Ok I do not pretend to be some kind of pro when it comes to teaching kindergarten or anything, but lately I have been slightly bemused by the current affairs of the teaching curriculum that is expected of the foreign teacher communities trying to make a decent living for ourselves in China.

    Very recently I have had to bear witness to an awful amount of incorrect teachings to children both in and out of the classroom. I speak of the way in which some children are ignored because they do not play well with others, and then that ever so dreaded greeting where the children are forced to give a mundane and plain answer to a question which can hold many different answers!

    I saw a child crying her eyes out one morning in the street on my way to work. She was clearly distraught about something. As I got closer, the girls mother quickly noticed that I was approaching and in an effort to try and impress me with her daughters language ability, proceeded to ask her "Hello, how are you?" To which of course the girl (approx five years old) replied with the almost robotic "I'm fine thank you, and you?" The mothers then gleens at me with a wide smile and eyes beaming at how well her daughter can repeat words like a parrot.

    I can not help but fear for the future of todays children. Could you imagine if one of them were involved in a serious road accident in an English speaking country. One arm missing, blood everywhere, screaming in agony. Then out of nowhere the one person who asks "How are you feeling?" "I'M FINE THANK YOU AND YOU?" in a shrill voice just before they pass out for loss of blood.

    So how do we adjust for this concept of incorrect emotions? We can certainly teach them about feelings, but who will be there to drill the meanings into them once we the "English" teachers hang our coats up for the day.

    I truly believe it would make my day if at least just once a child would reply with "Yeah, I'm not too bad thanks" or "I feel sad today".