Architecture of Ideas

Yangzhou: Our School and the Beautiful "Slender West Lake"

After a restful evening at the hotel (we typically arrive at the hotels around 5:30, change clothes and meet in the lobby at 6/6:15 to spend the evening as a delegation, comparing notes and reflecting on our days), we packed up yet again before heading over to Yangzhou High School. This school is the one being assigned to Lovett, which means we will work with their administration on the Chinese American High School curriculum currently being developed here. We are greeted by Amelia, Xiu ZongYong, who is their international exchange director. Amelia is a name she chose for herself (most Chinese pick an American first name), and she has been teaching for years. Her husband is a professor in the university here, and her daughter is an 8th grader with the highest marks on the high school entrance exams in the district. (Note: Amelia said that although her daughter could attend Yangzhou High School, they could not afford the private tuition for the American High School program. They are considering sending her to boarding school in Singapore, and her daughter will apply for the many scholarships offered to Chinese students to study there.)

The campus is very large, feeling like a university campus rather than a high school campus. There is a large open courtyard with trees and walkways that connect a number of tall classroom buildings and an adjacent administration building and outdoor track/athletic facility. We went first to the board room for a signing (this time set up with the signers and Chinese on one side, and my colleagues on the other). I was very pleased to meet the principal, who is a master teacher of mathematics and, although he does not speak English, very warm in his gestures and thoughtful in his remarks. The school is the #1 school in the district (they all seem to be, and this often makes us wonder what measures they use and what they mean by district), and has had significant achievement in math and science. The school website indicates they are also very committed to physical education, something you do not see in all the Chinese high schools.

After the signing, the principal gave us a tour accompanied by Amelia, the assistant principal, and and an English teacher who could help translate. (Note: Amelia's English is excellent, and I am very excited about working closely with her.) We were able to sit in on two American High School classes (quite noticeable in that these classes have only 25 versus the standard 50 students in a typical Chinese classroom). The first was a physics class followed by an ESL course. Both seemed to be very didactic, although both teachers were using video to engage the students and engage in some interactive dialog (guided/supported by a lesson plan from the video). Although the teachers could move back and forth from Chinese to English, the classes were being taught in English for the most part with a heavy emphasis on developing vocabulary.

 

Amelia and the assistant principal hosted us for another celebratory lunch within walking distance of the school. Often these lunches are held in special rooms within the restaurant, much like mini-banquet rooms. As we walked down the street I noticed students who appeared to be from the high school. Amelia said that their school allowed students to have lunch off-campus. She said many actually went home for lunch, which is possible because of the student schedule. Schools in China have an 8-11:30 morning class schedule, followed by a two+ hour lunch break. They return to begin classes again at 2 and conclude the formal class time around 6. From 6-8 or 8:30, students stay on campus for study sessions. These are overseen by teachers from each subject area. It sounds like it is mostly a homework time with the opportunity for additional help from the teachers. Amelia said students will likely spend another couple of hours (or more) when they return home. She said it is a long day for everyone, and she acknowledges that there is not enough time for sleep and relaxation. However, much like all the people we spoke with this week, she said the Chinese must work hard in order to gain a better quality of life for themselves...and they do not complain about it.

Amelia accompanied us for our afternoon cultural tour which I found to be a highlight of the trip to China. Just north west of Yangzhou City is beautiful scenic water garden dating back to the 600's. Expanded during the Qing dynasty, Slender West Lake is a long, narrow "river" with willow trees, fruit trees, beautiful foliage, bonsai, and signature bridges and structures such as the Five Pavilion Bridge. We walked the length of the lake/river that is contained in the park area, and it was truly breaktaking. We had a young tour guide, who spoke impeccable English and is heading off to Cornell as a freshman in the fall. It was a great opportunity to get to know Amelia, as a parent as well as administrator and I am very excited about our school partnership which we will begin working on in earnest when I return.

Suzhou: The "Garden" School

On Tuesday morning we were up early to check out of our hotel. This is going to be one of the challenges of this first trip to China. The schedule has us visiting 5 cities and four schools; signing with 5 different schools; meeting the Ameson team in the Nanjing office; and attending a two day international conference in the Nanshan Education District (where some of us will also be presenting). We are constantly "moving" and some nights in the hotel/city just for the evening.

