The Fourth of July came and went without a whole lot of
fanfare. Within and among our group,
“Happy Fourth” greetings were exchanged intermittently, but mostly we just
thought of our family and friends at home and hoped that they were enjoying the
uniquely American holiday.
Peking University was established in 1898 and was the only
university that endured the revolutionary periods changing the lives of many
during the early 1900s. A campus tour
and a lecture on Chinese education and vocational schools was a pleasant way to
spend the morning. Besides the fact that
the campus itself is beautiful with its gardens and water features, it has an
interesting history. There are a variety
of structures and monuments honoring some of the people who promoted education
and demonstrated a desire to improve Chinese relations with other
countries. The Henry Lewis pavilion and
the burial site of Edgar Snow who authored of Red Star Over China, are among
them.
Dr. Yang Po described the educational system including
China’s vocational schools in a lecture in the Henry Lewis pavilion. Some interesting highlights:
Education is a whole family business. Besides the great expenses, because of
regional differences in the quality of schools, families often either move to
larger cities while their children attend school there. Sometimes the student lives with a
grandparent or attends a boarding school in order to get the education deemed
better. There is a huge difference in
education in rural and urban areas.
Funding is determined by the central government as it is currently
working to rebalance the quality of education in all of China.
The afternoon was reserved for a visit to the Dandelion school; a middle school for migrant families’ children. Its students live on campus and attend class and study for many hours a day. One student described the school day as from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Keep in mind, though, that we observed some “study” of math taking place at a ping-pong table. The school is full of evidence of creative, project-based and student-centered activities.
The afternoon was reserved for a visit to the Dandelion school; a middle school for migrant families’ children. Its students live on campus and attend class and study for many hours a day. One student described the school day as from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Keep in mind, though, that we observed some “study” of math taking place at a ping-pong table. The school is full of evidence of creative, project-based and student-centered activities.
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| We learned 30 seconds before entering the class to visit, that we would be teaching. This is my group. |
A wonderful, full-course meal followed. More about that later.
I'd love to hear the differences in middle school education on your return! What did you teach that day?
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