The Only Chinese Teacher in the Schools

By Simeng Dai

Tuesday, 5:02 p.m., ETD, Aug 29, 2012. 

That was the exact time that Xin Xu first set foot on U.S. soil, the beginning of his “W” life. “I feel up and down all the time,” said Xu, 27, drawing a “W” in the air as he started to talk about his life in Boston. 

In a business casual shirt, Xu opened his notebook as soon as he sat down at a round table on the third floor of George Sherman Union at Boston University. The second semester was the happiest time, Xu recalled. After several months’ adjustment, life was much smoother. He made new friends and survived the fast pace in Boston and the workload. 

“The real world was still far,” Xu said. The novelty still drove him to try things. 

Xu helped professors conduct research on elections and education in the first year, which enriched his knowledge on American politics and society. 

Still a master’s candidate in special education in the School of Education, Xu has been a special education teacher in the K-12 Brookline High School, specializing in treating severe disability kids, such as autism, since September this year.

“Less than five Chinese,” he said, raising five fingers to show the number of the Chinese in this field in the United States. He is the only foreign special education teacher in the five schools he has been working in.

It is not easy for a non-American, mostly because of the cultural barriers. 

Xu recalled one class he had observed. The teacher asked the students to find a smart human in history. Zhuge Liang, a famous chancellor who lived almost 2,000 years ago, popped up into his mind.

“It means nothing to the American kids,” he said. He had no idea about the names that the American kids mentioned neither.

Xu said he is stressed preparing for his Educator License from Massachusetts Department of Education. The exam focuses not on language, but culture.

“In several months, I have to catch up with all the common senses that Americans gain through their whole life,” Xu said.

Still, he is quite confident.

Among the five schools he has worked in, three of them are willing to hire him as a full-time teacher. One of the principals wrote a letter to the dean of School of Education to praise Xu’s work in the school.

“I am proud of that, especially under this economic condition,” he said, smiling.
Besides the internships and jobs as a special education teacher, Xu also worked in the canteen in the Warren Tower for a long time.

Before that, the only thing he could cook was eggs. Learning from the chef, Xu switched from a food preparation worker to a chef wearing the toque. Talking about his cooking, he excitingly showed pictures of the dishes he cooked on his iPad. He spent two minutes explaining the special meat in his homemade burrito.

Xu believes that it is easier for Chinese students to study in America in the recent decade.

“For the American schools, Chinese students mean money,” Xu said.

He thinks it is much harder to stay after graduation, since only foreigners with special skills are welcomed. “As soon as you pay your money, the government wants you to leave as soon as possible.”
Very familiar with the data of the increasing Chinese students, he emphasized that only 10 percent increase on doctorate students in the past six years, meanwhile 76 times more in high school.
“Even though you may stay, you can never really assimilate into American culture,” Xu said.
Xu defines himself as “separate.” “I put myself between the two bubbles,” he said. One is the Chinese international student groups in Boston, and the other is Americans.
He doesn’t hang out with Chinese students much. Due to the high tuition fee and living cost in Boston, Xu believes that most of the Chinese students here come from relatively richer families in China.
“Their topics are mostly about money, cars and relationships,” Xu said. He is not into those. Meanwhile, he knows he cannot really assimilate to American culture neither.
“I step back to see the two bubbles as an outsider,” he said.

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