I wrote this post back in May but forgot to post:
Taiping is famous for its basketball team. There are three classes in each grade and in fifth and sixth grade 1/3 classes is a special basketball class. The students are put in new homerooms each two years. So a teacher and a class stay together for two years (ie. your teacher and class are the same in first and in second grade). Before entering fifth grade students are tested and placed in classes in terms of athletic ability so that the boys and girls basketball team members are grouped together in their own homeroom class. They spend two years learning and practicing together. I teach all the third through sixth graders and the sixth grade basketball class is one of my most enjoyable classes.
This past weekend they had a big basketball tournament and they invited me to come watch them play. I went with Kristin to watch the girls play on Saturday and then I met Shuting (my co-teacher) Sunday to watch the boys’ game.
Let me tell you, I was impressed. They play so well, and they are only in sixth grade. The girls played hard, but lost Saturday. The other team was vicious, which resulted in a lot of injuries.
The boys won Saturday and were matched up against the returning champions on Sunday. The team they played had three huge boys on their team. They were 180 cm in sixth grade! Despite their lack of height, the boys played really clean and showed their skill. They lost in the end, but they kept the score really close the entire game.
I think the best part of watching them play was watching them interact so positively with one another. Although sixth grade is an awkward age, epecially in terms of boy-girl friendships, the girls team was so excited and supportive of the boys team and vice versa.When I first arrived the girls greeted me and they exclaimed ”the boys are winners!”. After the girls’ game began the boys watched the girls play, and took turns taking pictures and videos with the school’s camera.
Here are some pictures from the game:
Although they lost, they did a wonderful job. We are hoping to use basketball in English class as a dictation exercise. We want to play a game with English commentary and work on decoding it together. They could then write commentary for a video of themselves playing…actually there isn’t enough time probably, but I think it is a good idea.
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