Before checkout, Jeff Mitchell of Tuscaloosa Academy and I headed out onto the city streets for a morning run. We've been successful to date with having good workout facilities, and so venturing onto the busy streets has not been necessary. No such luck today, so we decided to give it running outside try. Much like any busy downtown area, the running on sidewalks has its limitations and certainly crossing the streets can break your pace. Our experience today was made more challenging by the busy intersections (bikes and cars and nearly no rhyme or reason of who can make what move when!) and the sight of two foreigners (one who is probably 6'4") running was a real curiosity for them. We were just glad to survive the crossings while marveling at the people sitting at small stalls for breakfast of hard-boiled egges or dumplings before work and a group of retail workers gathered in front of the store reciting some kind of company mission.

Our morning was dedicated to visiting a local school, one that Jackson Academy will be working with and accessible via a short walk from the hotel. The walk was about 1/4 mile and took us down the main street, turning off into a side street running between some lower rise apartment buildings. It was hard to believe a beautiful school was at the end of this short walk as the street/walkway was unimpressive and the smell coming from the "stream" running alongside it indicated raw sewage. Fortunately we quickly arrived at what we learned was only one of three entrances to the school. Peering into the gates it looked like we were entering a small college campus with handsome buildings surrounding a lush, garden with towering trees.

We were greeted by English teachers who walked us through the garden (and would later take us on a tour), and then up to the school's board room. This building in particular is lovely, with what looks like cherry wood moldings and railings, and a view looking out on the garden and koi pond.
Much like the other ceremonies we are around a very large table, this time arranged such that we are all on one side and the Chinese are on the other.  We were joined by Jeff Wang from the Ameson offices, a great young man with whom I have been exchanging emails in advance of a Lovett student coming over in July, and Mr. Liu, an Ameson executive. The principal arrived late, having been detained by a presentation to another independent school (from California) and its student/teacher delegation. (We did not get to see them as their schedule had them in classes on another part of campus.) Once again, the formal signing included brief introductions to each school and pronouncements of support for the cooperation. This school in particular has a history of international exchanges with schools worldwide, and their student accomplishments are also impressive.

In what has become a daily routine, we are taken after the signing to a local restaurant for a celebratory lunch. We are usually taken to a reserved room with a large round table with a "lazy susan" in the middle. Dishes to share are placed on the lazy susan in stages, coming sometimes two or three at a time, and other times one at a time. Nothing is removed until it is finished. As we have two vegetarians in our group, we have a combination of meats, seafood, and tofu-all prepared in ways that do not resemble what we Americans think of as Chinese. We'll have duck (sometimes slow-cooked, sometimes just the skin basted with a sweet sauce and fried); slivers of beef with broccoli rabe or green beans in a barbecue-like sauce; a whole steamed fish; shrimp with hot peppers (which are unpeeled and you have to suck out the shrimp much like eating crawfish); scallops; tofu and noodles, tofu soup; hot pot soup (like hot and sour soup but often with a whole boiled eggs and sometimes mysterious objects); a bowl of eel (looks like a bowl of worms and apparently tastes like it looks); and often watermelon for dessert. Beverages typically include water (though sometimes unbottled which we cannot drink); cokes; or, Chinese beer. The later, TsingTao being one example, is similar to a very, very light beer in the United States and has relatively low alcohol content.

After lunch we had a little time to wander the main street (other than a candy shop we did not find anything of much interest), we piled into our van to drive a couple hours over to Yangzhou to spend the night and where I will sign with a school tomorrow. The drive was not particularly scenic, although as we got close to Yangzhou we crossed over a section of the Yangtze River. Tankers and other boats could barely be identified in the pollution haze, but one would imagine this is a beautiful area on a day when the conditions are better. The pollution, combined with the rain and fog of the "rainy season" seems to be following us on our trip. (Even the photos I tried to take crossing the river would not show anything but "fog.")

