I enjoyed the bus ride through the countryside, at seeing low mountains and agricultural areas.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Where Confucius was born.
The front of the house where Confucius was born, more that 2,000 years ago, in Qufu.
Final banquet of the Connecticut-Shandong School Partnership
Mary Glendening, World Language Supervisor in Simsbury; me, and Nancy White, sixth grade teacher in Woodbridge all attend the final banquet of the Connecticut-Shandong School Partnership on Saturday evening, the last day in Shandong Providence
Last Day in Shandong.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
This was the day to visit the birthplace of Confucius and to formally conclude our visit by having a final banquet with education officials in the providence of Shandong and the city of Jinan.
We began the day by boarding a bus at 8:00 AM for the two hour and thirty minute ride to the city of Qufu, south of Jinan. I enjoyed the bus ride through the countryside, at seeing low mountains and agricultural areas. We arrived at the historic city around 10:30 AM and immediately had a tour of the historic city. Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius more that 2,000 years ago. Much of the city has been preserved as a historical city. The Confucius Temple is where he first worshiped and originally contained three halls. After his death it was expanded into a huge complex of nine courtyards, fifty gates, and many impressive buildings. The Confucius philosophy was based on his pursuit of an ideal world of national prosperity, universal peace, and harmony. Confucius often referred to the five virtues of dignity, lenience, honesty, industriousness, and kindness. After our brief visit, I think the entire country has integrated these virtues into its culture.
We returned to Jinan at 4:30 PM and had to quickly get dressed for our last formal banquet which started at 6:00 PM. This banquet was hosted by Dan Gregg, Director of the Connecticut-Shandong School Partnership and employee of the Connecticut Department of Education. He was joined at the head table by the educational leadership of the Shandong Providence as well as educational leaders from the city of Jinan, a city of over nine million people where many of the sister schools are located. After several toasts to the success of our visitation as well as the past successful visitations of approximately 165 Connecticut administrators and teachers, the banquet ended. We returned to our rooms to pack for the return “high speed train” to Beijing which we are taking back tomorrow.
This was the day to visit the birthplace of Confucius and to formally conclude our visit by having a final banquet with education officials in the providence of Shandong and the city of Jinan.
We began the day by boarding a bus at 8:00 AM for the two hour and thirty minute ride to the city of Qufu, south of Jinan. I enjoyed the bus ride through the countryside, at seeing low mountains and agricultural areas. We arrived at the historic city around 10:30 AM and immediately had a tour of the historic city. Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius more that 2,000 years ago. Much of the city has been preserved as a historical city. The Confucius Temple is where he first worshiped and originally contained three halls. After his death it was expanded into a huge complex of nine courtyards, fifty gates, and many impressive buildings. The Confucius philosophy was based on his pursuit of an ideal world of national prosperity, universal peace, and harmony. Confucius often referred to the five virtues of dignity, lenience, honesty, industriousness, and kindness. After our brief visit, I think the entire country has integrated these virtues into its culture.
We returned to Jinan at 4:30 PM and had to quickly get dressed for our last formal banquet which started at 6:00 PM. This banquet was hosted by Dan Gregg, Director of the Connecticut-Shandong School Partnership and employee of the Connecticut Department of Education. He was joined at the head table by the educational leadership of the Shandong Providence as well as educational leaders from the city of Jinan, a city of over nine million people where many of the sister schools are located. After several toasts to the success of our visitation as well as the past successful visitations of approximately 165 Connecticut administrators and teachers, the banquet ended. We returned to our rooms to pack for the return “high speed train” to Beijing which we are taking back tomorrow.
Friday, April 18, 2008
I heard the regular music that was played between the second and third classes and walked to the window. I was surprised to see the entire soccer field filled with students, standing in straight lines, doing calisthenics. There were also students running in formation all around the campus buildings. I went up a flight of stairs to photograph this impressive site. It was impressive.
A beautiful park just opposite the hotel.
Mr. Lee and Mrs. Hou were given the assignment of dropping me off at the hotel. We had an hour to spare before I needed to meet my Connecticut colleagues at the Shandong Hotel, so they took me to a beautiful park just opposite the hotel.
Friday, April 18, 2008
It was the last day at the Jinan Middle School #12. It was rather warm in my room last evening, for some reason even with the windows open it never really cooled off. I had my usual Chinese breakfast in the hotel which consisted of fried dumplings; something else that looked like a boiled dumpling; a hard boiled egg; sweet, warm milk; watermelon slices; and cherry tomatoes. Chinese breakfast food is a lot like luncheon Chinese food, only on a smaller scale. For lunch we had about 100 selections. For breakfast about 25 selections but no seafood, fish or meat. I packed my bags and was in the hotel lobby by 8:20 AM and my interpreter, Mrs. Hou was already there with the math teacher/driver, Mr. Lee. I gave them both a small gift for being so attentive and considerate.
Back at the school the principal had arranged for me to see one last class. It was a ninth grade math class taught by Mrs. Jho. There were fifty-three students in this class and it was again located in one of the three rooms with an LCD projector. The class started the typical way, with all students standing up and greeting the teacher a good morning. Then the teacher used an original PowerPoint presentation as the main instructional focus. The lesson was a geometry lesson involving proofs. Rules were given in the PowerPoint for establishing the congruence of triangles using the standard forms (i.e. angle –side-angle) and then various geometric problems were displayed on the screen for students to solve. Students were often given time to discuss answers with their partners, or turn around and discuss in small groups. Mrs. Jho called on students to stand up to give answers of some proofs, occasionally asked a student to come up to the blackboard to answer a proof, and occasionally had a student come up to the screen to explain the solution to a problem. She also circulated at times, coming down each aisle to review student work as they worked independently on problems. As in most classes that I observed, student engagement was superior, and so was “time-on-task.” Class ended with all students standing, and reciting something in Chinese that basically said that class was finished. Only the principal and I observed this lesson, but the principal once again took notes on a formal, observation reporting booklet. I thanked the teacher for a very fine presentation.
Back in the conference room I talked either with the principal or Mrs. Ho informally, unless they were called away for a task. I heard the regular music that was played between the second and third classes and walked to the window. I was surprised to see the entire soccer field filled with students, standing in straight lines, doing calisthenics. There were also students running in formation all around the campus buildings. I went up a flight of stairs to photograph this impressive site. It was impressive.
Next I walked around the campus for a few pictures of buildings that I never had chance to photograph and returned to the conference room for some final conversations. I presented the “Proclamation of Appreciation” signed by Dr. Brady and the Amity Board of Education President, Mr. Bill Blake. The principal was truly grateful and expressed sincere interest in visiting the Amity Middle School in the fall. And, since I had raved about the quality of lunch yesterday, they took me back to the very same restaurant for the farewell meal. This was typical of good Chinese hospitality. The “power” lunch included the two top ranking administrators: the principal, Mr. Zhang; the secretary of the Communist Party, Mr. Tan. It also included my interpreter Mrs. Hou; the driver/math teacher, Mr. Lee and me. After lunch I said thanked and said goodbye to Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tan. Mr. Lee and Mrs. Hou were given the assignment of dropping me off at the hotel. We had an hour to spare before I needed to meet my Connecticut colleagues at the Shandong Hotel, so they took me to a beautiful park just opposite the hotel. I walked into the Shandong Hotel just after 3:00PM. (The hotel is palatial and looks like the Times Square Marriot Hotel in NYC, only twice as large.) It was a sad goodbye to my two friends from the Jinan Middle School #12. I was amazed at how quickly we had established a relationship. However, my Connecticut colleagues were also arriving (or were also there), and we quickly began to compare notes, stories, and generalizations about our “Sister Schools” and our widely-varying accommodations for the past few days. These conversations were carried on for several hours, most at a local restaurant in the park that I had walked in earlier. I returned back to my room rather early, to finish my notes, update my blog, and to get ready for tomorrow’s trip to the birthplace of Confucius, a city named Qufu. (pronounced “chewfu”).
It was the last day at the Jinan Middle School #12. It was rather warm in my room last evening, for some reason even with the windows open it never really cooled off. I had my usual Chinese breakfast in the hotel which consisted of fried dumplings; something else that looked like a boiled dumpling; a hard boiled egg; sweet, warm milk; watermelon slices; and cherry tomatoes. Chinese breakfast food is a lot like luncheon Chinese food, only on a smaller scale. For lunch we had about 100 selections. For breakfast about 25 selections but no seafood, fish or meat. I packed my bags and was in the hotel lobby by 8:20 AM and my interpreter, Mrs. Hou was already there with the math teacher/driver, Mr. Lee. I gave them both a small gift for being so attentive and considerate.
