Sunday: Time to fly home!!! We were on our own this morning and just needed to be in the hotel by noon. I spent the morning with one last taxi ride around the city and a walk. The walk was by an area called the Bund. This was a waterfront area overlooking Pudong. Really beautiful section of the city. Sunday morning is just like any other day of the week in Shanghai. All the stores were open and the people were dancing and exercising in large open areas. I stayed and watched a large portion of people couples dancing like you would see on the TV show “Dancing with the Stars”. The music changed between ballroom style to country. When the country music played they all started Texas Two Stepping and it was sort of a weird moment. I am in Shanghai China watching a couple of hundred people two stepping to American Country music at an outside market place. Oh by the way, I did have a Starbucks coffee in my hand as I watched them dance. We got to the airport by 1:30 to catch a 3:55 flight. Boarded the plane and off to Chicago. This time the plane flew directly over Tokyo and back around the world south of Alaska. I looked out of the window at Midnight China time and it was bright sunshine of morning south of Alaska. We are to land in Chicago around 4:00 in the afternoon and will catch another flight into Cleveland. I should be at my home by 11:00pm on Sunday evening. I can;t wait to see my boys and other family members. That also means my Prospect School family as well. See you on Tuesday.
It really was a once in a lifetime trip. I had the opportunity to experience day to day life in China and was allowed to learn about their school system from the inside. I will be changed forever as far as becoming more open-minded about other cultures. People really are pretty similar with the only major barrier being different languages. I have met great new friends who would welcome any of us into their homes and treat us with more respect and caring than anyone would imagine. SEE YOU TUESDAY AT PROSPECT!!!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Saturday: Our last day in China. We began the morning with the group and a breakfast in our hotel. (American style breakfast) We boarded a tour bus and headed down to part of Shanghai which looked just like Italy. The part of Shanghai houses the Communist Party Museum. The Museum was not particularly interesting from the standpoint of artifacts, but from the significance to China it meant quite a bit to the Chinese people. Our next stop was the Shanghai Museum. This museum housed many different rooms dealing with Chinese history. Some sample room topics ranged from Calligraphy, currency, minorities of China and Jade artifacts. Lunch together at a local restaurant and the rest of the afternoon and evening was shopping at a local outside market and dinner on our own. I paired up with my roommate from Indiana. He was a superintendent from the Norwell School District and made the Beijing and Shanghai very enjoyable. We walked and bartered for some simple items in the market. Realize that you will probably pay less than half of the asking price at most of these stores in markets. Our evening ended with a taxi ride back to the hotel. Thoughts about Shanghai: It really is a growing city in China. They have built an unbelievable number of buildings on a built island called Pudong. Google Pudong and see what has been built in the last 20 years. I did take pictures and have posted to Photobucket so be sure to check them out. Home to America tomorrow and I am ready to be home.
Friday, April 22, 2011
April 22, 2010
Friday: A travel day to the last leg of our China trip. There is really no educational opportunities for is in Shanghai. All the administrators from Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania have come together to wait to fly back to America on Sunday. Shanghai is like the New York City of China. It looks very much like NYC with the high rise buildings and busy roads.
All the administrators met this afternoon and evening to debrief on our school visit experiences. All the administrators seemed to have similar experiences as I did. My time in China is becoming short and I am beginning to be ready to travel back to Ohio. I did not take any pictures today because they would have just been of a couple of airports and roads in Shanghai. I looked like any pictures I could have taken in NYC except some of the architecture is different. Maybe I am just getting used to the sights and did not see anything different that I thought might interest you in Ohio. I may post my activities for tomorrow and I may not. I think we are going to explore Shanghai on our own and get to do some shopping before we head home. You may hear from me tomorrow and you may not;) You probably will so check back in!!!
All the administrators met this afternoon and evening to debrief on our school visit experiences. All the administrators seemed to have similar experiences as I did. My time in China is becoming short and I am beginning to be ready to travel back to Ohio. I did not take any pictures today because they would have just been of a couple of airports and roads in Shanghai. I looked like any pictures I could have taken in NYC except some of the architecture is different. Maybe I am just getting used to the sights and did not see anything different that I thought might interest you in Ohio. I may post my activities for tomorrow and I may not. I think we are going to explore Shanghai on our own and get to do some shopping before we head home. You may hear from me tomorrow and you may not;) You probably will so check back in!!!
