Below this entry is a short run down I found on the history of Teachers Day.
 
Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,
 
Here I sit in my third school, living in my third province on my third Teachers Day in China.
 
How awesome is life!
 
Since returning from my summer 'Beers Noodles N Temples' adventure I've been taking life pretty easy. I killed another bike last week. I was, as usual, along way away from home when my cranks went and once again I had to walk my bike most of the way home. Everything on it was 'dead, striped or broken' and needed replaced so I decided to replace the bike instead of paying pretty much the same on repairs.
 
So now I have a much stronger bike with a body shocker, disk breaks and all the bells and whistles. As Richie Ramone would say, 'she's a rokkin duzie mate!' 
 
School started last Monday and its been a real blast. The kids and I have been having so much fun and I'm yet to have a bad class. I really do have the greatest job in the world. Today we started 'Rooms In Your New House' and its strange how many toilets can fit into one house. One student even had a toilet next to his bed so he didn't have to walk far at night.
 
Their imagination is out of control sometimes.....
......or maybe 'all the time' is a better way of putting it.   
 
The two new teachers (Rob and Jo from Canada) are really cool. I took Rob for his first ride on Saturday and his seat pole broke within the first hour. Pretty much says that anything 'good' made in China is sent overseas. Kind of like Australia sending its 'top grade' meat overseas to countries like Japan etc to get a better price. Robs teaching in the Middle School and has pretty much settled in. Jo is here in my Primary School teaching Grades 1, 2 & 3 and I think it came as a bit of a shock to her.
 
Being a teacher in Canada for twenty or so years and then coming here would be a bit much for anyone to take.
 
Just think about it for a minute. Look at 'our' schools back home. Everything is provided, videos, DVD players, over heads, store rooms etc. Here, well we have a black board and free chalk. Oh and we have up to seventy students per class (in this school anyhow). In Tianyang I had nearly ninety in one of my classes and the rest had eighty. So I now believe it would actually be much harder for an existing teacher to come to China to teach than someone who has never taught before.
 
Imagine the 'self expectations and levels' one would arrive with having taught English speaking students for many years. She is now happy and settled and life is good all around!
 
I've taken them to a few of 'The Favourite' eateries and they have been happy with the food at each. I think 'Yellow' may be the top favourite so far. I still have a few more up my sleeve for them to try out but it's good to take time with these things. The weather went from very humid and sweaty to cool pretty much over night. It's unbelievable how it does that here.

I'm still in shorts and short sleeves but I think I'm pretty much the only one.   
Hey, it's not going to make anyone look at me anymore than they already do now is it!
 
Happily for me Joyce decided to return for another term and we head out for dinner and walk and talk. She's doing some 'Advanced English' exam next month and is busy reciting the strangest English 'Stuff' I've ever heard. She asks me what it all means and my only reply can be 'when you find out, please tell me!'  I honestly have no idea what most of it means, neither does Rob and even Jo being a teacher finds most of it 'rather strange'.
 
Linguistics!
Why does she need to learn such a crazy topic?
 
I would like to say I'm busy getting my summer adventure onto Travelpod, but I'm not. Now that I'm teaching again I'm back at the computer so I'm slowly getting there. Amigo (Luo Wei) is trying to hurry me along so she can see pictures of her beautiful city 'Kaifeng' so I'm trying to at least get Kaifeng on this week to make her cute smile even cuter! I'm still hoping to spend a week with her in October in both Xi'an and Hua Shan.
 
We are still talking all day every day and getting to know each other and that my friends, is a beautiful beautiful thing!
 
So that's about it really.
Life in a Chinese bucket so to say.
(Don't fill it too much or the handle will surely break...ha ha ha!)
 
That brings us to today which is Teachers Day.

The school took all its present and many past teachers out for a huge dinner last Friday night. The food was delicious and everyone had such a wonderful time. My school opened up a new school at the other end of town to accommodate the future families that will soon move into the many new apartment complexes there. It's like they built half a city down there. A few bus loads of us went to have a look before the huge dinner and I was pretty impressed with everything except the bloody tiles.
 
Its now 2007 and they are still covering everything in those horrid bloody Chinese tiles!
 
Today my students gave me so many presents.
I had flowers hanging out of books and behind my ears.
It was such a sweet day and right now I wouldn't change my life for anything.
I'm pretty much where I want to be and have wanted to be for a long time.
 
Remember to read the Teachers Day part below!
 
Beers N Noodles toya.....shane
 
The soundtrack to this entry was none other than KISS
The album 'ALIVE III'
Beers N Noodles all nite and Teach N Party everyday!
 
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Respect for Teachers and Learning
 
In the history of Chinese education, Confucius is a paragon of all teachers, symbolizing the philosophy of "Educate all without discrimination, and teach according to the abilities of ones students." Using the six arts of rites, music, archery, chariot driving, learning (including reading and writing), and mathematics, Confucius had more than three thousand disciples during his lifetime. In practice of his credo, the Sage never refused a student because of his class or character, requiring only that his pupils possess a sincere desire to learn.
 
During the crisis of the 'Spring and Autumn Period', Confucius sought to end the chaos of the times. Believing this disorder to be a reflection of declining morals in society, he exhaustively toured the various warring Chinese states to advise rulers and officials on the merits of ethical rule. In his later years, Confucius reorganized the ancient texts, thus laying a solid foundation for China's enduring civilization.
 
In 1939 the Ministry of Education pronounced that Confucius' birthday would be celebrated on August 28, and designated it as Teachers' Day as well as a national holiday to remember Confucius' enormous contribution to Chinese culture and society. The date was changed to September 28 in 1952 in accordance with chronologists' new findings.
 
Today, Teachers' Day not only commemorates China's foremost teacher in history but also honours all teachers for their hard work during the year.
 
The first Teachers' Day was in 1931, the date was June 6, organized by a group of famous teachers without being officially approved by the Kuomintang Government. In 1939, the Kuomintang Government decided to set the Teachers Day on August 28 (Confucius's birthday), due to the turmoil, it was never carried out throughout the whole country. In 1951, the New China government decided to set the Teachers' Day on May 1, the same day with Labour Day, this wasn't ever popular. Finally, teachers found a day to celebrate their glorious career in 1985, since then, on September 10 every year, teachers all over the country get special attention and gifts for their services to this country.
 
Every year during Teachers' Day, the Confucius Memorial Service is solemnly held at the Confucius Temple to show respect and honour for the Sage. At the "Teachers Day Celebration" held by the Ministry of Education and the various local governments, teachers with the highest seniority and best qualities are recognized for their contribution to society.
 
Being a teacher in China is not simply a job, it is one of the most respected careers.
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