Oh, Bruce

Bruce, where are you? Why haven't you responded to my emails? Are you afraid of rejection? Are you apprehensive about saying the wrong thing? Are you even there? These were the questions circulating my brain as I tried to contact my conversation partner. From what I have gathered thus far, Bruce is form China. Or so I think. I attended an international boarding school in Connecticut for secondary school, so I assume Bruce hails from China based on his surname. However, I could be very wrong. I emailed Bruce around a week ago expecting a response right away. I question why I wanted a response right away. Was I just trying to get the meetings underway in hopes of fulfilling a requirement for a class? Maybe. Was I taking Bruce's emotions into consideration as I awaited his response? No. In order for me to understand where Bruce is coming from, and what he may be feeling, I have to insert myself into his position. I drop myself in a foreign country, I understand the language enough to formulate casual conversation in a formal context, I'm living with strangers, I receive an email from a mystery man named? Bennet? What kind of name is that?  I am so busy with school, I'm having difficulty understanding my professors in class because they talk so fast. Now, I have to respond to this email a week after Bennet sent it. I hope he's not mean. I hope he understands that I'm very busy. Switching personas, I do understand. I understand exactly what Bruce is going through. Do I care about meeting a requirement for my class? Yes. Do I want to do it at the expense of someone else's state of comfortability? Absolutely not. I have had experience working with English Language Learners (ELL's) in the past. Working at an international summer camp where the kids, as well as the counselors are coming from foreign countries, I understand how strange it can be entering a new environment with strangers who speak the native language very well. I have gone through extensive training when conversing with someone who is in the ELL category. However, this is a new experience for me. I have never been an aid for an ELL student. Just like Bruce, I am also afraid of saying the wring thing. I have virtually no understanding of Chinese culture, if I offend Bruce I hope he corrects me. I want him to know that everything he is feeling is normal. I don't want him to feel as if he has to impress me with his English capabilities. I want him to engage with me at a level that is comfortable for him and I will try my best to fill in the gaps. This is an important lesson for us as educators, and is relative to adolescents zone of proximal development. We have to understand where kids are at developmentally and meet them halfway in order to guide them. This translates to a handful of other scenarios in everyday life. Even now, as a Sophomore in college, I find myself meeting others half way in order to secure not only their success, but mine as well. Our future classrooms will only work if we fight the other half of the battle. Bruce, and so many others are already working so hard, they need us to give them that extra kick they didn't know they needed. Lets get to work.