Back at the school the principal had arranged for me to see one last class. It was a ninth grade math class taught by Mrs. Jho. There were fifty-three students in this class and it was again located in one of the three rooms with an LCD projector. The class started the typical way, with all students standing up and greeting the teacher a good morning. Then the teacher used an original PowerPoint presentation as the main instructional focus. The lesson was a geometry lesson involving proofs. Rules were given in the PowerPoint for establishing the congruence of triangles using the standard forms (i.e. angle –side-angle) and then various geometric problems were displayed on the screen for students to solve. Students were often given time to discuss answers with their partners, or turn around and discuss in small groups. Mrs. Jho called on students to stand up to give answers of some proofs, occasionally asked a student to come up to the blackboard to answer a proof, and occasionally had a student come up to the screen to explain the solution to a problem. She also circulated at times, coming down each aisle to review student work as they worked independently on problems. As in most classes that I observed, student engagement was superior, and so was “time-on-task.” Class ended with all students standing, and reciting something in Chinese that basically said that class was finished. Only the principal and I observed this lesson, but the principal once again took notes on a formal, observation reporting booklet. I thanked the teacher for a very fine presentation.
Back in the conference room I talked either with the principal or Mrs. Ho informally, unless they were called away for a task. I heard the regular music that was played between the second and third classes and walked to the window. I was surprised to see the entire soccer field filled with students, standing in straight lines, doing calisthenics. There were also students running in formation all around the campus buildings. I went up a flight of stairs to photograph this impressive site. It was impressive.
Next I walked around the campus for a few pictures of buildings that I never had chance to photograph and returned to the conference room for some final conversations. I presented the “Proclamation of Appreciation” signed by Dr. Brady and the Amity Board of Education President, Mr. Bill Blake. The principal was truly grateful and expressed sincere interest in visiting the Amity Middle School in the fall. And, since I had raved about the quality of lunch yesterday, they took me back to the very same restaurant for the farewell meal. This was typical of good Chinese hospitality. The “power” lunch included the two top ranking administrators: the principal, Mr. Zhang; the secretary of the Communist Party, Mr. Tan. It also included my interpreter Mrs. Hou; the driver/math teacher, Mr. Lee and me. After lunch I said thanked and said goodbye to Mr. Zhang and Mr. Tan. Mr. Lee and Mrs. Hou were given the assignment of dropping me off at the hotel. We had an hour to spare before I needed to meet my Connecticut colleagues at the Shandong Hotel, so they took me to a beautiful park just opposite the hotel. I walked into the Shandong Hotel just after 3:00PM. (The hotel is palatial and looks like the Times Square Marriot Hotel in NYC, only twice as large.) It was a sad goodbye to my two friends from the Jinan Middle School #12. I was amazed at how quickly we had established a relationship. However, my Connecticut colleagues were also arriving (or were also there), and we quickly began to compare notes, stories, and generalizations about our “Sister Schools” and our widely-varying accommodations for the past few days. These conversations were carried on for several hours, most at a local restaurant in the park that I had walked in earlier. I returned back to my room rather early, to finish my notes, update my blog, and to get ready for tomorrow’s trip to the birthplace of Confucius, a city named Qufu. (pronounced “chewfu”).
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Yellow River really looked like it should have been called the muddy river. Spring in Jinan is the dry season so the river was rather low, maybe one hundred yards wide. However in the summer the rains come and the river regularly floods, even over the large retaining banks that they have built along it.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
This fourth day in Jinan was reserved for showing me some of the city’s tourist attractions. However, Mr. Han was especially interested in showing me the school where he worked, and he made arrangements for a tour of the Shandong Experimental High School too.
Two teachers from the Jinan Middle School #12 picked me up at the hotel at 8:00AM. The driver, Mr. Chu, was a physical education teacher. The other teacher, Mrs. Jing, served as my interpreter and was an English teacher. We drove about twenty minutes across town to the Shandong Experimental High School and entered its gate. Students were arriving as we pulled in and most were wearing blue and white school uniforms similar to those worn by the middle school students. Almost all students came with backpacks and were dropped off by parents or by public transportation. Mr. Han was waiting for us outside the main building and looked very official in a dark suit and tie. I found out that Mr. Han was not actually a senior math teacher, but a “Dean” at the school and his main responsibility was observing and evaluating teachers. The campus was very beautiful. One building was completely covered in ivy. Flowers were everywhere. I learned that about only twenty students a year from the Jinan Middle School #12 do well enough on the ninth grade exam and attend this high school, the most rigorous and prestigious in the Shandong Providence. Mr. Han next introduced me to the school’s principal, Mr.Liu Kun. Mr. Liu was extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. We took pictures in the school’s large conference room and then he gave us a tour of the campus. This school had a large gymnasium and Mr. Liu quickly challenged me to shoot a few free-throw shots on the basketball court…and then we engaged in a friendly game of ping-pong. There were many photos taken and our friendly competition drew a small crowd! I also saw the two Derby High School teachers from the Connecticut delegation, Linda Green and Anthony Gargano, in the gym. Our small delegation then toured the library, some science classrooms, and some regular classrooms while students in the junior year were taking a special science examination. The morning visit ended with more photos, and a warm good-bye to Mr. Han and Mr. Liu. I told them both that I hope to see them again in Connecticut.
Mr. Chu drove us back downtown to the city square to visit the Baotu Springs, natural water springs that one of Jinan’s most famous tourist attractions. We paid an entrance fee of 40 yuan (just over $5) and took a relaxing tour of the springs and the park. There were beautiful trees, scrubs, waterways, and tasteful Chinese buildings all around. The temperature was delightful too, and many people were there to visit or to relax. Next we drove to a beautiful large lake named, Damiang Lake (sounded like Diamond Lake to me). We walked for a long while along the lake and then took one of the several boats to an island in the middle of the lake. This park, a short ride from the center of Jinan, was not crowed at all. The sun was trying to break through the smoggy air, there was a nice breeze, and the temperature was about 75 degrees. I actually felt like I was on a day of “spring recess vacation.”
For lunch we returned to center city Jinan and had the most amazing buffet lunch at the same hotel that we had stayed in on Sunday evening. The spread of food was so spectacular that I started to video-tape the food…that is until one of the employees kindly asked me to stop. After lunch we drove outside of town to see the Yellow River. The Yellow River really looked like it should have been called the muddy river. Spring in Jinan is the dry season so the river was rather low, maybe one hundred yards wide. However in the summer the rains come and the river regularly floods, even over the large retaining banks that they have built along it. As we returned to the city Mr. Chu and Mrs. Jing asked if I wanted to visit the city’s zoo. Since I was going to the principal’s home for dinner, I opted for returning to the hotel to rest and freshen up.
I had dinner at the home of principal Zhang. Mr. Zhang’s wife, Mr. Chu (PE teacher and designated driver for the day), and Mr. Chu’s wife joined us. Mr. Chu and his wife live in the same building, just a floor below. The apartment/condo like building had about six floors and the principal live in a modern, two-level, three bedroom condo with two bathrooms. His wife had taken the afternoon off of work to prepare the evening’s meal and it was delicious. After dinner, before I returned to the hotel, we watched a Chinese version of American Idol. One nice thing about Chinese television, there are no commercials!
This fourth day in Jinan was reserved for showing me some of the city’s tourist attractions. However, Mr. Han was especially interested in showing me the school where he worked, and he made arrangements for a tour of the Shandong Experimental High School too.
