Who The Heck Are You?
In sixth grade, you have a project called “Who The Heck Are You?”. I’m going to take you through the process of this project
Step 1) For step one, we had to write a letter to the person we wanted to interview. In my letter I wrote why I picked Xin and when we could do the interview. Then I left the letter on Xin’s desk and waited for him to get back to me. One thing I wrote on the letter was: Even though you’re my advisor, I still don’t know you all that well.
Step 2) I had to think of ten questions to ask Xin. I started off with obvious things like when and where were you born? Where did you go to school? Where do you currently live? What inspired you to teach? Why did you pick LREI? Then I did some more personal questions like what is your most embarrassing moment? Now it’s time for the interview.
Step 3) I met up with Xin in the world language room. Xin seemed very calm during the interview. But why tell you about it when you could listen to it.
Step 4) For step four, we had to take apart the interview and put it into a template that looked like this: InterviewIdeasTemplateStep2 Here’s what it looked like finished: CopyofInterviewIdeasTemplateStep2
Step 5) Finally, I finished my project. I really enjoyed the whole process. I learned so many things about Xin that I never knew. This whole process was amazing and I really enjoyed it. Here’s the final product: The Language Bridge
By, Ben
Imagine your teacher singing in the mirror. Good. Now imagine a quiet, shy person doing that. You’re imagining Xin. Want to hear more crazy facts about Xin? Just keep on reading. Xin was born on Christmas Day, 1984, in a small town in northwest China. He went to a public school. That was also the first place he taught. “The very first class I taught, I was a middle school student.” As a kid, Xin was very clumsy. Falling down a lot and getting himself in to trouble. In fact, when he was eight, he got shot! But that’s a story for later. Anyway, Xin was always inspired by teachers. As I said before, yes, Xin did teach his first class in middle school. His english teacher was sick. All he did was tell the class what they had to do. It’s not much, but it still counts. His dream had been to be a teacher from then on. His next time teaching was in high school. He taught a mini lesson and when he finished, the whole class started clapping for him. In his mind, Xin was thinking, “That felt pretty good.”
After graduating college, Xin came to the Big Apple for grad school. “That’s what brought me to the states.” After grad school, Xin started working at a private language school in Beijing. He taught people of all ages. From four year olds to adults. Then he had his demo lesson at LREI. Xin said that he really liked the school’s philosophy and the freedom he has here.”We don’t have this in China.” He also loved all the teachers. They’re like a second family to him. “It is a great pleasure to be working with these people.” Xin also loves his students and enjoys watching them learn and grow. “I’m like a bridge connecting between different cultures, and that’s very special to me.” I found that very interesting. It’s a very smart way to think of what he does. Xin said that teaching is a big responsibility, but also one of the most fun things to do. Xin enjoys working at LREI and following both his dreams. A teacher, and a musicians. Not much of a singer though. Hmmmmm. Oh well, let’s end this story with a “bang.” (You’ll understand why bang is funny in a moment)
Xin seemed a little reluctant to tell me this one. When I asked him what his most embarrassing moment was, he looks at me and says: “I got shot when I was like eight years old.” I know, you’re thinking: “Wait what? How is Xin still alive?” So Xin was going home from school. He had a burger type of snack. (It comes into play later) In China, they have BB rifles. You can pay the owner to try it. The owners have a row of targets. You shoot at each of them once and see how many you hit. So Xin was on his way home eating the important burger snack. Then he hear cheering and saw a big crowd all huddled around something. Xin was only eight, so he was small enough to squeeze through the crowd. He saw two or three teens that were about eighteen or nineteen. They were shooting targets. Xin stayed and watched for a while. When they finished, people started to leave. The crowd was way to big to go around, so Xin went through, right in front of the targets. Then Xin heard a “bang!” People started yelling at Xin. “All the people were all yelling: Hey, who’s this little kid, just walking right in front of the targets?” Xin was very confused. Apparently, people were just leaving because they felt like it. Embarrassed, Xin quickly left. Then he thought: “Man, my head is really wet.” and then “What’s all this wet stuff?” (This is were the important burger snack comes into play) So on the burger snack, there’s a napkin so your hand doesn’t get all greasy. So Xin wiped his forehead with the napkin. When he looked at the napkin, it wasn’t water. The napkin was dyed red. Xin tried to make sure no one noticed, but it was too late. Everyone ran, terrified. Especially the teens that were shooting. Only the owner stayed. He ask Xin where he lived and carried Xin to the hospital. With some surgery, they fixed Xin up and told him he was lucky that the little metal ball didn’t touch his brain, (It was really close though) or hit him in the eye because he wasn’t wearing his glasses. When Xin got home, he was scared that his dad would be mad. (Hey, that rhymes) His dad was mad. He wanted to find the owner and give him a piece of his mind. (I don’t think he knew the owner took Xin to the hospital) Xin lived and the world kept spinning. From a little clumsy boy, to one of the best teachers in the world. Now you know not to judge a book by its cover. Everyone has a story. You don’t have to be Indiana Jones to find it.