Cars In My Neighborhood - Rules and Regulations

Hey! So it's been a LONG time since I wrote a new entry - so much to write about, but so little time! As I prepare to write and reflect more, I thought I could entertain you all with pictures of cars from my neighborhood.

What I find so interesting about car usage here in Hangzhou is that there is so little regard for others; for example, cars have the right of way, they find ANY place to park, and drivers honk crazily even when it's clear that the next person needs to wait for traffic to move on ahead. Ok, others may tell me to chill out and proceed to bring up issues in India - I need to witness it for myself someday, but at the very least, here are some pictures of (parked) cars I've seen around Hangzhou along with sardonic/exasperated captions:

Yes, it's parked!

Nice parking job.

You kinda just have to scoot around these two.

Look closely - this is a one way street...

That's pretty smart, actually. (This guy's fine)

The roads are already narrow in this neighborhood - thanks for making it even narrower!

Thanks for parking in the middle of the sidewalk - how did you even get here in the first place?

This can't be good for either car (*cringe)...but I guess they're trying to be polite.

According to my aunt from Hangzhou, these people are usually ticketed (when police officers are actually doing their job) but the fines are so low that people usually don't care about it and end up "facing the consequences." It's like paying for parking, I guess.

Now, I'm thinking about how justice/security/fines are dealt with in the United States: I know some people easily and readily despise police officers, but, when fines are so high and when officers are so strict, does it not communicate to people that they ought to stay in line and regulate themselves in order to create a safe environment for others? Does it not feel...safer, in most parts of the US, or at least less chaotic?

Could this be carried into the classroom? Absolutely: clear structures and rules are necessary, while not letting anything slide by; when the teacher (leader/officer) is strict and CONSISTENTLY addresses issues as they come up, it allows students (community members) to know what the expectations are. It changes their ATTITUDE, thus affecting how they function in the classroom (neighborhood).

Essentially, teachers design and dictate the functionality/flow of the classroom environment. It could be one that's chaotic: a "world" filled with empty threats and inconsistent standards leading to what I've witnessed here in Hangzhou with these cars. Or it could be secure: even if people own guns and could be nasty to each other, the general laws/rules (and how they're carried out) in many cities in the US allow community members to stay safe while going about their everyday lives. I imagine there are many other kinds of "communities" out there, led by all sorts of different leaders with different motivations. Ok, I'm not saying that the US is perfect - it's far from it. But for the sake of this conversation, I think you get what I mean.

So let's create safe spaces for our students (or kids, or followers, or whatever)! Be stricter, hold higher expectations, and don't be a tyrant, all while holding positive intentions :)

What Does It Mean to "Create" Music? (The Creative Process)

A few months ago, I got into a conversation with a colleague: s/he loves dancing to and playing music, but claims that when it comes to understanding music theory, s/he's clueless. My colleague also says that the creative process of music comes when one plays music. But, if one simply reads sheet music (follows the rules to the dot), is one really CREATING music?

Yet, from a composer's point of view, I came in thinking that creativity comes in the process of putting something together from the ground up (in which case, some knowledge of music theory is necessary). But a piece of sheet music is simply not music - someone has to play it to have it heard. Is there validity in piece of sheet music if it just sits there?

So what exactly does it mean to create music?

This makes me think of cooking as an analogy: a cook could follow a recipe and create a dish (the product) to be shared and enjoyed with others. With enough experience, one could eventually create recipes from scratch (there could DEFINITELY be young recipe writers!). This person is also like a music composer, with the recipe acting like the musical score for another cook/musician to follow (Composers aren't necessarily old/dead European males).

The recipe writer could also be a cook (the composer could also be a musician) - he learns more from DOING the cooking and playing in the kitchen (a composer learns more from actively playing and DOING music) - future compositional choices in cooking and music are based on things learned in the play process.

I would imagine, at some point, the recipe writer could delve into the chemical compositions, reactions, and processes that happen to the food while it is cooking and could create recipes based on theory, just like how a music composer could use musical theory as a basis for musical composition.

What does this imply?

Picture this: when young kids are told to just "cook" without any instructions and guidance, we will probably be left with a mess with all sorts of mistakes here and there leading to an inedible product (half-cooked, filled with egg-shells, etc.). In other words, a beginner initially learns certain techniques from a guide (maybe a parent in the "child cook" scenario. How about a music teacher?) in order to figure out the process of putting something together (a dish, a musical piece, a sentence, a science report, etc.).