April 21, 2010
Thursday: My day to travel to Wuhan for our afternoon meeting and stay the night to leave for Shanghai on early Friday morning. We loaded the car after the typical breakfast stop and some noddles and dumplings. We had about an hour and ½ drive to Wuhan. Mr. Li wanted me to see a few famous sights in the city before our afternoon meeting. Wuhan is a medium sized city in China with the population of around 10,000,000. Xiaogan only had about 400,000 people (bigger than Cleveland).
Our first stop in Wuhan was a Buddhist temple named Guiyuan. “Covering an area of about 46,900 square meters (approx. 55,812 square yards), Guiyuan Buddhist Temple is situated in the west section of Hanyang district in Wuhan City. Being one of the four best temples in Wuhan, the temple, which was originally established in 1658 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was initially built on the site of Wuzhangpu Kuiyuan in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)”. Quoted from the travelchinaguide website. It was very beautiful and ornate as most buildings I have seen in China.
After the temple we went to see the Yellow Crane Tower. The Yellow Crane Tower has a very long and complicated history. It was first built in 223, during the Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280). Due to the ideal location, it was built by Sun Quan (182 - 252, King of Wu) as a watchtower for his army. After hundreds of years, its military function was gradually forgotten and the tower was enjoyed mainly as a picturesque location.
During the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), many popular poems were written in praise of the Yellow Crane Tower. It was these poems that made the Tower so renowned and induced for people to visit. During the following centuries, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. During the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) Dynasties alone the tower was destroyed seven times and rebuilt seven times. In 1854, it was completely destroyed in a fire and was not rebuilt until 1981”. Also quoted from travelchinaguide website. We walked up in the tower to get a magnificent view of Wuhan. Please look at the pics on Photo bucket.
Lunch was again at a western style restaurant as Mr. Li wanted to do everything he would to make me feel at home. I had a steak and something new I had not tried before (fried squid)! Really was pretty good, but what fried isn't?!?!
The afternoon/evening meeting was between all the Ohio administrators visiting the Hubei Province and the leaders of the Department of Education for the Province. The meeting was very formal and I was one of the three principals asked to speak about our experiences. My translator was very nervous, but she did great. The meeting ended with the Hubei Province hoping we continue our relationships with our new school friends. They want to expand and have students and staff come visit. They would also like to have staff and students come visit Prospect as well.
The evening ended with an formal dinner with many more foods we had not experienced yet. I did not take any photos of the food because I felt it was not the dinner to be a tourist. Up early tomorrow morning to board a plane for Shanghai. The last leg of our China trip. See you tomorrow.
Our first stop in Wuhan was a Buddhist temple named Guiyuan. “Covering an area of about 46,900 square meters (approx. 55,812 square yards), Guiyuan Buddhist Temple is situated in the west section of Hanyang district in Wuhan City. Being one of the four best temples in Wuhan, the temple, which was originally established in 1658 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was initially built on the site of Wuzhangpu Kuiyuan in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)”. Quoted from the travelchinaguide website. It was very beautiful and ornate as most buildings I have seen in China.
After the temple we went to see the Yellow Crane Tower. The Yellow Crane Tower has a very long and complicated history. It was first built in 223, during the Three Kingdoms Period (220 - 280). Due to the ideal location, it was built by Sun Quan (182 - 252, King of Wu) as a watchtower for his army. After hundreds of years, its military function was gradually forgotten and the tower was enjoyed mainly as a picturesque location.
During the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), many popular poems were written in praise of the Yellow Crane Tower. It was these poems that made the Tower so renowned and induced for people to visit. During the following centuries, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. During the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) Dynasties alone the tower was destroyed seven times and rebuilt seven times. In 1854, it was completely destroyed in a fire and was not rebuilt until 1981”. Also quoted from travelchinaguide website. We walked up in the tower to get a magnificent view of Wuhan. Please look at the pics on Photo bucket.