Two teachers from the Jinan Middle School #12 picked me up at the hotel at 8:00AM. The driver, Mr. Chu, was a physical education teacher. The other teacher, Mrs. Jing, served as my interpreter and was an English teacher. We drove about twenty minutes across town to the Shandong Experimental High School and entered its gate. Students were arriving as we pulled in and most were wearing blue and white school uniforms similar to those worn by the middle school students. Almost all students came with backpacks and were dropped off by parents or by public transportation. Mr. Han was waiting for us outside the main building and looked very official in a dark suit and tie. I found out that Mr. Han was not actually a senior math teacher, but a “Dean” at the school and his main responsibility was observing and evaluating teachers. The campus was very beautiful. One building was completely covered in ivy. Flowers were everywhere. I learned that about only twenty students a year from the Jinan Middle School #12 do well enough on the ninth grade exam and attend this high school, the most rigorous and prestigious in the Shandong Providence. Mr. Han next introduced me to the school’s principal, Mr.Liu Kun. Mr. Liu was extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. We took pictures in the school’s large conference room and then he gave us a tour of the campus. This school had a large gymnasium and Mr. Liu quickly challenged me to shoot a few free-throw shots on the basketball court…and then we engaged in a friendly game of ping-pong. There were many photos taken and our friendly competition drew a small crowd! I also saw the two Derby High School teachers from the Connecticut delegation, Linda Green and Anthony Gargano, in the gym. Our small delegation then toured the library, some science classrooms, and some regular classrooms while students in the junior year were taking a special science examination. The morning visit ended with more photos, and a warm good-bye to Mr. Han and Mr. Liu. I told them both that I hope to see them again in Connecticut.
Mr. Chu drove us back downtown to the city square to visit the Baotu Springs, natural water springs that one of Jinan’s most famous tourist attractions. We paid an entrance fee of 40 yuan (just over $5) and took a relaxing tour of the springs and the park. There were beautiful trees, scrubs, waterways, and tasteful Chinese buildings all around. The temperature was delightful too, and many people were there to visit or to relax. Next we drove to a beautiful large lake named, Damiang Lake (sounded like Diamond Lake to me). We walked for a long while along the lake and then took one of the several boats to an island in the middle of the lake. This park, a short ride from the center of Jinan, was not crowed at all. The sun was trying to break through the smoggy air, there was a nice breeze, and the temperature was about 75 degrees. I actually felt like I was on a day of “spring recess vacation.”
For lunch we returned to center city Jinan and had the most amazing buffet lunch at the same hotel that we had stayed in on Sunday evening. The spread of food was so spectacular that I started to video-tape the food…that is until one of the employees kindly asked me to stop. After lunch we drove outside of town to see the Yellow River. The Yellow River really looked like it should have been called the muddy river. Spring in Jinan is the dry season so the river was rather low, maybe one hundred yards wide. However in the summer the rains come and the river regularly floods, even over the large retaining banks that they have built along it. As we returned to the city Mr. Chu and Mrs. Jing asked if I wanted to visit the city’s zoo. Since I was going to the principal’s home for dinner, I opted for returning to the hotel to rest and freshen up.
I had dinner at the home of principal Zhang. Mr. Zhang’s wife, Mr. Chu (PE teacher and designated driver for the day), and Mr. Chu’s wife joined us. Mr. Chu and his wife live in the same building, just a floor below. The apartment/condo like building had about six floors and the principal live in a modern, two-level, three bedroom condo with two bathrooms. His wife had taken the afternoon off of work to prepare the evening’s meal and it was delicious. After dinner, before I returned to the hotel, we watched a Chinese version of American Idol. One nice thing about Chinese television, there are no commercials!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day number three in Jinan involved observing three morning classes at the Jinan Middle School #12, an afternoon tour of downtown Jinan, and dinner at the home of Mr.Han.
The first class I observed was an eighth grade English class taught by Mrs. Zhuang. Students again stood and welcomed me as a special visitor and were clearly prepared for my visit. One boy presented me with a gift of eight traditional Chinese paper cuttings at the very beginning of the class. Another girl told me she wanted to present me a gift of a song, a proceeded to sing a beautiful Chinese song, accapello, in front of the entire class. Another took a picture of me, so to always remember my visit. The class eventually began, was taught in a more traditional room and in a more traditional fashion. The objective was written on the front board with chalk. It involved teaching students an English structure involving “consequences” following a sentence structure “If I am ________, I will _________.” There were approximately the forty-four students present and Mrs. Zhuang gave several written and oral examples. Then she began calling on students to create some of their own examples. Students had fun with this exercise giving examples, like: “If I am in the room without a teacher, I will talk very loudly.” The principal, who accompanied me on each of my visitations and used it as an opportunity to do formal observations, told me that the teacher was using a technique called “chain questions”. At the end of the class the teacher asked the students to state “what they had learned today”, something we would describe as “closure”. At the end of the class I was mobbed by almost every student, who wanted my autograph. I wrote “Best Wishes from the USA!” and gave my signature to almost every student.
The next class was a seventh grade music class and was taught by Ms. Deng. The class was taught in a room with an overhead LCD projector, mounted speakers, and an electronic piano. The class lesson/presentation was up there again with one of the finest music classes I have ever seen. Using a self-made PowerPoint-looking presentation, Ms. Deng had students listen to small parts of an old, Chinese folk tune, and then had them sing. At times she would play new sections of the song on the piano and sing it herself…her voice was incredible. Finally, near the end of the lesson she showed a video clip of a famous, young, Chinese female singer singing this folk song in a formal concert, in fill costume, with a full orchestra. By the end of the class the principal and other teachers who were also observing could not help but to also sing along. I tried to capture a clip of it for my blog and video taped much of it. I hope the beauty of the lesson comes out in it.
The last class observed was a seventh grade art class taught by Ms. Du. This class consisted of all boys, but only twenty-four of them. The room was rather small, about the same size as our academic classrooms at the Amity Middle School. The lesson consisted of teaching the boys how to draw, the classic, Chinese characters in black ink. Each student desk had paper, a brush, a bowel of water, and a dish of black ink. The teacher first demonstrated the strokes on the blackboard using water and pointed to several examples that she had displayed. The direction of the brush strokes were diagramed on the front board. Students had a drawing book on their desk and also referred to several large posted examples. Most of the lesson involved students practicing several Chinese characters. The teacher also insisted that I try my hand at this…and I’m glad that my work was not graded. Some of the best examples of student work were displayed by the students at the front of the room by the end of the lesson. I’m bringing my Chinese characters home.
Lunch was with three teachers from the school and we ate back at the hotel. All students and staff have a two-hour lunch break for eating and resting. I took advantage of both. At 2:00PM I was given a tour of downtown Jinan by two English teachers who served as my interpreters. Another teacher served as the driver. The temperature must have been near eighty degrees as we walked around the central square and surrounding shops. We even visited a Wal-Mart Superstore. However, there were no shorts, tee-shirts, or sandals in sight. In fact, they often had on sweaters, jackets, long pants, and sweat-suits. My guides told me that it was still spring and people don’t shed their jackets until summer, the rainy season, when temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees. I was so hot I began to get a headache.
We returned to the hotel at 5:00PM and I had thirty minutes to get ready for dinner with Mr. Han, the Chinese teacher from the Shandong Experimental High School. I had learned from teachers at my school that this high school was the best in all of Shandong Providence, hence one of the very best in all China. It has 5,000 students and 500 staff members. That, evening, as I had dinner at Mr. Han’s very, very modest apartment. I asked him how the math curriculum at this high school compared with the high school curriculum at Amity. He said that he envied the way that Amity High School grouped students in various levels. He also said that the highest level of math at Amity exceeded what was taught at the top classes in his school. I had a lovely dinner with Mr. Han, his wife, his sister-in-law, and an English teacher colleague/friend who served as an interpreter. We laughed about Mr. Hans visit to Connecticut. I was showered with incredible gifts and hospitality.
Day number three in Jinan involved observing three morning classes at the Jinan Middle School #12, an afternoon tour of downtown Jinan, and dinner at the home of Mr.Han.
The first class I observed was an eighth grade English class taught by Mrs. Zhuang. Students again stood and welcomed me as a special visitor and were clearly prepared for my visit. One boy presented me with a gift of eight traditional Chinese paper cuttings at the very beginning of the class. Another girl told me she wanted to present me a gift of a song, a proceeded to sing a beautiful Chinese song, accapello, in front of the entire class. Another took a picture of me, so to always remember my visit. The class eventually began, was taught in a more traditional room and in a more traditional fashion. The objective was written on the front board with chalk. It involved teaching students an English structure involving “consequences” following a sentence structure “If I am ________, I will _________.” There were approximately the forty-four students present and Mrs. Zhuang gave several written and oral examples. Then she began calling on students to create some of their own examples. Students had fun with this exercise giving examples, like: “If I am in the room without a teacher, I will talk very loudly.” The principal, who accompanied me on each of my visitations and used it as an opportunity to do formal observations, told me that the teacher was using a technique called “chain questions”. At the end of the class the teacher asked the students to state “what they had learned today”, something we would describe as “closure”. At the end of the class I was mobbed by almost every student, who wanted my autograph. I wrote “Best Wishes from the USA!” and gave my signature to almost every student.