 

The "Reality" of China and Suzhou Tour

On Sunday we met in the lobby at 9 a.m. with another day planned for "touring." We were met by Mandy, an Ameson representative who basically serves as an advisor/college counselor for the American High School students at Ghezhou. The plan was to head to Tongli, an ancient "watertown" about an hour and half away, and en route to our next city (and school signing) in Suzhou. We never made it to Tongli, and I share the link to the post I wrote that day for the 3six5 blog. (Note: I applied to write for 3six5 earlier this year, and it just so happened that I was assigned this day.)

3six5: June 12, 2011

And, some additional photos from the excursion:

This next picture is from one of our iPhones. The bus driver was using old maps, and Mark was having a little fun seeing what Google might do for us...;-)

We gave up on making it to Tongli, and headed on to Suzhou to check in at the hotel and get a late lunch. Suzhou is still in the Jiangsu Province, but it is a "destination spot" known for its Japanese gardens. We toured one of those gardens after lunch. It was quite similar in style to the garden in Shanghai, and Mandy said many of these gardens were at one time private gardens. Also she said it is very common for wealthy families in Suzhou to have such gardens incorporated into their own homes.

 Although Suzhou is still a large city by American standards (nearly 6 million people), the overall feel is much different than Shanghai. It seems more relaxed, and the streets are filled with many more bicylcles and mopeds than cars and buses. However, moreso than Shanghai, this traveling delegation of 9w hite Americans (one female and 8 men) got more than its fair share of "stares." In fact, I think they found Jeff Mitchell and me running at 7 in the morning past street vendors and across the crazy intersections quite perplexing!  (Note: We have yet to see anyone out running, and the exercise rooms at the hotels are filled with foreign travelers, rarely anyone Chinese.)

One final photo from the day shows one of the real treats of our trip. The food here, although very well prepared and really quite good, gets a little tiresome after awhile. There are only so many times you can have a bowl full of eel (looks like worms), hot pots with unknown stewed objects, and seaweed. (OK, we've had beef, duck, pork, and broccoli too...) Today's treat was somewhat akin to "kettlecorn," and seemed to be something like fried corn dipped in sugar. It definitely drew rave reviews from our crowd:

"Cultural Tour" in Shanghai

After the long day on Friday, we looked forward to a weekend of "cultural tours" in Shanghai and Suzhou. Before heading back to the hotel on Friday night, one of the teachers escorting us at school ("Jane") took us over to the Shanghai Bund and the Huangpu River. This area was formerly home to British and Russian consultates, and Western trading houses and banks. The architecutre is very European, and when it is lighted at night, a quite spectacular sight.

The wide lanes for traffic and the pedestrian walkway along the embankment (built by the Chinese after destruction by typhoons) make it a lovely and popular evening stroll alongside the river.

Across the river another kind of "specatacular" cannot be missed. This area is called Pudong, and it is a testament to China's rapid economic development. The Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center are the tallest buildings in what is now Shanghai's commercial and financial hub.

On Saturday morning, we were greeted by two guides for the day, Jane and Jessica. We met both women the day before at the school; they are teachers in the Ameson American High School program. They are both in their 20s and from China, but they have  studied and/or lived abroad. Their English was very good, and their personalities simply delightful. We could not have asked for better guides!

Our schedule today was to head over to  ChengHuangMiao, or Shangahi City Temple, for some sight-seeing and shopping. This is an expansive area and big tourist attraction with souvenir shops lining the endless corridors accompanied by tea gardens, Starbucks (and KFC), and the famous NanXiang Steamed Buns. Steamed buns are dumpling pockets filled with pork, vegetables, or beef. The line for the steamed buns was like that of a Disney World theme park ride. In spite of its appeal we were not willing to spend the day in line to sample them.

Everyone wanted to do a little shopping (we do not have shopping time or much free time in the itinerary presented to us), so we split up and spent the next couple of hours on our own. I wandered the corridors for awhile, but I do not love that kind of shopping and was thrilled when I stumbled upon a Japanese garden. It was admission-only, so I paid 40 RMB (about $8 in the Chinese currency, the Yuan) and entered. This garden, the Yuyuan Garden, was built in the 1500s as a private garden by a son to honor his father (a high ranking official in the Ming Dynasty). It is  considered one of the finest in China and has all the traditional elements including rock formations, pagodas, tea houses, a variety of plantings, and a koi pond.

