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| Our new friends in the Daxing School District in Beijing |
Over April vacation
Broadmeadow Principal Emily Gaberman and I traveled to Beijing, China as part
of an ongoing effort to expand our partnership with the Daxing School District
in the fast growing southern part of the city. In the last two years many Daxing students and teachers have visited the Needham Schools
and stayed with local host families as we have worked to develop a relationship to benefit our schools and students.
Our host in Beijing, Superintendent Li Da,
arranged visits to several area schools where we were able to interact with students
and staff and discuss educational issues, trends, and ideas important to both
Chinese and American educators.
We also discussed increasing
student and teacher exchange opportunities in future years. Mitchell Principal
Mike Schwinden and several members of his faculty have already taught summer
classes in Daxing, and we hope to encourage even more teaching and learning experiences
for our staff and students.
We were accompanied by
Dedham resident and entrepreneur Ying Liu, who also works with Boston Ivy, an
organization that works with Daxing to expand and promote educational opportunities. Our gracious and hospitable hosts in
China and our excellent tour guide (and translator) Ying made the quick trip
meaningful, worthwhile, and fast-paced.
What are a few of my
takeaways?
• The Chinese are eager to learn more
about the American educational system and to consider new ways to organize
classrooms and implement creative and useful instructional methods.
• The students, all of whom begin
learning English in Kindergarten, were keen to speak to us and practice
their language skills. (There are
more Chinese speaking English in China than there are Americans speaking
English in the U.S.!)
• The students we interacted with were
hardworking, playful, and determined to learn and achieve.
• Beijing, with over 20 million people
and covering over 2,400 square miles (larger than the entire state of Delaware)
is pulsing with construction, movement, and new opportunities for entrepreneurs
and young people. Traffic,
infrastructure, and smog, however, are immense concerns and must be addressed to sustain the city's growth.
• Besides education, it is clear that family,
food, tradition, and a reverence for the historical past are cultural
touchstones for the many wonderful Beijingers we met.
Enjoy the photos and stay
tuned as we explore more learning opportunities with the Daxing School
District!
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One of our many visits to
elementary and high
Schools in the Daxing
School District
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Students at the Feicuicheng
Elementary
School
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Physical education class
at the Pang
Ge Zhuang Elementary
School
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| I tried my hand at badminton (and lost…) |
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| A street poet using a sponge to write Chinese characters |
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Principal Gaberman and I visiting
Tiananmen Square
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| My trek up to the Great Wall of China... |
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| ... My slide down from the Great Wall! |
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| The Temple of Heaven |