Lunch was again at a western style restaurant as Mr. Li wanted to do everything he would to make me feel at home. I had a steak and something new I had not tried before (fried squid)! Really was pretty good, but what fried isn't?!?!
The afternoon/evening meeting was between all the Ohio administrators visiting the Hubei Province and the leaders of the Department of Education for the Province. The meeting was very formal and I was one of the three principals asked to speak about our experiences. My translator was very nervous, but she did great. The meeting ended with the Hubei Province hoping we continue our relationships with our new school friends. They want to expand and have students and staff come visit. They would also like to have staff and students come visit Prospect as well.
The evening ended with an formal dinner with many more foods we had not experienced yet. I did not take any photos of the food because I felt it was not the dinner to be a tourist. Up early tomorrow morning to board a plane for Shanghai. The last leg of our China trip. See you tomorrow.
April 20, 2010
Wednesday: My day started a little apprehensive due to the fact that I did not feel well yesterday. I slept in and did not get up an run. I met Mr. Li and his driver for breakfast at our usual restaurant across form the hotel. We had the same noodles and fried dumplings. They have been very nice to get me a couple of cups of coffee to start my day as well. (I look forward to having the coffee in my office very soon)! We arrived at school at 8:00 am to students sweeping up the playground, typical morning activities for the students, and a couple of students standing at the entrance of the school in their uniforms. As Mr. Li and I arrived at his office. There was a lady and a camera waiting for us. I quickly learned that she was from the Xiaogan newspaper and would be spending the entire day with us for a feature article in an upcoming edition. This meant we had two photographers taking pictures of every event of the day.
The first classroom I was invited into was a 2nd grade math class. There were 68 students sitting at their desks. Along with the 68 students there were 8 other teachers from the school observing the classroom teacher. This is a common practice and an effective form of professional development. Mr. Li let me know that it is common for many teachers to watch other teachers and it happens every lesson. The 2nd grade students were learning division. The teacher was instructing the students and they all sat quietly and listened. After she instructed the lesson the students were to get the workbooks out to practice division. She called on students to state their answers and they did. She had one student come up to the white board and show how to draw a picture to solve the problem. The lesson ended with the students being assigned homework for them to get started.
The second classroom I observed was a 3rd grade English class. There were only 48 students in this class. They told me that this was the smallest class they had in the school. This classroom had a LCD projector and the teacher was using the projector to put slides up with English dealing with fruits. The class recited the sentences and words together after the teacher. They were also working on the plural form of the fruits. Chinese words don't have plurals so it is a tough concept for them. The teacher had to students practice asking for fruit from other students in pairs. They just turned to the student next to them and asked “do you like watermelons”? Other student “Yes, I like watermelons”. “Would you like some watermelons”. After the questions between the students, the teacher asked the students to get out the fruit they brought for the lesson. They were very excited to get out the food. The students were to share the fruit by asking each other for a specific fruit. The teacher had some cut up apple and interacted with the students in the same exercise. I was very impressed with the creativity of the interaction part of the lesson. There were also about 10 teachers watching this lesson for professional development.
After the classes in the morning we went back to Mr. Li's office. The reporter who had been following us all day wanted to ask me some questions for the article she wanted to write. During the interview students kept sneaking by the office to see the American Principal. I invited each one of them in to talk to them and give them a little gift from America. Off to a farewell lunch at a very elegant restaurant in the city. We were accompanied by the key staff members and leaders of all departments of the school. They placed me at the most important spot at the table and treated by their impressions of western style food. (Steak, egg, noodle and french fries) It was a very nice gesture and I was truly honored to be with this staff.
The afternoon was filled with a tour of classrooms and the school. I was treated to the band performing a couple of songs for me in the courtyard followed by the P.E. Classes demonstrating their martial arts training. Next we moved to classrooms and observed many different classes: music, art, English, computer and many others. We ended the school student day with my visit to a 6th grade class to interact with them. The students began by singing traditional Chinese songs followed by three students playing a traditional string instrument. We then opened up the meeting to some question and answer with the students. They were all very nervous at first, but they warmed up and we had some great discussion about America and Prospect Elementary.
