Being a Class Monitor

Susan with Yue Yu (left) and Zhang Zheng

Every middle school and high school classroom in China is firmly structured and follows the communist philosophy of duty. One of the communist system’s strongest advocates is the classroom Monitor.

Meet Yue Yu, a grade two student in a high school in China. G

rade two in China can be compared to grade eleven in Canada.

Yue Yu’s duty is to observe and report the overall conduct of the students including the subject study leaders, the group leaders and student on duty, to the school's head teacher. The monitor is also responsible for reporting on the foreign teacher. Yue Yu reports absence, misbehavior, inappropriate language, inappropriate topics, late arrival, unfinished homework and homework not handed in. Yue Yu takes her duties as monitor very seriously.

“How did you get chosen to be the monitor?” I said.

“The Head Teacher chose me to be the monitor because I have the highest marks in every subject”, Yue Yu said.

Monitor leads study on Vancouver, Canada

Yue Yu’s English is a band score of 4 IELTS. IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. It is a test of English language skills designed for students who want to study in the medium of English either at university, college or high school. Yue Yu’s band score of four indicates that she is a ‘Limited User” and that she has basic English language competence that is limited to familiar situations. Yue Yu has frequent problems in understanding and expression and is not able to use complex language. This is good news and bad news for the teacher, because part of Yue Yu’s responsibility is to report the teacher’s words and actions in the classroom to the Head Teacher and you want her to comprehend your meaning.

The duty of classroom monitor is described by Peng Wen Juan, a Chinese English teacher, this way:

In my opinion, the job of the monitor in a class is to be a good example and a good guide, to lead the class to having a good attitude towards studying, and also help teachers to have good classes. best wishes! 

Peng Wen Juan

You Are Cared For

Every high school class in China has a Monitor. His or her duty, as described by a Chinese English teacher, reveals its purpose. 

“In my opinion, the job of the monitor in a class is to be good example and a good guide, to lead the class to having a good attitude towards studying, and also teachers to have good classes.”

On March 13, I stayed home from my teaching job at Tianjiabing High School. My flu condition had reached a crescendo where I couldn’t talk. I relayed a text message to the Foreign Teacher’s office and advised them of my condition. I slept most of the day and woke the following morning refreshed and ready to be with my students.

Susan teaching song at English Corner

I walked into Class No. 8 and was greeted with happy faces and a solitary note atop my desk at the front of the room. I glanced quickly at the message and absorbed that it was written with compassion and concern for my health. The Monitor, Jammy, expressed her unease for my having removed my coat days before.

“Dear Mrs. Black,

Are you alright now?

There are lots of changes of the weather in spring in China. So you must pay more attention to the weather. You can’t take off your coat when feeling a little bit hot. Because it may be colder.

So you’d better wear more and not take off your coat. Or you will catch bad colds and feel sick.

It won’t be good, right?

Love, Jammy.”

Frank entertains the students

Lovely Jammy cared. The classrooms in many of the Chinese schools where Frank and I taught did not have heat so we learnt to wear a warm jacket. My mistake was, after having climbed five flights of stairs to get to Class 8, was to remove my jacket and teach in a cotton blouse.

Your students care. They don’t want to have their classes interrupted, nor do they want your English class replaced with a math class. You are an important participant in their lives. Take care and you will be rewarded for your passion.

Jammy's note

The Student On Duty

In every middle school and high school classroom in China, there is a Student On Duty. His or her responsibilities include erasing the blackboard for the teacher, sweeping the floors at the end of the day, aligning the desks between classes, opening or closing the curtains and windows, and other duties assigned by the Chinese teacher.

Foreign teachers don’t always know that you have a helpful assistant in your midst. I discovered their existence one day when I was presenting a class under the observation of Chinese English teachers. Before class, I filled the blank board with words and phrases for the students to use to build sentences. After the fifteen-minute session, I turned my back to the audience and began to erase the board.

“Mrs. Black, Wang Jie Yu can do that. It is her duty,” one of the seated teachers said.

A young girl came to the front of the class and removed all the script from the blackboard. This gave me the opportunity to scribble the second session’s tasks for everyone to review. I thanked the young student as she took her seat and noted that I would call on my student on duty in every class to help me out.

Learning takes place when one is able to enact social norms after having learnt them. A ‘transformation’ effected in a practical action must take place. ~ Confucius

Student on Duty supports the teacher

Students on Duty will clean up after New Year celebration

The Highest Duty of Civil Life

Teaching a song at English Corner

You can read an excerpt from my story published at DreamWave  Teaching English In China

Teaching English in China, to middle school and high school students, changed my outlook on youth. In Canada, I had left behind an excruciating experience with my grade 8 students, where one of the boys piled papers on his desk and set it on fire. That evening, I discussed with my husband that we take a teaching English as a second language course and head overseas. I had heard that the young people in China were respectful of their elders.

Students prepare for a fashion show

Susan interviews performers