The next class was a seventh grade music class and was taught by Ms. Deng. The class was taught in a room with an overhead LCD projector, mounted speakers, and an electronic piano. The class lesson/presentation was up there again with one of the finest music classes I have ever seen. Using a self-made PowerPoint-looking presentation, Ms. Deng had students listen to small parts of an old, Chinese folk tune, and then had them sing. At times she would play new sections of the song on the piano and sing it herself…her voice was incredible. Finally, near the end of the lesson she showed a video clip of a famous, young, Chinese female singer singing this folk song in a formal concert, in fill costume, with a full orchestra. By the end of the class the principal and other teachers who were also observing could not help but to also sing along. I tried to capture a clip of it for my blog and video taped much of it. I hope the beauty of the lesson comes out in it.
The last class observed was a seventh grade art class taught by Ms. Du. This class consisted of all boys, but only twenty-four of them. The room was rather small, about the same size as our academic classrooms at the Amity Middle School. The lesson consisted of teaching the boys how to draw, the classic, Chinese characters in black ink. Each student desk had paper, a brush, a bowel of water, and a dish of black ink. The teacher first demonstrated the strokes on the blackboard using water and pointed to several examples that she had displayed. The direction of the brush strokes were diagramed on the front board. Students had a drawing book on their desk and also referred to several large posted examples. Most of the lesson involved students practicing several Chinese characters. The teacher also insisted that I try my hand at this…and I’m glad that my work was not graded. Some of the best examples of student work were displayed by the students at the front of the room by the end of the lesson. I’m bringing my Chinese characters home.
Lunch was with three teachers from the school and we ate back at the hotel. All students and staff have a two-hour lunch break for eating and resting. I took advantage of both. At 2:00PM I was given a tour of downtown Jinan by two English teachers who served as my interpreters. Another teacher served as the driver. The temperature must have been near eighty degrees as we walked around the central square and surrounding shops. We even visited a Wal-Mart Superstore. However, there were no shorts, tee-shirts, or sandals in sight. In fact, they often had on sweaters, jackets, long pants, and sweat-suits. My guides told me that it was still spring and people don’t shed their jackets until summer, the rainy season, when temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees. I was so hot I began to get a headache.
We returned to the hotel at 5:00PM and I had thirty minutes to get ready for dinner with Mr. Han, the Chinese teacher from the Shandong Experimental High School. I had learned from teachers at my school that this high school was the best in all of Shandong Providence, hence one of the very best in all China. It has 5,000 students and 500 staff members. That, evening, as I had dinner at Mr. Han’s very, very modest apartment. I asked him how the math curriculum at this high school compared with the high school curriculum at Amity. He said that he envied the way that Amity High School grouped students in various levels. He also said that the highest level of math at Amity exceeded what was taught at the top classes in his school. I had a lovely dinner with Mr. Han, his wife, his sister-in-law, and an English teacher colleague/friend who served as an interpreter. We laughed about Mr. Hans visit to Connecticut. I was showered with incredible gifts and hospitality.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
It helps to have a good night sleep…which I did. Although I left the window open and the temperature seemed to be close to the 80 degree range yesterday, it cooled off and the street noise was not bad. It did not bother my sleep at all. I had breakfast in the hotel at 7:00 AM … interestingly, with several other Chinese soldiers dressed in full uniform. A driver from the school picked me up at 7:50 AM. It turned out that the middle school was only a five minute ride down the same road as the hotel. The principal arranged for me to visit three morning classes…English 7, math 7, and physical education. There are 1,400 students and 130 teachers at the Jinan Middle School # 12. All students take four classes in the morning, go home for a two-hour break/lunch, and then return for four more classes. The staff does the same. There were forty-four students, all in their blue and white sweat-suit uniforms, in the class when I arrived. The teacher, my interpreter Ms. Hou, had them all stand when I entered the room and said in unison “Good morning Principal Dellinger. Welcome to China and the Jinan Middle School #12.” I sat at the back of the room with another English teacher, who was also observing Ms. Hou as a colleague, and the principal Mr. Zhang. It was an amazing class to observe…one of the best “world language” classes that I have ever seen. Ms. Hou had brought her class to one of the few rooms in the school that had a LCD projection device mounted in the ceiling. She used a masterful combination of PowerPoint slides and pictures of famous people to teach students vocabulary about how to describe people. Students in rote, repeated a host of new vocabulary words to describe a person’s height (tall, short, or medium build), to describe their hair (black, brown, blonde, short, curly, long, etc.) as well as other features. Students at times spoke to each other in pairs and sometimes turned around to discuss things in a group of four. At other times they would be called on, one after another to practice an English word or phrase, and always stood up when called upon. Rigor, time-on-task, active student involvement, and the teacher-prepared PowerPoint were all outstanding. And of course, there were absolutely no discipline problems with so many adults in the room…but I don’t think it actually is any different on other days. The students were motivated and worked hard the entire forty-five minute period. For homework, they were assigned a writing assignment to describe a certain person. I’m betting most will have done it extremely well…even though they come from a rather poor section of the city and teachers told me only thirty-percent of the families have computers in their homes. The next class was a math class…and again, another superior teaching performance. (I’m quite sure the principal was showing me his best staff.) This teacher again used a self-made PowerPoint presentation to show students how the three angles of a triangle always add up to 180 degrees. At times students came up to her computer to manipulate a protractor to measure the angles. All students also used protractors at their desks. At one point students made triangles of various sizes, cut off the angles, and lined them up in a straight line to show visually how the sum of any triangle always totals180 degrees. Students also worked for brief periods of time in groups of two, or turned around to form groups of four. When the teacher wanted the group work to end, she clapped her hands twice, and students stopped and listened. It was another masterful performance I could also tell that there was great affection and respect between the teacher and the students. Finally, the students were dismissed with homework exercises from their soft-covered textbook. It was actually unusual that the students left this classroom. Most students stay in the same room all morning and all afternoon in China’s schools. It is the teacher who rotates from room to room. Classrooms are very standard and usually bare of any one teacher’s decorations. Hardly anything were on the walls in this school. And teachers only usually teach two (sometimes three) classes a day. However class size is another matter. In this school it ranges from a low of 44 to a high of 55 students. When not teaching, teachers work together in rather large offices, correcting student’s papers, preparing lessons, discussing students, or observing other teachers…a common practice. Finally, I went outside to observe physical education classes. Three PE teachers each had about fifty students at various locations on the large field that was covered with indoor/outdoor carpet. The field could be used for soccer, but it also had three basketball courts painted across the soccer field. There was also an all-weather track around the field. All groups did warm-up drills and calisthenics. One group of the seventh graders then practiced long jumping and then did relay races. One group of eighth graders did basketball drills. The ninth graders did volleyball drills. The students were extremely orderly…and seemed to enjoy the classes, especially drills that involved competitive races. The school does not have any indoor facilities for gym. Everything is outdoors. Today, the weather this morning was sunny and spring-like with temperatures in the 70’s, perfect for PE.
I returned to the hotel for lunch, and for the first time had some trouble getting down two of the “special” plates ordered. Most of the Chinese food I found tasted very good. Today’s food was the exception. I went to my room for a break and checked email and worked on my blog. Then, upon returning to school, I met with all the English teachers and shared the PowerPoint presentation that I had made of the Amity Middle School in Bethany. I also was able to connect to the school’s website, and shared many of the resources on it…including student work. This is one area that we were clearly ahead of the Chinese schools. There are not many computers in schools available for teacher’s use. Usually, one computer is available for four or five teachers in the building. Also, most families, about sixty-percent in this school, do not have computers at home. Teacher’s websites therefore are not practical to use. The school does have two or three computer labs that teachers share. Laptops and COWS (Computer on Wheels) were not available. I learned a lot about the school by having the meeting with the English teachers. I hope they found my presentation interesting. Before leaving school I observed a meeting with the principal and vice-principal and twelve “head” ninth grade teachers. A “head” teacher is in charge of a group of four or five other teachers, something similar to our “team leaders.” The administration was getting ready to have students take a practice, end-of-year examination. The end-of-year examinations are very important since their scores will determine which high school they will attend. The better their score, the better high school they could attend. The competition for high school and university is very, very competitive.