The school day ended with a staff meeting where Mr. Li presented a Power point to the staff the information he gathered while he was in Oberlin. After the presentation I had a chance to visit with the staff in a question and answer session. The staff was also curious about American education. I gave them many details about our class size and school day schedule as well much information about how much our teachers care about their students. Our small class sizes allows us to really know all of our students.
After the staff meeting we were off to Mr. Li's house for a final dinner in Xiaogan. We stopped at the tailor's shop where Mr. Li presented me with a handmade silk jacket in the Tang Dynasty style. It was stunning. I was flattered that the best tailor in Xiaogan made this for me in such short notice. She usually requires 2-3 weeks for her work and she made this for me in 4 days. Please look at the pictures to see the jacket.
Dinner at Mr. Li's house had a little larger crowd than usually. The journalist and her 4 year old daughter joined us as well as Mr. Li's 22 year old nephew who wanted to meet the American. He was so nice and stated that he was nervous just like the elementary kids. The Chinese admire Americans so much that it is hard for us to understand. More gifts from Mr. Li and I was taken back to the hotel for the evening. See you tomorrow and check out Photo bucket.
The first classroom I was invited into was a 2nd grade math class. There were 68 students sitting at their desks. Along with the 68 students there were 8 other teachers from the school observing the classroom teacher. This is a common practice and an effective form of professional development. Mr. Li let me know that it is common for many teachers to watch other teachers and it happens every lesson. The 2nd grade students were learning division. The teacher was instructing the students and they all sat quietly and listened. After she instructed the lesson the students were to get the workbooks out to practice division. She called on students to state their answers and they did. She had one student come up to the white board and show how to draw a picture to solve the problem. The lesson ended with the students being assigned homework for them to get started.
The second classroom I observed was a 3rd grade English class. There were only 48 students in this class. They told me that this was the smallest class they had in the school. This classroom had a LCD projector and the teacher was using the projector to put slides up with English dealing with fruits. The class recited the sentences and words together after the teacher. They were also working on the plural form of the fruits. Chinese words don't have plurals so it is a tough concept for them. The teacher had to students practice asking for fruit from other students in pairs. They just turned to the student next to them and asked “do you like watermelons”? Other student “Yes, I like watermelons”. “Would you like some watermelons”. After the questions between the students, the teacher asked the students to get out the fruit they brought for the lesson. They were very excited to get out the food. The students were to share the fruit by asking each other for a specific fruit. The teacher had some cut up apple and interacted with the students in the same exercise. I was very impressed with the creativity of the interaction part of the lesson. There were also about 10 teachers watching this lesson for professional development.
After the classes in the morning we went back to Mr. Li's office. The reporter who had been following us all day wanted to ask me some questions for the article she wanted to write. During the interview students kept sneaking by the office to see the American Principal. I invited each one of them in to talk to them and give them a little gift from America. Off to a farewell lunch at a very elegant restaurant in the city. We were accompanied by the key staff members and leaders of all departments of the school. They placed me at the most important spot at the table and treated by their impressions of western style food. (Steak, egg, noodle and french fries) It was a very nice gesture and I was truly honored to be with this staff.
The afternoon was filled with a tour of classrooms and the school. I was treated to the band performing a couple of songs for me in the courtyard followed by the P.E. Classes demonstrating their martial arts training. Next we moved to classrooms and observed many different classes: music, art, English, computer and many others. We ended the school student day with my visit to a 6th grade class to interact with them. The students began by singing traditional Chinese songs followed by three students playing a traditional string instrument. We then opened up the meeting to some question and answer with the students. They were all very nervous at first, but they warmed up and we had some great discussion about America and Prospect Elementary.
The school day ended with a staff meeting where Mr. Li presented a Power point to the staff the information he gathered while he was in Oberlin. After the presentation I had a chance to visit with the staff in a question and answer session. The staff was also curious about American education. I gave them many details about our class size and school day schedule as well much information about how much our teachers care about their students. Our small class sizes allows us to really know all of our students.