Personally speaking: I'm beginning to realize that learning music is not just about learning theory. Kids (especially elementary students) NEED instructions and structures in the context of tangible experiences in order to be successful. They learn music by initially DOING music: singing folksongs, playing musical games, playing known songs on instruments, etc. They eventually ABSORB enough musical experiences and become comfortable enough to play more on their own, riffing and adding variations onto their prior experiences (similar to how a cook who originally follows a recipe eventually adds his own variations to a recipe).

It's a hand-in-hand process: as the music teacher, I ought to provide my elementary students with tangible musical experiences that also play into developing one's ownership of musical decisions. And they should have fun while doing so!

Adjusting Expectations, Constructivism, and Bilingualism as the Bridge

Hey everyone, I haven't had a ton of time to write recently, but I'm still constantly thinking and reflecting!

One of my recent contemplations is on expectations and standards:

What kinds of expectations do I hold for my students? What standards do I use to guide my planning?

The tricky part is, as I have reflected in an earlier post, my students struggle with the English language and with culture as well. For instance, we recently sang a bunch of Christmas songs and danced to movements from the Nutcracker; they will not know its cultural significance unless we set it aside and discuss it. Or, whenever we sing songs, I have to break it down for them so that they know what exactly they're singing about.

To once again describe my job in a nutshell: I am expected to bring a Westernized music education to Chinese students who have had little to no prior "Western" cultural experiences.

Thus, educational standards from Western countries are null; we cannot expect a 1st grader in China to perform in the same way that a 1st grader in the US would do. (Reminder, our school is not an international school for expats; it is open to ordinary Chinese kids) Adjustments must be made.

In my mind, bilingualism plays a HUGE role in such a context, as I could help kids connect their prior knowledge (all in Chinese - their main mode of communication/understanding) to create new meaning. Then this begs the question: what do I do if my administrators tell me to only speak English in class?

To be completely honest, I have been "cheating," because if I want my students to fully understand, I have to be able to communicate with them. If they can use their main mode of communication/understanding in order to create new meaning in English, then that's what I will do.

And maybe that's what constructivism is: to help my students create new meaning by respecting where they're coming from (and Scaffolding from there); take a chill pill in the meantime, because shoving everything down their throats and expecting instant results isn't going to help them.

Scaffolding Creativity

Goal: To teach students to take a creative/generative approach to music (to "synthesize" and not just "regurgitate.")

Problems:

1. When left in an unstructured environment, students go berserk or do not know how to respond
2. Students do not have enough concrete musical experiences to draw upon when making musical choices (Can't just tell kids: "Go and create!" - Create WHAT? And how?)
3. Creativity and problem solving is not part of the cultural context.

Now, how do I apply my own problem-solving skills to try and achieve the goal?

Solutions and words to remember (Contemplation):

1. Give students more concrete musical experiences (sing more songs, play more musical games, etc.)
2. Provide a strong structure to guide learning, produce flow, and provide predictability.
3. Think of creativity in different forms, such as choices made in in musical games.
4. Get instruments to use as tools/aids for creativity and play (have been ordered and are now on the way!!)
5. Simplify activities and take small steps at a time.
6. Remember that learning is a process. It takes TIME. In a couple of years, a school culture will develop.

And yes, that is the interesting thing about my situation; since the school is completely new, there are a lot of things that seem impossible to achieve at this point, but I have to keep reminding myself that after a structure and school-culture is in place, the only ones who really need to ease into it will be the newcomers, and they will have a much easier time as they will see the older children as examples. In the meantime, everyone's a newcomer. And that is ok; I just need to adjust my expectations!

Finding Happiness

I felt compelled to write this blurb after being reminded in a good talk with a friend/colleague during break in October:

You cannot wait for others to hand happiness to you; you have to be proactive and find what makes YOU happy. And ALLOW yourself to BE HAPPY.

Things have been difficult as I am now removed from the structure of being schooled and the drive to achieve (grades, degrees, etc.). School is tough in the sense that you bring work home in the form of studying, writing papers, or reading; it always looms overhead.

At this point in life, I have gone beyond schooling and am supposedly free to do what I like. I have a well-paying job and am constructing a music program from scratch. Yet, I am not fully satisfied.