I had dinner that evening at a local restaurant with the vice principal, a teacher, and a friend of theirs who ran his own business importing waste paper and waste plastic. Then, I went back to the hotel to meet my “old” friend Mr. Han. Mr. Han was an exchange teacher back in the fall and he had stayed with me and my family and visited both the Amity Middle School as well as the high school. He had no idea that I was accepted to participate on the spring exchange program, and my email to him about my coming was returned. I luckily got his phone number from another Chinese educator on Monday and had my school’s principal call him earlier today. He was especially glad to learn that “I was in town” and brought his wife to meet me in the hotel. We exchanged gifts, shared recent photographs of our families, and made arrangements to go out to dinner tomorrow evening. What a small world we live in!
It helps to have a good night sleep…which I did. Although I left the window open and the temperature seemed to be close to the 80 degree range yesterday, it cooled off and the street noise was not bad. It did not bother my sleep at all. I had breakfast in the hotel at 7:00 AM … interestingly, with several other Chinese soldiers dressed in full uniform. A driver from the school picked me up at 7:50 AM. It turned out that the middle school was only a five minute ride down the same road as the hotel. The principal arranged for me to visit three morning classes…English 7, math 7, and physical education. There are 1,400 students and 130 teachers at the Jinan Middle School # 12. All students take four classes in the morning, go home for a two-hour break/lunch, and then return for four more classes. The staff does the same. There were forty-four students, all in their blue and white sweat-suit uniforms, in the class when I arrived. The teacher, my interpreter Ms. Hou, had them all stand when I entered the room and said in unison “Good morning Principal Dellinger. Welcome to China and the Jinan Middle School #12.” I sat at the back of the room with another English teacher, who was also observing Ms. Hou as a colleague, and the principal Mr. Zhang. It was an amazing class to observe…one of the best “world language” classes that I have ever seen. Ms. Hou had brought her class to one of the few rooms in the school that had a LCD projection device mounted in the ceiling. She used a masterful combination of PowerPoint slides and pictures of famous people to teach students vocabulary about how to describe people. Students in rote, repeated a host of new vocabulary words to describe a person’s height (tall, short, or medium build), to describe their hair (black, brown, blonde, short, curly, long, etc.) as well as other features. Students at times spoke to each other in pairs and sometimes turned around to discuss things in a group of four. At other times they would be called on, one after another to practice an English word or phrase, and always stood up when called upon. Rigor, time-on-task, active student involvement, and the teacher-prepared PowerPoint were all outstanding. And of course, there were absolutely no discipline problems with so many adults in the room…but I don’t think it actually is any different on other days. The students were motivated and worked hard the entire forty-five minute period. For homework, they were assigned a writing assignment to describe a certain person. I’m betting most will have done it extremely well…even though they come from a rather poor section of the city and teachers told me only thirty-percent of the families have computers in their homes. The next class was a math class…and again, another superior teaching performance. (I’m quite sure the principal was showing me his best staff.) This teacher again used a self-made PowerPoint presentation to show students how the three angles of a triangle always add up to 180 degrees. At times students came up to her computer to manipulate a protractor to measure the angles. All students also used protractors at their desks. At one point students made triangles of various sizes, cut off the angles, and lined them up in a straight line to show visually how the sum of any triangle always totals180 degrees. Students also worked for brief periods of time in groups of two, or turned around to form groups of four. When the teacher wanted the group work to end, she clapped her hands twice, and students stopped and listened. It was another masterful performance I could also tell that there was great affection and respect between the teacher and the students. Finally, the students were dismissed with homework exercises from their soft-covered textbook. It was actually unusual that the students left this classroom. Most students stay in the same room all morning and all afternoon in China’s schools. It is the teacher who rotates from room to room. Classrooms are very standard and usually bare of any one teacher’s decorations. Hardly anything were on the walls in this school. And teachers only usually teach two (sometimes three) classes a day. However class size is another matter. In this school it ranges from a low of 44 to a high of 55 students. When not teaching, teachers work together in rather large offices, correcting student’s papers, preparing lessons, discussing students, or observing other teachers…a common practice. Finally, I went outside to observe physical education classes. Three PE teachers each had about fifty students at various locations on the large field that was covered with indoor/outdoor carpet. The field could be used for soccer, but it also had three basketball courts painted across the soccer field. There was also an all-weather track around the field. All groups did warm-up drills and calisthenics. One group of the seventh graders then practiced long jumping and then did relay races. One group of eighth graders did basketball drills. The ninth graders did volleyball drills. The students were extremely orderly…and seemed to enjoy the classes, especially drills that involved competitive races. The school does not have any indoor facilities for gym. Everything is outdoors. Today, the weather this morning was sunny and spring-like with temperatures in the 70’s, perfect for PE.
I returned to the hotel for lunch, and for the first time had some trouble getting down two of the “special” plates ordered. Most of the Chinese food I found tasted very good. Today’s food was the exception. I went to my room for a break and checked email and worked on my blog. Then, upon returning to school, I met with all the English teachers and shared the PowerPoint presentation that I had made of the Amity Middle School in Bethany. I also was able to connect to the school’s website, and shared many of the resources on it…including student work. This is one area that we were clearly ahead of the Chinese schools. There are not many computers in schools available for teacher’s use. Usually, one computer is available for four or five teachers in the building. Also, most families, about sixty-percent in this school, do not have computers at home. Teacher’s websites therefore are not practical to use. The school does have two or three computer labs that teachers share. Laptops and COWS (Computer on Wheels) were not available. I learned a lot about the school by having the meeting with the English teachers. I hope they found my presentation interesting. Before leaving school I observed a meeting with the principal and vice-principal and twelve “head” ninth grade teachers. A “head” teacher is in charge of a group of four or five other teachers, something similar to our “team leaders.” The administration was getting ready to have students take a practice, end-of-year examination. The end-of-year examinations are very important since their scores will determine which high school they will attend. The better their score, the better high school they could attend. The competition for high school and university is very, very competitive.
I had dinner that evening at a local restaurant with the vice principal, a teacher, and a friend of theirs who ran his own business importing waste paper and waste plastic. Then, I went back to the hotel to meet my “old” friend Mr. Han. Mr. Han was an exchange teacher back in the fall and he had stayed with me and my family and visited both the Amity Middle School as well as the high school. He had no idea that I was accepted to participate on the spring exchange program, and my email to him about my coming was returned. I luckily got his phone number from another Chinese educator on Monday and had my school’s principal call him earlier today. He was especially glad to learn that “I was in town” and brought his wife to meet me in the hotel. We exchanged gifts, shared recent photographs of our families, and made arrangements to go out to dinner tomorrow evening. What a small world we live in!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
We left Beijing behind and began our bus trip at 8:30 AM. This morning was the sunniest morning yet, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Maybe the skies were clearer on this second day of the weekend because we were without the millions of cars commuting to work. Then, thirty minutes into the trip we came to a complete stop. All three lanes on the expressway were full. Drivers from all around us came out for a cigarette break. Fifteen drivers were smoking along the guardrail just outside my bus window. Interestingly, on the right side of our bus was a golf course! We were told that golf was an up-and-coming sport for the very wealthy. After about half an hour things cleared and we continued along. We passed farmland for hours upon end. Many of the fields were growing wheat, there were many orchards, and there were many areas with huge areas were trees had been planted, row after row after row. We arrived at our hotel after the eight hour trip in the city of Jinan, which has nine million people. We quickly changed into our best clothes for a lavish banquet with the leadership of the Shandong Provincial Education Department. Tomorrow we visit our new “Sister School.”
We left Beijing behind and began our bus trip at 8:30 AM. This morning was the sunniest morning yet, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Maybe the skies were clearer on this second day of the weekend because we were without the millions of cars commuting to work. Then, thirty minutes into the trip we came to a complete stop. All three lanes on the expressway were full. Drivers from all around us came out for a cigarette break. Fifteen drivers were smoking along the guardrail just outside my bus window. Interestingly, on the right side of our bus was a golf course! We were told that golf was an up-and-coming sport for the very wealthy. After about half an hour things cleared and we continued along. We passed farmland for hours upon end. Many of the fields were growing wheat, there were many orchards, and there were many areas with huge areas were trees had been planted, row after row after row. We arrived at our hotel after the eight hour trip in the city of Jinan, which has nine million people. We quickly changed into our best clothes for a lavish banquet with the leadership of the Shandong Provincial Education Department. Tomorrow we visit our new “Sister School.”
