I was recently in China visiting a few schools. As I reflect back on my trip I am left with a few lasting impressions:
- The Chinese people are extremely warm and hospitable.
- Students in China (like Canada) are most happy when given the opportunity to be active participants in their learning.
- All the Chinese educators I spoke to saw a need to improve their system of education. One official identified fostering creativity among students as a key competency for improvement moving forward.
- Size matters in China. The large nature of Chinese schools (and classrooms) appear to be a challenge for many educators.
The more people involved in education I meet, at home and abroad, the more convinced I become that despite some of our obvious differences, we share many of the same worries, joys and challenges.
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| Much in China is done on a large scale. Students in China spend at least 10 hours at school. This is a picture of a high school gym. The school is home to 6500 students. |
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| This high school cafeteria can sit 1500 students at one time. |
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| Meeting with officials from a local education bureau. Social/work gatherings like this are very important. |
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| Cranes fill the landscape in China. Yes that is smog in the background..... |
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| Break dancing in Beijing - no, not me |
I just returned last weekend from a two week trip to Hong Kong, Macau, and China. My third trip. All of them awesome experiences. I agree with all of your comments. This trip I really sensed a struggle among the Chinese between keeping the traditions of the past and the expansion of technology. China is developing so fast. Do you by chance have a Confucius Classroom at your high school?
ReplyDelete@dpk933