In spite of this being a tourist attraction, it was refreshing to see people sitting in the pagodas or tea rooms just relaxing and enjoying one another's company. For a city that seems so incredibly busy, this was a bit of a surprise.

The best part of the day was spending time with Jane and Jessica. They joined us for lunch at a local restaurant where they selected an incredible array of dishes for us to share, and later we walked together around the Bund for a "daylight" view. It was fascinating to listen to them talk about the "one child production" policy (they are both only children as has been mandated by the government); discuss working life (one of the girls is studying for her CFA in hopes of being a financial anaylst--which means an 80 hour work week should she get that job!); and hear of Jessica's upcoming marriage and the customs(and hard work!)  associated with planning, finances, and the event itself.

By late afternoon we were exhausted, and we returned to the hotel for the evening. Dinner in the hotel could not begin to compare with our great lunch, and my poor choice of drinking supposedly "filtered" water was not such a good choice. Lesson learned quickly!

After Classes: Lunch, Shopping, and First School Signing

First, an apology:  My intent was to write daily while here, and unfortunately our schedule and slow internet connections have made that impossible. So, the next few posts will hopefully provide a good catch up on what our delegation experience has been os far.

So, back to day one:

Lunch at School
After visiting classes and having a tour of the school's museum (many schools have an archives room where they show the history of the school and the accomplishments of their graduates), we had lunch in the student cafeteria. We were curious about what it was like to eat in the school's "canteen." This is a boarding school, so all the students share all their meals here. Much like in our cafeterias, you go through a line and then are seated at tables in a common room.

Below you'll see the choice I made, one of two offerred. The fruit is a mango (which was delicious and very juicy). The salad was a shredding of various green vegetables (celery, some sort of greens, and maybe some sprouts) tossed in a light vinegar base. And, then instead of meatballs I opted for something like a beef stew with a side of rice. It was all pretty good.

The only challenge we had with lunch was the lack of any beverage. We looked around us and no one had a drink with their food. I never heard an answer on why this was, and in subsequent meals we have not had that issue. Fortunately, the young teachers hosting us for the visit brought back bottled water and cokes from the vending machines down the hall.

Shopping on Nanjing Road

Although it was raining, several of us welcomed a walk after lunch to a neighboring shopping district. Since arriving we had not had an opportunity to see the city by foot, so this was a good chance to get a feel for Shanghai.

Nanshing Road, according to our young guides, is a popular shopping area with a wide plaza (for walkers, bikes, and a mini train). I could not really make sense of the shopping other than to say it was a hodge-podge of everything. At one corner you would find an upscale shop (typically an American or European boutique--often makeup, handbags, and jewelry) and then you would have a whole block of stores that seemed to be part of one building with stores wide open to each other on the interior. The clothes looked similar to those in the states, and the department stores are set up similarly to ours with multi-floors, escalators, and arrangement by type of goods and sometimes by label/brand.

The street and the stores were packed with people, some fighting over sale items, others just window-shopping with friends. Street vendors were ever-present, walking up to sell you light-up wheels to attach to your shoes or bribing you to come down the alley to see the knock-off Gucci and Prada handbags.

First School Signings

Returning to school we were a wet, sloggy group. The rain was one thing (we did have some umbrellas), but the humidity is another thing all together. All of our delegation are from the Southeast, and we agreed that the level of humidity was unlike any we had ever experienced. It just "hangs" and you begin sweating the minute you walk out the door. Schools do not have air-conditioning, except in certain spaces, so we were challenged to find a way to cool off before the afternoon signing ceremonies.  Fortunately, the room for the signing had it's own a/c system, and once we got there we went from wet, hot and humid to near freezer-like conditions before it was over.

Now that I have witnessed a signing ceremony, I have a better sense of what we've been working on for weeks. Although our document negotiations are not complete (we have verbal agreement), these ceremonies are very important to the schools and Ameson. Each school in our delegation is being partnered with one of Ameson's elite American high school programs in select schools. To acknowledge the formal commitment to work together, signing ceremonies are customary. These ceremonies are very well orchestrated by staff. Each time they've been set up in a board room with rose bouquets on the tables, and placecards for all the Americans on one side (if possible) and the Chinese on the other. The principal of the school, and headmaster and/or administrator from the American school, each give a presentation on their school (along with very kind remarks about the interest in working togther) and then move to one side of the table to sit alongside one another and sign a general agreement between the schools. It is not a legal document, as it is mostly ceremonial but signifies to the Chinese government (who must approve the partnership) that they have an agreement.