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
This was the day to partnership with our “Sister School”, the Jinan Middle School #12. We all waited in the lobby of the hotel to be picked up by representative from our respective schools. The principal from the Jinan Middle School #12 arrived around 9:45 AM along with an English teacher/interpreter along with a math teacher who was the driver. I said my goodbyes to my colleagues and left for the visit to my new sister school. The principal was a forty-year old man named Zhang Yi. Mr. Zhang was a formal English teacher, but for the past nine years he was the school principal. I was lucky since I had both an interpreter and Mr. Zhang, who’s English although limited, got better every hour that I spoke with him. The interpreter had an American name of “Sandy”. Her Chinese name was Hourairnan, and she had been teaching at the school for the past 12 years. The driver, Mr. Lee, was a ninth grade math teacher and spoke no English. We drove first to my hotel, The Great Wall Hotel, in the western part of the city, and checked into my room. The accommodations were clearly not the same as the previous hotel stays. The hallways were dimly lit, the room smelled of cigarette smoke, the rugs were badly stained, and there were stains on the room’s walls. It did have, I was told by the principal, hot water “24 hours a day”. People smoked freely in the lobby and in the elevator. The four of us sat in my room for about 30 minutes, getting to know one another. When they began asking about my school, I decided to give the principal and the interpreter a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that I created. They were very attentive to it. Finally we went to lunch at a local restaurant. I found out that the school had teachers and students visit from many other parts of the world: Shanghai, Korea, and Finland. The principal also well traveled and had been to Australia, Russia, Korea, and a few other places. Finally, after lunch it was time to visit the school. We drove in the gate and I saw a large red banner hanging across the driveway saying “Welcome Richard Dellinger” along with students in blue uniforms playing on the soccer field’s artificial turf. We entered one of the three buildings on the city “campus” and went directly to the administrative office floor. After I got to see the principal’s office, I was ushered into a modern, large conference room with a large conference table, another “Welcome Richard Dellinger banner” and a flat screen TV on the wall. The principal then started a formal meeting with me, the interpreter, himself, the secretary of the Communist Party, and one of his vice-principals (the other vice principal was at a class off-campus). Mr. Lee, our driver, took many pictures as Mr. Zhang showed me a PowerPoint presentation about his school. After the presentation I was invited to eat fruit and other foods that were all around the conference table. Finally, the meeting ended with the exchange of gifts. I was given a very lovely book that gave a historical overview of the school which opened in the late 1950s. I also got a lovely Confucius plate and a decorative coin with a picture of the school. I gave the principal a Connecticut-Shandong Partnership plaque, a Amity athletics, tee-shirt, a key-chain with the state of Connecticut on it, school bookmarks, school pencils, and a school mug filled with Hershey chocolate kisses. I also gave the others in the room the school mug and Hershey’s chocolate kisses. Next was an extensive tour of two of the three classroom buildings. What was really unusual was that very few of the classrooms that we visited had any students…they were all empty. The rooms were also very austere. Few if anything was posted of the walls. No books or papers were in sight. A substantial amount of time was visiting the sixth floor of the main building. It was basically a mini-museum. On the walls of all the rooms of this floor were hundreds of displays of insects, butterflies, and small birds from all across the world. Most of these had been donated by the mother of one of the teachers who was a university professor. The school tour ended by 4:45PM. I talked to the principal for the next 45 minutes, while he also took several phone calls from one of the two cell phones that he carried at all times. The day ended with yet another meal in another Chinese restaurant. Everyone in the afternoon meeting joined us for dinner, along with the other vice-principal, Mrs. Yang. I was dropped off at my hotel by 9:30 PM, and made my usual journal entry.
This was the day to partnership with our “Sister School”, the Jinan Middle School #12. We all waited in the lobby of the hotel to be picked up by representative from our respective schools. The principal from the Jinan Middle School #12 arrived around 9:45 AM along with an English teacher/interpreter along with a math teacher who was the driver. I said my goodbyes to my colleagues and left for the visit to my new sister school. The principal was a forty-year old man named Zhang Yi. Mr. Zhang was a formal English teacher, but for the past nine years he was the school principal. I was lucky since I had both an interpreter and Mr. Zhang, who’s English although limited, got better every hour that I spoke with him. The interpreter had an American name of “Sandy”. Her Chinese name was Hourairnan, and she had been teaching at the school for the past 12 years. The driver, Mr. Lee, was a ninth grade math teacher and spoke no English. We drove first to my hotel, The Great Wall Hotel, in the western part of the city, and checked into my room. The accommodations were clearly not the same as the previous hotel stays. The hallways were dimly lit, the room smelled of cigarette smoke, the rugs were badly stained, and there were stains on the room’s walls. It did have, I was told by the principal, hot water “24 hours a day”. People smoked freely in the lobby and in the elevator. The four of us sat in my room for about 30 minutes, getting to know one another. When they began asking about my school, I decided to give the principal and the interpreter a copy of the PowerPoint presentation that I created. They were very attentive to it. Finally we went to lunch at a local restaurant. I found out that the school had teachers and students visit from many other parts of the world: Shanghai, Korea, and Finland. The principal also well traveled and had been to Australia, Russia, Korea, and a few other places. Finally, after lunch it was time to visit the school. We drove in the gate and I saw a large red banner hanging across the driveway saying “Welcome Richard Dellinger” along with students in blue uniforms playing on the soccer field’s artificial turf. We entered one of the three buildings on the city “campus” and went directly to the administrative office floor. After I got to see the principal’s office, I was ushered into a modern, large conference room with a large conference table, another “Welcome Richard Dellinger banner” and a flat screen TV on the wall. The principal then started a formal meeting with me, the interpreter, himself, the secretary of the Communist Party, and one of his vice-principals (the other vice principal was at a class off-campus). Mr. Lee, our driver, took many pictures as Mr. Zhang showed me a PowerPoint presentation about his school. After the presentation I was invited to eat fruit and other foods that were all around the conference table. Finally, the meeting ended with the exchange of gifts. I was given a very lovely book that gave a historical overview of the school which opened in the late 1950s. I also got a lovely Confucius plate and a decorative coin with a picture of the school. I gave the principal a Connecticut-Shandong Partnership plaque, a Amity athletics, tee-shirt, a key-chain with the state of Connecticut on it, school bookmarks, school pencils, and a school mug filled with Hershey chocolate kisses. I also gave the others in the room the school mug and Hershey’s chocolate kisses. Next was an extensive tour of two of the three classroom buildings. What was really unusual was that very few of the classrooms that we visited had any students…they were all empty. The rooms were also very austere. Few if anything was posted of the walls. No books or papers were in sight. A substantial amount of time was visiting the sixth floor of the main building. It was basically a mini-museum. On the walls of all the rooms of this floor were hundreds of displays of insects, butterflies, and small birds from all across the world. Most of these had been donated by the mother of one of the teachers who was a university professor. The school tour ended by 4:45PM. I talked to the principal for the next 45 minutes, while he also took several phone calls from one of the two cell phones that he carried at all times. The day ended with yet another meal in another Chinese restaurant. Everyone in the afternoon meeting joined us for dinner, along with the other vice-principal, Mrs. Yang. I was dropped off at my hotel by 9:30 PM, and made my usual journal entry.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
I was worried about how the day would progress since I had a poor night’s sleep. Little did I know that it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days of my life. The day began with a brief visit to an “antique market”. Like most things in Beijing, the area was huge. There was an enclosed building for really fine furniture; a huge covered area (it could have fit four football fields) without walls, which had permanent stalls for vendors; and an open area without any roof where vendors had their wares on blankets. This entire complex was surrounded by permanent shops, which sold “high end” artwork and antiques. It was an enjoyable shopping experience since the vendors were selling handicrafts from all over the Asia. The next stop was the famous Tiananmen Square, a “plaza” that can accommodate one million people. The square is famous for the student protests that took place in 1989 and where the Chinese military killed several student protesters. It was also the place where I remember seeing the vast military parades with thousands of soldiers with all kinds of military hardware, including missiles. As we walked along with our tour guide, Mr. Pong, he explained the history of the square, pointed out the main Communist government building, Chairman Mao’s mausoleum’s, and explained that the only military parades now happened on major anniversaries. Then, near the north end of the square our guide explained how he actually was one of the student protesters who slept in the square during the student protests in 1989. He went on the give a passionate account of the student attempts to loosen the grip of Communism at the time, with on student in particular blocking the movement of an army tank. Pong believed that the government did loosen its gripe as a result after the military kill several students. He also explained