"We live therefore we compete"

This series of photos comes from our Round 2 involvement in the National English Competition. The students had to compete on November 14th in Round 1 where they each sat for an Exam that lasted nearly two hours. Of the 12 kids from our school who tested, nine advance to Level 2, which was comprised of the top 15% scorers on the written exam. They had the option of competing individually in the "Oral English" Round, or putting a group performance together. They were all interested in going forward only if they could compete as a group. So for the past several weeks we've been working on a 7 minute presentation I wrote called "The Cost of Kindness." (Thought I'd take the opportunity to get yet another character lesson in their heads!)

At any rate...the title of the piece was apropos given the circumstances we found ourselves within. It was my first experience to see the competitive world of children/parents and educators Here up close. WOW! What an enlightening day it was...big reminder that we're not in Kansas anymore Toto!

When our team got off the bus the murmurs began...some gasps were heard...a few shouted at us. Fortunately for me, I didn't understand what was being said...I just assumed that it was the usual "look there are some foreigners there" that is commonplace in our existence. After we pressed through the throngs of two parent groups hustling their costumed child in a flurry of movement...we made it to the second floor.

Above: This shot was in the holding area where I circled up the team and had them practice their lines. Mrs. Wu from the 4th floor, was also deeply engaged in coaching our team. It was circus-like, to say the least. I was interviewed by a newspaper columnist about our team..and then of course about our large family...and that our soon-coming little brother was from right here in our city. Everyone was taking pictures and the noise was deafening in the room!

I recognized relatively quickly that one of our boys was really not himself...he seemed like he had a foul attitude. So, I pulled him aside to ask what the problem was. He told me that there were children, teachers and parents saying "mean things about our team." He told me that they said things like "foreign teachers and students don' t belong in this competition," "those aren't local students!" and to our Chinese students..."you are getting ahead by working with foreigners." I'm certain that there was more that he didn't tell me, but I got the picture. I told him, then our whole team, that the best way to make such unkind words stop was to be excellent when it was their time to perform. Literally, there were moments when I would see my student's watching and listening to some "trash talk" from another parent or kid and I would physically step into the sight-line and repeat..."focus on your job and be excellent, don' t listen!" It was wild. I even saw one woman, while running and carrying her child, tripping over a bag on the floor and the middle-school aged boy who's bag it was began to shout at her, flailing his arms at her and approaching her aggressively. The pressure must be intense to feel you must resort to these things to get ahead.

Above and Below: Our kids before they entered the auditorium. It was so cold...but they were getting cranked up to perform. It was awesome to see them developing their team spirit!

Below: Our kids doing their piece...

It was an experience never to be forgotten...and we'll know the results soon about how we fared in the competition, we may do well or be scored more intensely because of our "foreigner presence" even though we had the Chinese student's carry the bulk of the speaking...next year we will be even better prepared...but I was so proud of the way our kids held their heads high and let their little lights shine.

Competition. Here you buck up and face it or like a steamroller...it buries you.