We had two signing ceremonies today, and we'll have another three in the days ahead as we move out from Shanghai to three other cities. However, today was "extra special" in that Sean Zhang, deputy chairman of Ameson, was with us and then hosted us for dinner afterwards. I'd met Sean earlier this year, and we have emailed back and forth some as well. The discussion he encouraged around the table after the signing signified to me his great passion to see our partnership raise the quality of teaching and learning in China. Clearly his focus is on improving Chinese students' ability to navigate a global world, and student/teacher exchanges and collaborations will advance that mission. I certainly see an opportunity for our students and teachers, and our community at large, to understand a part of the world and a people who will have a great impact on the future. It is mind-boggling to be here and witness the growth and energy.

 

The next two days are "off" in the sense that we will be sight-seeing (a "cultural tour") in and around Shanghai. After today's intensity, and a lot of jet lag, I know we are all looking forward to a different pace.

 

Ameson China June 2011: Off to School

After about 4 hours of sleep on the 14 hour plane ride (yeseterday) and three hours last night in our Shanghai hotel, it was time to get up for school. Our driver picked us up (we are a 9 member "delegation"), and we joined the masses on the four layer interstate. Traffic is much more intense this morning than our early evening trip from the airport last night. But, you need only look to your right and left to understand that this is a city with a population over 2x that of New York City. Everywhere you look is skyscraper after skyscraper, apartments after apartments--often filled with people hanging out the windows as I noticed this morning.

As we got closer into downtown Shanghai, the architecture got more interesting (some very futuristic-looking). Turning into the Gezhi High School, however, you enter a courtyard with architecture more reminiscent of British colonialism. (The British co-founded the school around 1876).

   

We spent the morning in four classrooms (English, Calculus, US History, and Chemistry). This high school is considered the finest in Shanghai, having received numerous recoginitions for performances on the national exam, admittances to some of the finest universities in the world, and reknowned alumni. The principal and the students are quite proud of this achievement.

Our visit is sponsored by the Ameson Educational and Cultural Exchange Foundation. This is one of 14 high schools in China with a small "elite"  American High School Program (AP+) operated by Ameson. Our delegation is here as the guest of Dr. Sean Zhang and the foundation to observe these programs and toidentify how to begin our work as consulting, educational, and cultural exchange partners. Note: The programs are small, 120 students per school, and instead of preparing for the national exam these students are preparing to attend the top universities outside of China. They are taking the traditional AP (or IB) curriculum alongside mandatory Chinese high school course, all taught either bilingually or as full immersion English.

The classroom design and teaching styles were very traditional, not to be unexpected in a country and schooling system that prides itself on individual achievement and mastery on tests. Interestingly, the students were exceptionally engaged, which I was later told is because of the high-stakes testing and great personal drive to compete for limited slots in the universities. Although the competition is a cultural reality, the attitude among the students was very congenial and I did not sense person-to-person competition. It seemed to be more a collective commitment to hard work and achieving one's own best performance. Competing against yourself.

 

 

 

I asked about the use of technology, and although it is not permitted in the classrooms, they do have computer labs and internet access. Talking with the Professor Zhang later in our afternoon "dialogue", we learned that they have access to video conferencing tools and, although what we saw in the classroom today was very traditional, Zhang is ready to take steps in partnership with us to explore project-based, collaborative learning. We set some goals to get started on that together in September.

 

We ended the morning in a young teacher's US History classroom. Y is from Tennessee, graduated from Tufts and has been teaching here for two years. She's introduced the students to language and culture in some fun, and interesting ways. When I get back to the states, and have access to YouTube, I'll share a video of her Chinese students learning some new songs...you won't want to miss Bob Marley's Buffalo Solider!

More later on the afternoon and evening tour, signing ceremony, dinner celebration, and night tour of "The Bund."