China’s view of Tibet and the Darfur situation in Sudan, and how he believes that the Western press distorts China’s position. It was an amazing lecture about the history of China and the perceptions of the west by Mr. Pong, in the middle of Tiananmen Square! Interestingly, Mr. Pong once worked for China’s Department of Education, once lived in the United States, and earned his doctorate at Baylor University in Texas. One of his children was even born in the United States. Following this seminar in Chinese history, we were given a tour of the Forbidden City, the formal residence of China’s Emperors. Then, in the early 1900’s, the last Emperor was overthrown and the area was opened up to the public. While I was so impressed with the Emperor’s Summer Palace, which we had seen a few days earlier, this “official” residence was overwhelming. The size of almost every courtyard, every gate that separated the various living spaces, and every building was “super-sized.” After the tour of the Forbidden City we had a tour of the very opposite extreme of Chinese living, an area called Hutong, located very close to the Forbidden City. The Hutong section of Beijing was once the housing area of upper-class people who worked for the Emperor or in his government. Then, somewhere around 1949, Chairman Mao, champion of the working class, opened this section of the city to the working people or lower class. Sadly, this area is now a very poor, rundown housing area, now filled with many of China’s migrant workers, who come from the rural areas to work in the many construction jobs around Beijing. We toured this old part of the city in bicycles, driven by paid drivers, and got a formal tour of one of the houses. Next, tired of Chinese food, our group next ate dinner at a Pizza Hut restaurant. (There are many McDonald restaurants, several Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, Starbucks, and even Subway fast-food restaurants in Beijing.) Before we returned to the hotel, we saw a performance of the National Chinese Acrobatic Troupe. It was some day.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
We left Beijing behind and began our bus trip at 8:30 AM. This morning was the sunniest morning yet, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Maybe the skies were clearer on this second day of the weekend because we were without the millions of cars commuting to work. Then, thirty minutes into the trip we came to a complete stop. All three lanes on the expressway were full. Drivers from all around us came out for a cigarette break. Fifteen drivers were smoking along the guardrail just outside my bus window. Interestingly, on the right side of our bus was a golf course! We were told that golf was an up-and-coming sport for the very wealthy. After about half an hour things cleared and we continued along. We passed farmland for hours upon end. Many of the fields were growing wheat, there were many orchards, and there were many areas with huge areas were trees had been planted, row after row after row. We arrived at our hotel after the eight hour trip in the city of Jinan, which has nine million people. We quickly changed into our best clothes for a lavish banquet with the leadership of the Shandong Provincial Education Department. Tomorrow we visit our new “Sister School.”
I was worried about how the day would progress since I had a poor night’s sleep. Little did I know that it would turn out to be one of the most memorable days of my life. The day began with a brief visit to an “antique market”. Like most things in Beijing, the area was huge. There was an enclosed building for really fine furniture; a huge covered area (it could have fit four football fields) without walls, which had permanent stalls for vendors; and an open area without any roof where vendors had their wares on blankets. This entire complex was surrounded by permanent shops, which sold “high end” artwork and antiques. It was an enjoyable shopping experience since the vendors were selling handicrafts from all over the Asia. The next stop was the famous Tiananmen Square, a “plaza” that can accommodate one million people. The square is famous for the student protests that took place in 1989 and where the Chinese military killed several student protesters. It was also the place where I remember seeing the vast military parades with thousands of soldiers with all kinds of military hardware, including missiles. As we walked along with our tour guide, Mr. Pong, he explained the history of the square, pointed out the main Communist government building, Chairman Mao’s mausoleum’s, and explained that the only military parades now happened on major anniversaries. Then, near the north end of the square our guide explained how he actually was one of the student protesters who slept in the square during the student protests in 1989. He went on the give a passionate account of the student attempts to loosen the grip of Communism at the time, with on student in particular blocking the movement of an army tank. Pong believed that the government did loosen its gripe as a result after the military kill several students. He also explained China’s view of Tibet and the Darfur situation in Sudan, and how he believes that the Western press distorts China’s position. It was an amazing lecture about the history of China and the perceptions of the west by Mr. Pong, in the middle of Tiananmen Square! Interestingly, Mr. Pong once worked for China’s Department of Education, once lived in the United States, and earned his doctorate at Baylor University in Texas. One of his children was even born in the United States. Following this seminar in Chinese history, we were given a tour of the Forbidden City, the formal residence of China’s Emperors. Then, in the early 1900’s, the last Emperor was overthrown and the area was opened up to the public. While I was so impressed with the Emperor’s Summer Palace, which we had seen a few days earlier, this “official” residence was overwhelming. The size of almost every courtyard, every gate that separated the various living spaces, and every building was “super-sized.” After the tour of the Forbidden City we had a tour of the very opposite extreme of Chinese living, an area called Hutong, located very close to the Forbidden City. The Hutong section of Beijing was once the housing area of upper-class people who worked for the Emperor or in his government. Then, somewhere around 1949, Chairman Mao, champion of the working class, opened this section of the city to the working people or lower class. Sadly, this area is now a very poor, rundown housing area, now filled with many of China’s migrant workers, who come from the rural areas to work in the many construction jobs around Beijing. We toured this old part of the city in bicycles, driven by paid drivers, and got a formal tour of one of the houses. Next, tired of Chinese food, our group next ate dinner at a Pizza Hut restaurant. (There are many McDonald restaurants, several Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, Starbucks, and even Subway fast-food restaurants in Beijing.) Before we returned to the hotel, we saw a performance of the National Chinese Acrobatic Troupe. It was some day.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
We left Beijing behind and began our bus trip at 8:30 AM. This morning was the sunniest morning yet, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Maybe the skies were clearer on this second day of the weekend because we were without the millions of cars commuting to work. Then, thirty minutes into the trip we came to a complete stop. All three lanes on the expressway were full. Drivers from all around us came out for a cigarette break. Fifteen drivers were smoking along the guardrail just outside my bus window. Interestingly, on the right side of our bus was a golf course! We were told that golf was an up-and-coming sport for the very wealthy. After about half an hour things cleared and we continued along. We passed farmland for hours upon end. Many of the fields were growing wheat, there were many orchards, and there were many areas with huge areas were trees had been planted, row after row after row. We arrived at our hotel after the eight hour trip in the city of Jinan, which has nine million people. We quickly changed into our best clothes for a lavish banquet with the leadership of the Shandong Provincial Education Department. Tomorrow we visit our new “Sister School.”
Friday, April 11, 2008
China's Great Wall
Today we got to visit one of the wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China. We left the hotel after the usual, huge breakfast spread, just after 8:00 AM. The weather was about the same, cool but hazy. Traffic in Beijing was some of the worst I have ever seen. Cars and trucks were streaming through the city at every turn. Getting out of Beijing seemed to take forever. Traffic moved along after we left the city and we got to the Great Wall around 10:15PM. (I am pictured on the wall, with China's motto for the Olympics in the background, "One World, One Dream.") The weather was very good with bright sunny skies and a cool breeze. Buses and people were everywhere as we approached the Great Wall. Our guide got us very close to the entrance, while many others had to walk a great distance. We spent two hours walking and climbing along the top of the wall. There were thousands of people there and the vendors were extremely persistent, tying to sell all kinds of souvenirs. The walk was extremely steep at various locations, but the views were spectacular. At some places there were so many people that “people traffic jams” occurred, causing us to turn around. We left around 1:00 PM. On the way back to Beijing we made several special “shopping” stops. The first stop was at a large cloisonné factory. We toured the factory, had lunch and shopped. An hour further along we stopped at a state owned pearl factory/store and a state owned jade factory/store. Finally, back in Beijing we shopped at a huge “silk market”. The silk market was actually a gigantic “flea market”, with “copies” of every imaginable name brand. They sold all types of “name-brand” clothing, jewelry, watches, souvenirs, etc. Some members of the delegation got measured for fitted suits and jackets. The vendors, mostly young women were some of the most aggressive I have ever seen. They would grab your arm, block your path, and verbally harass you…to get a sale. They elevated the art of bargaining to a science. Some of us got great deals…others probably paid way too much. But at least we had a good opportunity to buy almost any type of souvenirs. Another typical dinner followed and we returned to the hotel by 9:30PM.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Photos from China's Summer Palace
Emperor's Summer Palace: Top -Lakeside view with Buddhist temple in background; Next-Gate to lakeside; Next- Emperor's summer "office"; Bottom - Entrance gate to Emperor's Summer palace.
