Last year I had been blown away by the level on competition in Taiwan. Everything from the earthquake drills to test scores was a competition between schools and amongst students. Sports Day is no different. It is one of the most celebrated days of the year at every school in Taiwan for students and teachers alike. Each school in Taiwan hosts the day a little differently. Last year, I was able to attend 電光國小, one of my elementary schools last year. 電光國小 only had 10 students so there wasn’t much of a “big” party. Instead of competing by class, the school was divided in half and the kids participated in really short sprints and “fun” games. This year’s Sports Day was 電光國小’s on steroids.
The week leading up to Sports Day was a week of preparation for everyone. Students spent their mornings on the track either pulling the weeds that had grown in the sand after the last Sports Day or practicing one of the two dances they would perform. The directors organized all the materials and vendors. Even the cards sent home with the students for the parents to RSVP was a task. The principal came in five times to make alterations as they decided layout and colors. I was not privy to much of the planning information and was kept in the dark for most of the details - a combination of the fact I’m an English teacher so I don’t need to prepare anything in terms of my class and the fact my Chinese is no where near fluent so a lot goes over my head. Nevertheless, I try my hardest to be a teamplayer and observe what everyone else is doing before acting myself. I don’t like to feel that I am dead weight or that my Chinese abilities prevents me from truly helping out. That’s how I found myself joining my students as the gardened and cleaned the school.
The other teachers keep asking me in schools in the US have Sports Day as well. They are surprised when I say that the schools I attended never hosted their own Sports Day. I have tried to explain Field Day which took place in some of the schools around me growing up, but I don’t think there are too many similarities between the events. For one, my understanding of Field Day is a fun activity for picnics when the school is near summer break. Sports Day is a serious event, focused on competition where the students train and have been practicing their relays for more than a month. I wish my schools had Sports Day growing up.
I thought I was prepared for Sports Day having watched my school’s day last year. However, Chulu goes above and beyond. The school set up huge tents in case it rained or was too sunny on the day. There were also enough food and game stands to make up half of the night market in Guanshan. They were making bubble teas, ice cream cones, fried chicken, chicken balls, french fries and so much more since 8 in the morning. The worst part was the kids were actually buying it that early. I’m pretty sure one of my students had 3 ice cream cones throughout the day so they could try every one of the flavors (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry). Strawberry was determined to be the best flavor there. The kids also had the option to play a myriad of dart games composed of popping x amount of balloons for a prize or throwing a dart at a spinning board to determine your prize. I don’t want to imagine the amount of money the students went through on sweets and games. Don’t worry, they also had the ability to buy new pets - all without parental consent. Bunnies, birds, snakes, mice, and guinea pigs were all available for the taking. Too many students were interested in the snakes. One of my co-teachers talked two 7th graders out of buying the snake. No snakes were bought that day, but four students went home with pet mice. I wonder how long they’ll last if the parents end up hating them. I know one of the students planned on hiding it from their parents, so someone is up for a big surprise when they find out.
The students also spent so much money on the two dart games too
The beginning of the event was marked by a serious procession of all the classes on the track. Each class designed their own class flag which was then professionally made. Only one class used the computer to make their design. The other classes relied on their artistic classmates to create something cool. The 9th grade flag was one of my favorites. Despite me wanting to blend in, I was a part of the teacher’s section which at the start of the day only included me and two other teachers. Only when we made it completely around the track and were directly in front of the stage did the other non-homeroom teachers come out of the woodwork.
After all the speeches (that I wish I could tell you what they were about) 4 students brought the flag out. It wasn’t the Taiwan flag either; it was the school flag. The ceremony around the school flag of not dropping it and having the students in a special uniform when they marched with it was akin to the tradition surrounding the US flag. The flag ceremony was followed by the anthem and then three bows to the stage. Once all the serious tasks were completed we moved onto the fun stuff, the student dance. The students danced to a song that they have been preparing during every free period for a month. Like I said Chulu did not mess around. For all the class breaks that were longer than 5 minutes, one of the directors would walk by all the classrooms to make sure everyone was listening to the song and practicing. They practiced so much even I could do the dance, but knowing how I don’t dance well I didn’t share that info with my students. If any of them suspected I would’ve been asked to join them in front of all the parents.
