. But five years is a long time and the road calls. I didn’t expect to be here for so long in the first place. I didn’t know I would like teaching, much less be good at it. And yet I do. It’s one of the main factors I have lived in China so long for.
Where will I be going next? I’ll still be in China but stay tuned for more details. For today is not about thinking of the future, it’s about appreciating the past. Thanks to everyone I’ve taught for the past 5 years. Even you shitty students (and there were plenty of those) taught be something. So thank you all. It’s been fun.
The best classes were when I made the students do the teaching.
The best classes were when I made the students do the teaching.

The worst classes were the day before a holiday. Most students wanted to catch a bus home so class was quite pathetic those days.
The worst classes were the day before a holiday. Most students wanted to catch a bus home so class was quite pathetic those days.

I never once but a student, and yet the beginning of every new class started like this. Like they were too scared to sit too close to me and I had to force them into the front rows.
I never once bit a student, and yet the beginning of every new class started like this. Like they were too scared to sit too close to me and I had to force them into the front rows.

Arts and craft in college? Yeah, well these guys don't get much opportunity to do anything even slightly creative so if I could throw in an artsy activity it was better.
Arts and craft in college? Yeah, well these guys don’t get much opportunity to do anything even slightly creative so if I could throw in an artsy activity it was better.

Last speaking class of the semester is always a party.
Last speaking class of the semester is always a party.

Tags: final day last class ZAFU
Previous Article Today is Just a Normal Day
Next Article Student Gifts Over the Years

Related Posts

What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020)

We are a month into the fall 2020 semester, so I thought I’d give a little update on what the teaching situation is like. Masks? Alternate day in-class attendance? Social distancing on campus and a mix of classroom and online learning? Well….no. None of that. If you were beamed to

Read More about What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020)
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

I Won “Favorite Teacher!”

College has started and students have come back to school after being gone for 6 months, so I wasn’t surprised when a few students contacted me to ask if I was still on campus. But I was surprised when they said they wanted to see me and give me flowers.

Read More about I Won “Favorite Teacher!”
Please install Travelera Share Buttons plugin

2 Comments

  1. E-Phoenix
    June 5, 2014 at 3:09 am

    Haha… That picture of the students sitting in the middle rows is hilarious. It’s like they were too scared to be close to you, but they didn’t want to offend you by sitting in the back rows.
    Do your students know about your blog?

    Reply
  2. becky
    June 9, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    I know! I hate teaching in the big rooms because the students try to sit so far away. They don’t realize it’s at their own detriment because they can’t hear as well or see as well. So I always force them to sit in the first few rows and I make a point NOT to call on people in the first row. (I think that’s why they avoid it, they think the front row has to do more talking or something.) I prefer to call on people sitting the furthest away because they think they’re “safe.”
    And yeah, I think some do. I don’t advertise it in class or anything, but I also don’t keep it a secret. One student did a presentation on “what foreigners think of China” and used my blog as his examples, so now his class knows.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020)
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!”
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.)
  • What is the Situation in China Like Now?
  • Painting a Chinese Dragon

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Recent Posts

  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020) Becky Ances October 9, 2020
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!” Becky Ances September 21, 2020
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.) Becky Ances September 10, 2020
  • Popular
  • Recent
  • The Swiss Family Robinson are a Bunch of Jerks December 11, 2009
  • Making it Official: My Chinese Boyfriend December 7, 2012
  • Good Chinese Wife Review and a Chance to Win a Free Book!! July 27, 2014
  • 10 Signs You've Lived in China a Long Time March 29, 2014
  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020) October 9, 2020
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!” September 21, 2020
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.) September 10, 2020
  • What is the Situation in China Like Now? July 30, 2020

Subscribe Now to Our Newsletter, It’s Free!

Get the best content delivered straight into your inbox!

Facebook Twitter Google+

About

I’m an American who has been living in China for more than a decade! This is my blog where I muse about all things China. Please also check out my YouTube channel “Badminton Becky” and my other badminton blog at www.badmintonbecky.com

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • What School is Like in China Right Now (Fall 2020) October 9, 2020
  • I Won “Favorite Teacher!” September 21, 2020
  • I Entered a Puzzle Competition! (You can make fun of me all you want.) September 10, 2020
© Copyright 2017. Theme by BloomPixel.