A Busy Day in Beijing
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sleeping last night was challenging due to the twelve hour time change. Although I was tired at 12 midnight in China, my body somehow knew that is was actually 12 noon in Connecticut. I got a few hours of sleep but got awake frequently. It was easy to get up by 6:00 AM and check email. Breakfast in the hotel was fantastic…there was almost everything you could imagine…omelets, bread pudding, fruit, bacon, coffee, etc. We left the hotel at 8:00 AM. It was again hazy and cool. For the Chinese it was a clear day. For us it was gray and smoggy. We went to the national department of education for an overview about China’s educational system. Once there we gathered in a huge conference room for a PowerPoint presentation by Jing Wei, Director of U.S. Programs. Ms. Wei’s Powerpoint and presentation was all in English. She spoke for 90 minutes and answered any questions we had for another 30 minutes. During the entire presentation we were constantly supplied with hot tea. We took a group photo and then headed for lunch. After lunch, very similar to the previous night’s dinner, we headed to Peking University for a tour and a lecture from a professor on Confucius philosophy and the political consequences. On the way we drove past the new stadiums built for the 2008 Olympics. Thousands of workers were busy, trying to complete the work before 8.8.08 at 8:00PM, when the Olympic Games begin. (Eight is a lucky number in China, but our guide told us that the temperature in August often goes as high as 100 degrees. So the athletes will need some luck with the weather in August!). We got to Peking University and walked the campus, home to 9,000 students, for one hour. It was a beautiful campus in Beijing built around a lake. Most striking were the hundreds and hundreds of older-looking bicycles parked in front of dormitories. There were up to seven students who lived in a room and there were no showers in the dormitories. Students got three shower “passes” a week to be taken in a special, separate bathhouse. The lecture on Confucius’ philosophy and impact on the China’s society was extremely interesting and somewhat complicated. We left the university around 4:30PM and went to one more tourist destination…the Summer Palace. This palace was a huge, huge, huge estate around a huge lake. The buildings and architecture were amazing. We took many photos, but the photos just cannot capture the size of the place. It was actively used about 200 years ago…so in a relative way it was not too old and was in very, very good shape. We left the summer palace about 6:30 PM and most of us slept on the bus as we went to a restaurant that specialized in Chinese duck. We got back to our hotel about 9:00PM…finishing a busy day in Beijing.
Sleeping last night was challenging due to the twelve hour time change. Although I was tired at 12 midnight in China, my body somehow knew that is was actually 12 noon in Connecticut. I got a few hours of sleep but got awake frequently. It was easy to get up by 6:00 AM and check email. Breakfast in the hotel was fantastic…there was almost everything you could imagine…omelets, bread pudding, fruit, bacon, coffee, etc. We left the hotel at 8:00 AM. It was again hazy and cool. For the Chinese it was a clear day. For us it was gray and smoggy. We went to the national department of education for an overview about China’s educational system. Once there we gathered in a huge conference room for a PowerPoint presentation by Jing Wei, Director of U.S. Programs. Ms. Wei’s Powerpoint and presentation was all in English. She spoke for 90 minutes and answered any questions we had for another 30 minutes. During the entire presentation we were constantly supplied with hot tea. We took a group photo and then headed for lunch. After lunch, very similar to the previous night’s dinner, we headed to Peking University for a tour and a lecture from a professor on Confucius philosophy and the political consequences. On the way we drove past the new stadiums built for the 2008 Olympics. Thousands of workers were busy, trying to complete the work before 8.8.08 at 8:00PM, when the Olympic Games begin. (Eight is a lucky number in China, but our guide told us that the temperature in August often goes as high as 100 degrees. So the athletes will need some luck with the weather in August!). We got to Peking University and walked the campus, home to 9,000 students, for one hour. It was a beautiful campus in Beijing built around a lake. Most striking were the hundreds and hundreds of older-looking bicycles parked in front of dormitories. There were up to seven students who lived in a room and there were no showers in the dormitories. Students got three shower “passes” a week to be taken in a special, separate bathhouse. The lecture on Confucius’ philosophy and impact on the China’s society was extremely interesting and somewhat complicated. We left the university around 4:30PM and went to one more tourist destination…the Summer Palace. This palace was a huge, huge, huge estate around a huge lake. The buildings and architecture were amazing. We took many photos, but the photos just cannot capture the size of the place. It was actively used about 200 years ago…so in a relative way it was not too old and was in very, very good shape. We left the summer palace about 6:30 PM and most of us slept on the bus as we went to a restaurant that specialized in Chinese duck. We got back to our hotel about 9:00PM…finishing a busy day in Beijing.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Early photos from Beijing...
Me, at 12 midnight, in the hotel lobby at the Jiang Xi Grand Hotel in Beijing.
The journey begins...
Tuesday, April 8 – Wednesday April 9
These two days actually seemed just like one long day. I arrived at the Bradley International airport at 6:15AM and had my first surprise…we would be leaving for Chicago one hour earlier than originally planned. We boarded United Airline flight 381 at 7:00 AM and left Hartford in beautiful early morning sunshine. As we approached Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport two hours later the skies were cloudier…possibly foretelling of things to come. Yes, the United Airlines flight to Beijing that was scheduled to leave at 12:43PM was delayed…several times, until 3:30 PM for “aircraft servicing.” We spent six hours waiting in the airport for the adventure to begin. Most of the time was spent getting to know some of the other nineteen Connecticut educators. We finally got into the air by 4:10 PM. The flight was 14 hours long and it went north- west. We actually flew just a bit west of the North Pole and directly over Siberia. As I looked out the windows about five hours into the flight I could see the frozen tundra of Canada below, an area called the Queen Elizabeth Islands. Because we were flying northwest, somewhat into the sun, it never got dark outside. We had a meal just after we took off and again just before we landed. I used the time in between to review a notebook of information given to me about China and tried to sleep, as most people closed their windows to block out the sun. We touched down in Beijing at 6:10 PM on Wednesday, which was 6:10AM in Connecticut. I never had to change my watch since it was exactly 12 hours difference between Beijing and Connecticut. The temperature at the airport was a very comfortable 70 degrees and the sky was overcast, hazy, at dusk. The airport was incredible. It was brand new and the largest and most modern I have ever seen! The guide told us 500 people a day get lost in it. We were taken by bus to a very nice restaurant and ate dinner from 8:30PM until 9:30 PM. The food consisted of fifteen different dishes of fried vegetables, meats, rice and a soup. Finally, we got to our hotel about 10PM. It was a modern, five-star hotel, with accommodations pretty much like you would have in any fine hotel in the states…including internet connections. On TV my roommate and I watched CNN news and ESPN sports channels!
Monday, April 7, 2008
The origins of this China trip...
The origins for this trip to China began with a telephone call from Dr. Gaeton F. Stella, superintendent of the Woodbridge School District, on Friday, October 26, 2007. Dr. Stella informed me that a visiting group of Chinese teachers had just arrived in Woodbridge to visit the elementary schools. One member of the Chinese delegation, Han Xianghe, was a secondary mathematics teacher from the Shandong Experimental Middle School in the province of Jinan. He wanted to visit a secondary school and, if possible, stay with an American family. I volunteered to have "Mr. Han" visit the Amity Middle School in Bethany and stay with me and my family. I was also quite sure that I could have him visit Amity High School in Woodbridge, the high school for our district, the Amity Regional School District #5. Mr. Han arrived at the Amity Middle school in Bethany on Monday, October 29. Several of our Chinese students volunteered to assist him and serve as interpreters. (Mr. Han is pictured above along with several of the students who assisted him.) He also visited the high school on two separate occasions. Soon after this I received information about the upcoming Connecticut-Shandong Principal Shadowing Project (PSP) scheduled for April 8-21, 2008. The superintendent of our school district, Dr. John Brady, was interested in offering Chinese in the middle schools, and supported my interest in applying for this unique exchange program. I applied and in November, 2007, I was notified that I was accepted into the program. More information about the PSP program, a collaboration between the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) and the Connecticut State Department of Education, can be obtained by contacting Dan Gregg, Social Studies Consultant, at the Connecticut State Department of Education. His email address is: daniel.gregg@ct.gov
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