After the staff meeting we were off to Mr. Li's house for a final dinner in Xiaogan. We stopped at the tailor's shop where Mr. Li presented me with a handmade silk jacket in the Tang Dynasty style. It was stunning. I was flattered that the best tailor in Xiaogan made this for me in such short notice. She usually requires 2-3 weeks for her work and she made this for me in 4 days. Please look at the pictures to see the jacket.
Dinner at Mr. Li's house had a little larger crowd than usually. The journalist and her 4 year old daughter joined us as well as Mr. Li's 22 year old nephew who wanted to meet the American. He was so nice and stated that he was nervous just like the elementary kids. The Chinese admire Americans so much that it is hard for us to understand. More gifts from Mr. Li and I was taken back to the hotel for the evening. See you tomorrow and check out Photo bucket.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Arpil 19, 2011
Tuesday: I woke up not feeling so great so I thought I better take the morning off running. Sort of weak and stomach not so good. Mr. Li wanted to show me some of the beauty of his countryside and I told him that I would do whatever he wanted to that day. We went to breakfast at our usual restaurant across from the hotel. Same noodles and dumplings. We had the driver waiting for us and we also met the English teacher and Mr. Li's wife at breakfast. We were to go to the mountains to see the flowers and the beautiful scenery. I was informed that I would be about an hour and ½ drive from Xiaogan.
I sat in the back of the car because the important people with drivers in China always sit in the back and that is where Mr. Li insisted I travel. However, during the trip I began to feel kind of flu like in my stomach and light headed. It might have just been all the China experience catching up with me. I shook it off and continued to take pictures of China which I thought might be interesting to you. We stopped when we saw a field of green tea and many workers picking the tea. The fields were beautiful and it looked like a postcard. Make sure you check out the pictures on photo bucket. We then arrived in the mountains and paid at the gate to visit the museum of clay statues and walk to the top of the mountain. As we began to walk I continued to feel weak and not so good. We did make it to the top after about an hour walk and the views of the mountainside and the flowers was spectacular. After we stayed to enjoy the scenery for a while, we took a golf cart ride back down the mountain. I asked Mr. Li if we could just go back to the hotel and rest instead of eating lunch. He agreed and we headed off. Back at the hotel I slept for the rest of the afternoon trying to feel better. Mr. Li wanted to go to dinner around 6:00 so I got up to meet him in his room at the hotel. He thought he better try to feed me some food I was used to so we walked to a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. KFC is the most popular fast food in all of China. We ate and it was just like it is in America and I did enjoy the taste of home.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel for the rest of the evening so I could upload pictures and work on this blog. My Internet connection is very slow at night. Must be all the people using the web in China. See you tomorrow and continue to check out the pictures. Especially the squid on a stick outside the KFC in the street market and the history of Colonel Sanders in Chinese.
I sat in the back of the car because the important people with drivers in China always sit in the back and that is where Mr. Li insisted I travel. However, during the trip I began to feel kind of flu like in my stomach and light headed. It might have just been all the China experience catching up with me. I shook it off and continued to take pictures of China which I thought might be interesting to you. We stopped when we saw a field of green tea and many workers picking the tea. The fields were beautiful and it looked like a postcard. Make sure you check out the pictures on photo bucket. We then arrived in the mountains and paid at the gate to visit the museum of clay statues and walk to the top of the mountain. As we began to walk I continued to feel weak and not so good. We did make it to the top after about an hour walk and the views of the mountainside and the flowers was spectacular. After we stayed to enjoy the scenery for a while, we took a golf cart ride back down the mountain. I asked Mr. Li if we could just go back to the hotel and rest instead of eating lunch. He agreed and we headed off. Back at the hotel I slept for the rest of the afternoon trying to feel better. Mr. Li wanted to go to dinner around 6:00 so I got up to meet him in his room at the hotel. He thought he better try to feed me some food I was used to so we walked to a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. KFC is the most popular fast food in all of China. We ate and it was just like it is in America and I did enjoy the taste of home.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel for the rest of the evening so I could upload pictures and work on this blog. My Internet connection is very slow at night. Must be all the people using the web in China. See you tomorrow and continue to check out the pictures. Especially the squid on a stick outside the KFC in the street market and the history of Colonel Sanders in Chinese.
