The RCEF Blog 博客

Kiel Harell became a RCEF Teaching Coach at Guan Ai Primary School in September 2008. He is from the United States and graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris with degrees in political science and anthropology. For two years, Kiel worked as a special education teacher in the Rio Grande Valley as part of Teach For America. Kiel now works with the English teachers at Guan Ai and teaches an English night class especially for rural teachers.

What is a typical day like for you at Guan Ai?

My days at Guan Ai are spent mostly working with teachers, in and out of the classroom. We have two English teachers on campus and I am in most of their classes during the week. Sometimes I am observing their lessons and other times I am actively participating in their classes. After the classes we talk through what worked well and what things need to be changed in the future. When I’m not working directly with the teachers, I am preparing lessons for the adult English classes I lead in the evenings. Half of the Guan Ai teachers attend these classes.

What do you like best about your job?

I love working with the teachers. I really enjoy giving them advice about their lessons and pointing out things that they can improve in their teaching. Sometimes I take over parts of their lessons to show them how I would approach teaching a certain set of vocabulary or grammar rule. Collaborating with other teachers is the best way to learn.

What kinds of breakthroughs have you made?

I’ve had some breakthroughs with communication. Both of the English teachers at Guan Ai participate in my adult English class in the evenings. Their conversational English has improved considerably and they seem more confident in their language skills. If their progress continues, they will be very strong English speakers by the end of the year. This of course makes it easier for us to communicate, but it also makes them better English teachers.

Tell us about a student who has made great progress in your eyes.

There is a young girl in fourth grade who instantly comes to mind when I think of student progress. While she is far from the top of her class, she has made major strides in her behavior. According to her past teachers (before she came to Guan Ai School), she would often not even attend her classes, preferring instead to stay on the playground or hide somewhere else around campus. At Guan Ai, she is always in her classes and generally well-behaved. Knowing the student well, I believe the style of instruction at Guan Ai appeals to her and she is able to better grasp the content because our classes are more participatory. Recently one of the Guan Ai principals visited her home with another RCEF staff member. Her mother and grandmother reported that her behavior at home has also greatly improved. I’m excited to see where her progress leads during the next semester.

What are a couple of the biggest challenges you face and how do you deal with them?

Even though Guan Ai’s English classes are much more interactive than the other ones I have observed in China, it’s still very difficult to get students to practice speaking as much as I would like. It has been a challenge this semester to get students (and teachers) to become comfortable speaking with me. At the beginning of the year, the students were very nervous to try using English with me but now they come up to me during recess and practice. I try to speak to students outside of their classes so that they will be able to use the language beyond the walls of our classroom. Having several English speakers on campus, I think the students are now starting to really see the value of English as a communication tool.