By Lisa Magers/CISD Community Services
— The opportunity to teach can occur anytime and anywhere — just ask Jason denHartog.
denHartog, a 1999 Cleburne High School graduate, spent the past six years teaching English at Changsha University of Science and Technology in southern China.
He came home to Cleburne for a visit between semesters, only to find himself back in the classroom, teaching English to a Chinese fifth-grader new to America.
Coleman Elementary teacher Freddia Gray recruited denHartog to work with Qing Wen Chen, who is one of her students.
“I knew Jason taught in China and was home for a few weeks,” Gray said. “I told him about Qing Wen and asked if he would come to school and visit with him. They talked non stop — in Chinese and English. Qing Wen asked him a thousand questions.”
denHartog worked with his new pupil for six weeks until he had to return to his teaching post in China.
He keeps up with the progress Qing Wen is making through emails from Gray, and sends back words of encouragement to her, and now his, student.
“It was different teaching a fifth-grader,” denHartog said. “Qing Wen is shy about speaking English, but he knows a lot. I told him he had a big advantage to get to learn English in America. By the time he graduates from high school, he’ll be way ahead of the game with his language skills.
“It’s been a lot of fun working with him. It was great getting to practice my Chinese. I think he enjoyed interacting with someone who could speak his language. I understand that; there are only five Americans at the school where I teach.”
“I also think he enjoyed the extra attention,” denHartog said. “His classmates could see he was an intelligent, bright individual.”
Qing Wen, with denHartog as interpreter, said he likes PE, science and going to computer lab as a member of the Coleman student body.
At his school in China, English is taught along with literature, geography, math and science.
Although he admits to being homesick for China, Qing Wen said there are things he likes about living in America — Pepsi, hamburgers and ice cream.
He has not had the opportunity to show off his skills at badminton, his favorite sport, but he would like to play basketball like many of his Coleman friends. He also hopes to visit the zoo.
As an American in China, denHartog said, he can find Pepsi and hamburgers everywhere.
“China’s development is so fast,” he said. “The town I live in has Dairy Queen, Papadeaux’s — you can’t throw a rock without hitting a McDonald’s. Everyone has cars, and there is a lot of congestion.”
“We may not realize it here, but the importance of speaking English in today’s world is huge,” he said. “By the time students come to me at the university, they have had at least five years of English. My students know if they want to have success, English is key. They are motivated to learn and spend tons of time learning.”
denHartog’s thoughts were turned to China when he was a sophomore at Texas A&M University.
“I still hadn’t decided on a major,” he said. “I had a guy who was my mentor talk to me about China. He encouraged me to go. I decided then, that when I graduated, I would go to China.”
“I thought I’d go for a year,” he said. “But with every year, I’d choose to stay. I think this is for the long term.”
denHartog lives in a well-known part of southern China, famous for its location near the birth place of Mao Zedong.
He resides in Changsha, one of the oldest cities in China and the capitol of the Hunan province.