Monday, April 18, 2011
April 18, 2011
Monday: My first day with Mr. Li at his school the Xiaogan Exemplary Experimental Primary school. We left the hotel about 7:20 in the morning to walk to the restaurant across the street. Breakfast was noddles with a beef sauce in a bowl almost like very thin spaghetti sauce on top. Mr. Li was kind enough to find me a couple cups of coffee:). His driver and car were waiting for us at breakfast. After breakfast the driver took us to school where we entered the gates of a beautiful city building which was the school. It had about 4 or 5 floors and had a central courtyard with a large playground of basketball courts and open space. The morning started with a flag raising ceremony and all the students gathered by class to listen to the morning announcements. Mr. Li, a student announcer, some vice principals, a few other students presented me to the staff and students. I was to make a short speech to the students. Being greeted by the large group of students and staff as we spoke from a second floor balcony was very unique. The students were very excited and the occasion was hard to describe. The presented me with a red handkerchief that the students typically wear as part of their uniforms. I presented Mr. Li with the photo book about Prospect Elementary as he showed it to the mass of students. I also presented the school with the artwork that several Prospect students donated to send to their school. As the students held up the artwork from the balcony the mass of students all Ohhh'ed together showing their appreciation of the work.
After the morning ceremonies, Mr. Li wanted to show me to friends in his other schools he had associations with. First, I was driven downtown to meet with the commissioner of all of Xiaogan schools. That would be like the superintendent of a system of 300,000 plus students. Pretty much like Cleveland. We visited for about ½ an hour and talked about similarities and differences in our education systems. He agreed that their large size of schools makes it difficult to really know any of the students. I have been giving out the pins of the little red school houses donated by the Oberlin Heritage Center along with a postcard we made of our students at the little red school house. The cards explains little red schoolhouses and Oberlin's little red schoolhouse. As I give them the card and pin, I explain that this is the way education started in America and we remember it today. I also told them that my school still feels like a little red schoolhouse of 242 students compared to their huge schools of 4,000 to 5,000 people. We know and have relationships with all of our students just the way education was meant to be.
After the commissioner's meeting I went to the best high school in Xiaogan. I was greet by the Dean and an assistant principal. We took photos and toured the outside portion of the school. It was 10:00 am and all students were gathered outside for exercises. They have two classes and then exercises and then two more classes before lunch. See the photos to see want 6,000 students exercising together looks like! Then upstairs to the meeting room for another discussion of American education versus Chinese education with their assistant principals.
We next visited a middle school where Mr. Li had been principal for 7 years. All the staff knew him and it was like home to him. More photos and a tour. I did get to meet some students in a couple of classes before we left. A few of them had some conversational English which they were learning in school. It appeared to be a bid deal to the students to have an American principal in class. They were afraid to ask questions or talk much because they are very respectful of teachers and principals. They are really not to be expected to be heard from and it was difficult for them when I asked them if they had any questions.
Lunch in a western style restaurant across from Mr. Li's school. After lunch we were to go back to the hotel and take a nap. The Chinese have 2 hours to go home in the middle of the day to eat and rest before afternoon classes. The afternoon at Mr. Li's school was a Monday weekly principal meeting. He had all of his assistant principals and his secretary in attendance as well as the heads of the various teaching departments. The meeting lasted for at least 90 minutes and just like Americans, they were not through all their discussion topics before they ran out of time and had to stop. More photos with the meeting staff and I presented all of them with the little red schoolhouse pins and again explained the story.
