School Spirit!

 Last semester at HZNU, the school offered an elective course called “lifelong learning” which focused on education abroad. Each foreign teacher was required to create a 2-hour guest lecture to present to this group of students. The topic? Lifelong Learning. Duh. What does that mean? I have no idea, and nobody could clear it up for me. However, after asking around, it seemed that most teachers (Chinese & foreign) had settled on giving a lecture about a specific university abroad. Then, they’d just talk for two hours about the history, location, academics and application processes of said university. Well, let me tell you, planning that kind of lecture is just as thrilling as it sounds… and by that, I mean not thrilling at all.

So I decided to take a different route – try to spice things up for these kids (and myself, too). After racking my brain for hours trying to figure out something that could be interesting, interactive and meaningful, I settled on one of my favorite aspects of schools in the United States: School Spirit. And, in direct relation, school athletics.

This was the poster outside my lecture hall

And this is the best thing I've ever seen.
Seriously.

First, let me explain my choice a little further: In my experiences in universities both in Europe and here in China, I have noticed that one of the major differences between them and American universities is a serious lack of school athletics. And, as a result, a different, less-pronounced form of “school spirit.” Schools here in China don’t have specific colors or mascots; they don’t hold pep rallies or homecoming parades; and they don’t have loads of dedicated fans who do whatever they can to show their support to the school. No – I believe that most of those things are unique to America (and I could be wrong – I haven’t been everywhere…). Either way, students here in China certainly don’t have those kind of experiences while in college, so I decided to share some of those experiences with them in order to open their eyes to this whole other side of American university life.

Who doesn't love this part of America?!

And so, “School Spirit” became the topic of my lecture.

In order to make it a little easier to follow, I divided it into three parts. First, “showing” school spirit – what can you do to show your spirit? This part included school colors, mascots, logos, merchandise, chants, cheers, songs, pep rallies, homecoming, tailgating and, of course, going to the game. The second part was “raising” school spirit – once you’re at the game, what does the school provide to keep spirits up? This included announcers and athletes, marching bands and pep bands, cheerleaders and dancers, not to mention sweet fan moves like the wave. Finally, part three was all about the benefits of school spirit – why is it so great? Benefits included making lifelong connections with other students/faculty/local citizens, giving your school an identity, having something to be proud of, and, overall, being a part of a community.

And even though I didn't actually go there,
I do like to consider myself a part of the Boise State community
Go Broncos!

I also decided, for clarity’s sake, to focus on a specific university as a constant example throughout the lecture. This was also a difficult choice – I wanted to choose a school I was fairly familiar with; something close to home; but also a school the students might recognize. When it came down to it, UNC (yes, Chapel Hill) fit all those qualifications – plus, Michael Jordan went there, and EVERY Chinese person knows Michael Jordan (I mean, who doesn’t? He’s a legend. And who can EVER forget Space Jam?!?) so that gave them something familiar to associate with the school. Personally, I could care less about UNC (sorry Tarheel friends), but it was definitely the best option for my purposes. I also included a little about NC State because I wanted to make comparisons and explain rivalries. And I chose State over Duke because, honestly, I just don’t like the Blue Devils (sorry to any Duke friends… but not really).

Reppin' NC, y'all

When I gave the lecture last semester, I was pleasantly surprised by the response – which was enthusiastic, to say the least. It was only a group of 40 or so students, so it wasn’t much different than teaching a normal class – but it was so much fun! I had the students clapping, cheering, yelling and stomping. I taught them “The Wave” and the “YMCA;” we sang fight songs and chanted mascots; I even divided the class in two and had them rallying against each other. I showed countless videos portraying the various aspects of school spirit. And to see the students’ energy continually increase from the start of the lecture to the end was such a cool feeling – you should have heard how loud they became! The lecture went so well, in fact, that my boss asked me to give it again this semester – this time, to a group of 250 students!

Oh, you know, just some signs I painted

So, last Wednesday, I got all my materials ready (and made some new ones, too) and gave the lecture once again. It was definitely a lot of fun – although maybe not as exciting as that first one – but I’m glad I go the chance to do it again. Who knew I’d ever enjoy giving lectures? Not me, that’s fo’ sho. I couldn’t have done this lecture, however, without the help of some of my peeps (Rachel helped me last semester, and Alex came with me last week) nor without my father, who is the sole reason I have any interest in University sports in the first place (Thanks Daddy! You’ve been an inspiration to me yet again – and don’t worry, I made sure to give both BSU and LSU shout-outs during my presentation!).

Also, I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've ever worn Carolina attire.
And it's not even "official" - I painted this shirt myself. 

AND, I’ll be giving this lecture one more time in April to another small group at our school – I just hope it won’t lose any of its appeal by then! Either way, I am looking forward to it (yet again) and I hope that this third time will be the time I remember to videotape the students doing the wave. Because it’s just plain adorable, y’all.

I love you, Dad!

Finally,
Go Broncos.
Geaux Tigers,
and Peace Out.