The dance was followed by a performance from the grandmothers in my Adult English Class and the 7th grade students. They played Twinkle, Twinkle little star on the ukelele. I think the original plan was to have the sing the song in English too, but we hadn’t been able to complete the whole song with confidence prior to the performance.
Chulu hosted three elementary schools for the beginning of the day. They had games specifically for them: a blow up worm that you needed to jump together to get to the finish line, rolling a tire, and I believe tug of war. The junior high students assisted timing and explaining the games to the children. Following the athletic activities for the elementary students was what could only be described as a school fair or open house. There were stations all around the school led by junior high students. Each station had a different activity and once the activity was completed you got a stamp on your paper. All the stamps meant you could get a piece of a waffle or a red bean cake.
The stations…
Some students led an activity teaching and encouraging students and parents to practice or learn their languages. They taught Taiyu (Taiwanese-- the native language in Taiwan mostly spoken by the elderly and somewhat understood by the younger generations) and Beinan (their aboriginal language). Not only did I participate and learn how to say ‘your eyes are beautiful’, but I was surprised at who was leading that station. Three of the main students were the ones who have difficulty in English, yet here they were masters of two other languages. I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but their ability to teach and their mastery of the languages opened my eyes to who these students are outside of my class. I enjoy getting to see this side of them and I hope I can continue to in the future.
The students were able to show off all their creative pieces of art created in the workshop. Everything from coathooks to candlesticks, my students have made with metal and wood. Their workshop class reminds me greatly of my time competing with Destination Imagination, DI. Some of the students have created a bookshelf that doubles as a bench as well. So far I have yet to observe my students in the workshop (their classes overlap with my English classes), but I do see pictures. They have so many different drills and saws. Some of the students at my school even stay late into the night in the workshop.
Three of the other stations were based on giving the students the ability to share their own creations and help the young elementary students to create on their own. The elementary students made wooden keychains, played the videogames the students coded, and even made pins using pictures they drew themselves. My students interacted so well with the younger students, having patience as they described the activities.
The last morning activity was probably viewed as the best of all my the elementary students, a director and some students made Red Bean cakes and waffles. The desserts smelled so good that I would’ve easily paid for one, but alas it was only for the visitors.
Following all the activities of the morning, we had lunch boxes (a box with rice, pork, seaweed, and other sides) before beginning the real competition. The students performed another dance and then began the group games. Each class competed against each other in tug of war which if you ask me was a little unfair in that to make the teams even in number each class could recruit other people to join their teams. I joined one of the 8th graders teams, but how much help can I be when the 7th graders recruited a father of a student who was stocky and strong. Both 9th grade classes won 1st and 2nd, but a 7th grade class got pretty close coming in 3rd.
We also played a game in which we had foam puzzle pieces one to stand on and one above us. The concept of the game was for 8 people to stand on the puzzle piece and throw the other one, jumping from one to the other without falling off as a group. The group then must reach the flag, turn around and make it back before the next half of the class can go. I was asked by the 9th graders to join their class along with a director, Apple, and the principle. My team came in first! Not that I could ever be competitive in a Sports Day that isn’t even mine at all.
The last bit of Sports Day is devoted to the sprints and relays based on grade and gender. The teachers did put together a relay team for the last relay which included 8 people from each class. I was deemed to be the opening runner. I haven’t run in a while so I was a little nervous that I would embarrass myself around the students because I was told multiple times to try my hardest, that the teachers really do attempt to win. Last year the teacher relay was somewhat of a joke against parents, but I had been told to take it seriously. Definitely a little embarrassing so I made sure not to repeat the same mistake again. I was the first runner in my leg to reach the trade off point. Despite my leg, the teachers came in 4th overall.
Sports Day was an adventure and I would’ve loved having one of my own growing up.
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