After work they exercise at many different places. Mr. Li and a few of his staff members play badminton after school 3 times a week. They invited me to play and taught me the game. It is very fast and not at all like we play in America during our picnics. I worked up a sweat in a couple of games. Very much like tennis and very fun. They took many photos, but I did not with my camera. I will get copies of the badminton from the school photographer. I did get in a run after badminton as I wanted to run back to the hotel. Mr. Li and the driver really did not want me to run in the streets and after much convincing that I would be fine they let me go. I did notice the driver and the school car following me to see if I would be alright. The Chinese were really doing their best to protect me. Shower and off to Dinner at Mr. Li's house. More of the traditional Chinese food. The only food item that I had not eaten before was the duck eggs. They were cooked with some vegetables and were quite sour almost like they were pickled. Back to the hotel to skype with another three classes at 9:30 pm China time. My Internet connection at the hotel is not very good and after about 15 minutes we were disconnected and could not continue the conversation. I'm sorry to the three classes that got cut off. I promise we will finish the discussion after I get back to Prospect. See you tomorrow.
After the morning ceremonies, Mr. Li wanted to show me to friends in his other schools he had associations with. First, I was driven downtown to meet with the commissioner of all of Xiaogan schools. That would be like the superintendent of a system of 300,000 plus students. Pretty much like Cleveland. We visited for about ½ an hour and talked about similarities and differences in our education systems. He agreed that their large size of schools makes it difficult to really know any of the students. I have been giving out the pins of the little red school houses donated by the Oberlin Heritage Center along with a postcard we made of our students at the little red school house. The cards explains little red schoolhouses and Oberlin's little red schoolhouse. As I give them the card and pin, I explain that this is the way education started in America and we remember it today. I also told them that my school still feels like a little red schoolhouse of 242 students compared to their huge schools of 4,000 to 5,000 people. We know and have relationships with all of our students just the way education was meant to be.
After the commissioner's meeting I went to the best high school in Xiaogan. I was greet by the Dean and an assistant principal. We took photos and toured the outside portion of the school. It was 10:00 am and all students were gathered outside for exercises. They have two classes and then exercises and then two more classes before lunch. See the photos to see want 6,000 students exercising together looks like! Then upstairs to the meeting room for another discussion of American education versus Chinese education with their assistant principals.
We next visited a middle school where Mr. Li had been principal for 7 years. All the staff knew him and it was like home to him. More photos and a tour. I did get to meet some students in a couple of classes before we left. A few of them had some conversational English which they were learning in school. It appeared to be a bid deal to the students to have an American principal in class. They were afraid to ask questions or talk much because they are very respectful of teachers and principals. They are really not to be expected to be heard from and it was difficult for them when I asked them if they had any questions.
Lunch in a western style restaurant across from Mr. Li's school. After lunch we were to go back to the hotel and take a nap. The Chinese have 2 hours to go home in the middle of the day to eat and rest before afternoon classes. The afternoon at Mr. Li's school was a Monday weekly principal meeting. He had all of his assistant principals and his secretary in attendance as well as the heads of the various teaching departments. The meeting lasted for at least 90 minutes and just like Americans, they were not through all their discussion topics before they ran out of time and had to stop. More photos with the meeting staff and I presented all of them with the little red schoolhouse pins and again explained the story.
After work they exercise at many different places. Mr. Li and a few of his staff members play badminton after school 3 times a week. They invited me to play and taught me the game. It is very fast and not at all like we play in America during our picnics. I worked up a sweat in a couple of games. Very much like tennis and very fun. They took many photos, but I did not with my camera. I will get copies of the badminton from the school photographer. I did get in a run after badminton as I wanted to run back to the hotel. Mr. Li and the driver really did not want me to run in the streets and after much convincing that I would be fine they let me go. I did notice the driver and the school car following me to see if I would be alright. The Chinese were really doing their best to protect me. Shower and off to Dinner at Mr. Li's house. More of the traditional Chinese food. The only food item that I had not eaten before was the duck eggs. They were cooked with some vegetables and were quite sour almost like they were pickled. Back to the hotel to skype with another three classes at 9:30 pm China time. My Internet connection at the hotel is not very good and after about 15 minutes we were disconnected and could not continue the conversation. I'm sorry to the three classes that got cut off. I promise we will finish the discussion after I get back to Prospect. See you tomorrow.
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