Education in China National Consortium for Teaching about Asia Study Tour July,2004.
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Transcript of Education in China National Consortium for Teaching about Asia Study Tour July,2004.
Education in China
National Consortium for Teaching about Asia Study Tour
July,2004
If you think about education in China, what images come to
your mind?You may have images which
are no longer valid, I know that I learned a lot about modern
China from seeing these schools.
As teachers touring China we had the opportunity to visit
several schools. We saw their best schools and sat down to
talk with both teachers and students. It amazed us how
fluent their English was compared to our Chinese!
Changping # 1 High School
Two groups of American teachers, about 55 people,
visited the Changping # 1 High School outside Beijing. We
spent about 2 hours touring it and talking with students and
faculty.
Students practice English
School is out in July, so the students and faculty returned just to talk to us. The students
English was very good but many were very worried they would not say something right and were very shy as a result.
Learning calligraphy
A calligraphy demonstration
Their computer lab
The Professor from Beijing introduces their Principal
Beijing University
Entrance to Beijing Universitry is by exams given in early July. Our Beijing
guide was one of 200,000 who took the exam from her province. Only 22 were accepted to study at Beida. It is China’s
Harvard, MIT and Princeton all rolled into one university . Admittance carries enormous prestige and can also bring excellent job offers after graduation.
Beijing University is one of the few reforms made in the 1890’s
which survived the Empress Cixi’s scrutiny. It’s creation was controversial but it managed to
survive and grow.
Professor Zhang & Michelle OUR GUIDE
a typical meal
Serving Peking Duck
The buildings have lovely decorations
No Name Lake
A stone boat
A palace on No Name Lake
Morning lessons in Tai Chi
A sculpture on campus
81 year old Professor Yang lectured on Chinese architecture
Explaining how the Forbiden City is designed to compliment Feng Shui.
The center of the Forbidden City is the Hall of Supreme Harmony where the Emperor held his
audiences.
The Forbidden City sits on a north-south axis. It has an “ man made
mountain “ created at the north called Coal Hill. The city is surrounded by a
moat because a water feature is required for good Feng Shui. This was considered the center of the world by
the Chinese and symbolized the power of the Emperor.
A calligraphy lecture & demonstration
Professor Yang is a living treasure in China and celebrated for his
exceptional talent as a master calligrapher. His poetry has been
carved into a mountain to celebrate this. He has incredible energy which he attributes to practicing calligraphy
every day.
“ Spring “ character
How a character evolves
Chengdu, China
• Chengdu is in far western China. It is the gateway city to travel to Tibet.Many foreigners only stop here to get the needed permits to enter Tibet. Chengdu is an industrial city with a long history of silk production. The river running through Chendgu is called the Brocade river because it used to be brightly colored by the process of dying silk brocades.
Chengdu Primary School
• This primary school takes children 2-6 years of age. It combines daycare and pre-school and is extremely expensive .
• It has a teacher to student ratio of 1 teacher for every 5 students. No class has more than 20 students and children help to grow the food they eat at snack and lunch in a small garden plot.
A small waterfall.
A mountain to improve children’s motor skills
A swimming pool for children to play in .
A water element to play on
Pre school children are constantly shown written
Chinese characters so they become familiar with them. This is the beginning of learning how
to write them .
A padded play ground
A tour of the playground
This school has every possible advantage and a very low
teacher to pupil ratio. The tuition makes it unaffordable for the
majority of people in Chengdu. The environment was creative
and designed to make students more creative.
What questions do you have about Chinese education after seeing these slides? Do you have more choice about your education or do the Chinese
students ?
Each students who is accepted into a college or university has to pay for it but it is much less
expensive than our own system. There are few scholarships so often families go into debt to
help pay the fees.
Upon graduation, you have to find a job yourself, the
government no longer gives you one. It is a very competative market. There are financial
incentives for people who will work in western China since few
want to do so.