From the English teacher

Dear Parents,

I would like to thank you all for the opportunity to be part of the Great Wall Enrichment Center. I feel privileged to work with such intelligent young people. For more than three decades, I have been teaching in various colleges and universities. You may be interested to know that I have NOT adapted my teaching methods so that I can “teach down” to the class. Further, I am not at all surprised to find that the students are perfectly capable of keeping up with all of our work–and keeping the class lively!

We are continuing with our reading of *The Fruit Bowl Project* and with vocabulary work and writing. I would like to ask that students bring their notebooks, pencils, books, and COMPLETED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS every Friday. From what I have seen of the writing so far, this is a talented class. It is also a forgetful class! If there is a way that I can help the kids remember what to do and what to bring, let me know. I have been giving them quizzes and written assignment sheets as well as lists of vocabulary words to study.

We are looking forward to performing a drama this summer. Some of you know that I have been teaching international students for many, many years, and that I was once engaged to a physician from Qingdao. (That’s another story!) I bring this up to mention only that I have a long-standing interest in Chinese culture and love and respect for Chinese people. Fortunately, when my daughter was in elementary school, I convinced her teachers to hold a Chinese New Year celebration one year. I wrote a play based on a Chinese folktale, and I am hoping that we can use that play–and perhaps another–in our theatre study this summer.

In any case, I am glad to work with such bright students and such involved parents. I look forward to getting to know you better as time goes on.

Debbie Ghosh