I rolled into my first class on Thursday, a few hours after my arrival on the train. The curriculum is one of my choosing---something called International Entrepreneurship---I am convinced that the way to teach business is to foster creativity and a curiosity for the world. I can do this in my sleep---I switch things up all the time---but it is the one thing that I have a natural affinity for....
My students are Russians and a variety of exchange students---Slovakians(I am 1/4 Slovak!), Hungarians, and Chinese. They are wonderful.
When I take their picture and call roll, they---especially the Europeans---exclaim "I am here!"
When trying to pronounce Chinese names, you invariably get it wrong. They laugh and laugh. There is such nuance to Chinese. Their ear is not tuned to our way of speaking. Thus, the tried and true adoption of western "nicknames". I have a Crystal and an Ivy.
Two of my Russians are from a place near Moscow, Tambov. Their English is not so good and I sort of call them out the first day. My mistake. Artyum, the Russian protector, drops by my dorm room on TH evening to ask that I please take it easy on them. I know Artyum from last year. He is the sweetest, most curious young man. He drops by my dorm room at night sometimes and I love to talk to him. I invite him to please come to class to act as an interpreter and helper for the two from Tambov. Ironically, I have heard that academics from Tambov are arrogant, rude, and generally unpleasant. These girls are not.
Anyway, our first class is about stakeholders and the external business environment. My standard spiel is always that, if in business, you need to peer above the tall grass---otherwise something kills and eats you. Those who pay attention, who watch or read the news, who are curious about culture and language, are the ones who are successful in business. I ask them to each come to class next time and tell us a story, a narrative, about how a business has affected someone or something OR has been affected by something in the world around us.
My Friday class is amazing. They are just awesome. The stories are entertaining, relevant, and original. One young woman from Russia explains how Proctor and Gamble, faced with flat sales of laundry detergent, devised the idea behind "casual Friday". (work clothes are dry cleaned....not so for other stuff) Brilliant! We(or maybe just me) are having so much fun I go 20 minutes over the class time.