Well, what do I even do with my time, or free time for that matter?

For some reason I feel the "need to be productive" and focus on work in my free time, as I had been doing for the past several years. I would also like to do other things, but cannot motivate myself to do so. I have recently been asking myself: what happened to the joy of playing a great video game, reading a novel, taking a walk, playing music for enjoyment, talking with people (NOT about work), or creating things?

I feel like I'm going nuts.

I introduced the song "Simple Gifts" (a Shaker song) to my 7th graders - I think the lyrics may speak some truth in light of this craziness:

'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free 

'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be, 

And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

Here's a beautiful rendition/cover done by The Piano Guys - hope you'll enjoy it :)

On Relatives and Struggling to Belong (or: Setting Boundaries)

Hi everyone! I'm currently on break due to a National Holiday, and during this time I had the chance to hang out with some of my relatives.

Relatives! According to Google, "relative" comes from the Latin word "relativus," meaning "having reference or relation," as well as the English word "relate."

As welcoming as these relatives are, I feel that I cannot fully "relate" to them. I have noticed:

• There are many observed habits that my "Western side" finds uncomfortable (i.e. shouting across a restaurant to tell the waitress that she missed an order).
• There are many social and conversational "givens," especially when they all interact with each other. As they take part in the "in group," I feel left out; I am an outsider.
• There are many things they want to do for me to show their hospitality and care, but sometimes I simply want to say: "No, thank you (Please give me some space)."

This isn't all bad though! My struggling to belong is great for a couple reasons:

• I have the chance to learn more about Chinese culture.
• I will learn more about myself and what I believe in throughout this process.

At the root, I am learning to form boundaries; I am giving definition to myself and all components of myself (Philosophy, beliefs, etc.), which, as a young adult trying to figure out life, I find very exciting! (And it is something I will happily partake in)

Will my relatives and I ever "relate" to each other? I have an inkling that we will never reach complete understanding, and maybe that is ok, because that's the basic reality: we are different.

P.S. I just skimmed the wikipedia article that I linked to "boundaries" above - it's fascinating (and very much related to this post)! Please give it a skim when you have the time :)

Could Discipline, Structure, Independence, and Creativity Coexist?

Recently I've been thinking a lot about childrens' need for structure; structures allow kids to know if they're doing well in class; it also lets students know what to expect - it makes class feel safer and more predictable. Through structures, kids become "cultured" (they learn what behaviors are acceptable or not).

Yet, I also read "School as the Product of the Adult Fantasy of a World Without Children" (from I'm Only Bleeding, Alan A. Block), which describes how education smothers the imaginative, playful aspect of childhood. This goes hand in hand with one of my favorite books, The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), which juxtaposes the perspective of the adult (rigid, calculated, stressed) with the perspective of the child (innocent, hopeful, fresh). While in graduate school with no real teaching experience, I veered on the side of emphasizing creativity/free-thought/less-structured (somewhat idealistic, to say the least) - I dreamed of leading classes based on open-projects and Socratic seminars (the language barrier does not help in this area, haha).

However, at this point in time, I feel that I'm beginning to see the need for MORE structure: I have encountered an episode where I was stressed and appalled by the way my middle school students behaved (I was supervising them when they had some free-time; it was like a battle royale - kids yelling at each other, then screaming louder to try getting their way, lots of pushing and shoving, defacing property that isn't theirs, etc.); this was weeks after "telling" them that they are expected to respect the teacher, the space, and their peers.

Respect, as most of the "foreign teachers" know it, does not seem to exist in these students' lives.

As we're preparing our students for a Western-style education--and as I have reflected with countless colleagues--these students do not seem capable of having free-time without unleashing pandemonium. In other words, they NEED structure to keep them in place and for them to channel their creativity and energies in more productive ways. For example I had to teach a lesson to my 7th graders on how to rehearse (step by step!) because they did not know how to do it on their own; when left on their own, they goofed off.

Perhaps this is where we could apply the concept of Parker Palmer's paradox (The Courage to Teach): there are many situations where two seemingly opposite sides exist. Structure is necessary, but it is meaningless without the creative/free component (freedom within structure).

Could Discipline, Structure, Independence, and Creativity Coexist? Yes - in fact, they must!