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9.17.08
Ashley Neely teaches an English class.
Young alumni share teaching award for service in China
Some 5,000 freshmen at SIAS International University, Xinzheng, in the Henan province of China, recently voted for "Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year" -- and chose two Erskine College alumni to share the award.
Drew Carlisle of Essex Junction, Vt., and Ashley Neely of Rock Hill, both 2007 graduates, returned from China June 12 after a year of teaching oral English to freshmen. Along with their teaching prize, they brought home vivid memories.
Getting there
Carlisle, who earned a history degree at Erskine, said a history course piqued his interest in China and he started inquiring about teaching abroad once he was accepted into a master's program and had a year to wait before beginning graduate work.
"I began applying online to a number of teach-English-abroad opportunities purely as an adventure seeker," he said. "However, most of the e-mails I received in response were sketchy at best."
Recalling a story he had read about Erskine graduate Hannah Collier's experience in China, and hoping to find a legitimate educational enterprise he might investigate, Carlisle sought Collier's advice.
"From Hannah I learned about SIAS International University, home to the largest contingent of American foreign faculty in China," Carlisle said.
Neely, a business administration graduate, considered carefully whether to make the commitment to teach in China. "The application to serve as an SIAS professor filters each applicant to see whether they would be an appropriate fit for the environment and community," she said. "After applying and serious prayer I accepted the offer to teach in China for a year."
"SIAS is a new university, founded by a Chinese businessman who became a naturalized U.S. citizen," Carlisle explained. "He hires Christians because they are honest and have a good work ethic. The motto of the university is 'East meets West.'"
Living there
For both Carlisle and Neely, "East meets West" meant confronting the realities of living and working in China, from transportation difficulties to linguistic and cultural barriers.
Transportation problems, ranging in severity from inconvenient to nearly nightmarish, were part of life in China for the two English teachers.
Neely said traveling around China was the most challenging aspect of her experience. "When I rode in a taxi for the first time in China, I was told it was best to keep my eyes looking at my shoes," she said. "They pass and play 'chicken' constantly. The buses do the same."
Carlisle, too, encountered travel difficulties, once after a severe winter storm had caused problems with rail travel. "I was stranded in the southern city of Guangzhou with 800,000 Chinese people at the train station trying to get home from their Chinese New Year vacation."
Eventually he was able to purchase a standing-room-only ticket and slept in a bathroom sink during part of the 27-hour trip.
"Later I moved to the aisle and let people walk over me all night," Carlisle said. "The floor was sticky and covered in a layer of filth. It was such squalor that I was on the verge of claustrophobia for the first time in my life."
Linguistic and cultural barriers sometimes proved comical. Carlisle recounted his discovery of how he had unwittingly provided amusement for his students. Some weeks into the semester, one of his students played a song for him on her cell phone. The song was in Chinese, but at one point, he heard the word "Drew."
"Hey, that's my name," he exclaimed.
"We know," his students chorused, and began laughing. When he asked what his name meant in Chinese, they told him, "pig."
"So, when I told all of you to call me 'Drew' you've been thinking in your head, 'pig'?"
The students admitted they had been laughing about his name since the first day of class. "I cannot imagine attending an Erskine class where a professor introduces himself as a barnyard animal," Carlisle mused.
Precious time
Spending time with students and learning more about their everyday lives was part of the teaching and learning experience for Neely and Carlisle. The teachers scheduled office hours in their apartments, allowing them to get to know their students outside the classroom and affording students the chance to practice speaking English.
"I've realized that as an American I am extremely materialistic, impatient and arrogant," Neely said. "In contrast, the Chinese students live full, humble lives and make do with less."
Carlisle said that as a student teacher in the United States, he found that American high school students "wouldn't talk in class and generally frowned at any teacher no matter how much you tried to rev them up into learning."
His Chinese students "made me laugh every day with their creativity and enthusiasm," he said. "With my Chinese students there was constant interaction. They would 'ooh,' 'ahh,' laugh, clap and gasp."
Students came to Carlisle's apartment about twice a week to "cook some American brownies and talk about culture."
Neely said when she met with her female students, "Boys were always a hot topic of conversation."
"Other interesting conversations I've had over the past year have included church-related topics, why God loves us even though we do sinful things, the differences between America and China," she added.
She also found time for special activities with her students, including roller skating, picnics and movies.
"In America everyone has a tendency to rush around, accomplish errands, scratch things off their 'to do' lists, and in general be in an impatient hurry," Neely said. She recalled the patience of her Chinese students, who would "spend hours preparing and then many more hours eating" a special meal.
Mutual impact
Exploring Chinese culture, traveling around China and even in other Asian countries during school breaks -- Carlisle went to Indonesia for surfing, Thailand for rock climbing and Vietnam for scuba diving -- the two teachers enjoyed opportunities most people will never have. But as they reflect on their year in China, their focus is on their students.
"It was quite a rewarding adventure," Neely said. "The most positive feature of being a teacher in China was spending time with the students. The majority of them have open minds and want to learn more about spoken English and American culture."
The time the teachers spent with students, in class and elsewhere, resulted in real progress, according to Carlisle, who said he videotaped his students early in the fall and again in late spring.
"The change in their English speaking ability was profound," he said. "I really admire their hard work. It is incredibly rewarding as their teacher to see their improvement and desire to learn."
Because "foreign faculty are very visible," Carlisle said, he and Neely knew that "witnessing by example" was important.
"Our position as role models and as formative teachers in the lives of our students was heightened because the novelty of our race and citizenship," he said.
Just as Carlisle and Neely made an impact on their students' lives, their students made a deep impression on them.
"I cannot generalize about the Chinese people, but I do know I have had students or experiences that prove they are humble, have servants' hearts and love learning," Neely said.
Students often wanted to pay for their meals or buy them gifts, she said, and came to their aid when they needed translating assistance. Some went beyond providing translation or giving gifts.
"I had to have an IV this past semester and my students sat with me for hours while I was being treated," Neely said. "I left a part of my heart with my sweet students."
Carlisle agreed. "I will miss them dearly."
Drew Carlisle helps student.
Drew Carlisle poses with his students.
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