Nebraska Educators' China Culture Tour

I’ve been home for 24 hours. My body is readjusting to a difference of 11 time zones, nearly reversing night and day. I woke up in the middle of last night, glanced at the clock which said 3:45, and panicked because I couldn’t remember what time the group was supposed to meet for the next day’s adventure. I looked around our darkened bedroom and couldn’t remember what hotel I was in. Readjustment is going to take a while!

When people asked me today about the trip, my first response was always that it was a fabulous trip and that I learned so much. Both statements are true, and they are totally inadequate to describe the experience and the learning. I remember taking a course in Chinese history as an undergraduate student. It was very difficult, in part because the names of people and places, and the historical events that we studied, were outside of any context that I had for understanding and making sense of it all. I’m certain that I learned more Chinese history, as well as culture and geography, in this two-week time period than I learned in a full semester course. It’s a powerful reminder to me of the importance of context and experience as we teach history. I can only imagine that it’s a challenging for our Vietnamese or Sudanese or Iraqi students to learn American history as it was for me to learn Chinese history from a book. The strategies that our history teachers are using, including stories and the glimpses of the effects of historical events on the lives of the people of the day, are so very important.

Visits to schools were wonderful; who amongst us doesn’t love walking into a classroom, talking with teachers and students, and sharing stories about our work. There were many similarities, including some of the big-picture issues, like national standards, test pressure, and new systems for appraising teachers. There were also the similarities of the students; as I said to a group this morning, kids are kids anywhere. The pre-schoolers were joyful; the elementary students loved showing us their work; the secondary students were into “cool,” even with uniforms. There were also very real differences, beyond the visible ones of size of school and size of classrooms. I know we believe there is great pressure on students, and schools, in our community and our country. It’s greater there. We recognize learning disabilities of many kinds. When asked what support there was for students that have difficulty learning to read in China, the response was that the assumption is that the student isn’t working hard enough. We’ve all read the studies about the cultural differences on expectations and effort; we heard evidence of that in every conversation.

China is struggling to implement some elements of democracy. Our guide in Beijing talked about citizens being able to elect representatives, who would get together to talk about problems. He thought there were about 2400 to 2500 representatives. Still, we didn’t hear much about governance in the two weeks we were there. The economy is government-controlled. Some businesses we visited made a point to say that they were a government-owned business. At the same time, there are many little storefront vendors, selling all kinds of things. I’m assuming we were seeing budding entrepreneurship there, though I don’t know. Access to information is controlled. Our guide noted that we could watch CNN in our hotel rooms, but that Chinese citizens could not have access to CNN. Twitter and Facebook are also not allowed and could not be accessed. At the same time, issues of the newspaper China Daily, which was printed in English as well as Chinese, contained letters to the editor that were critical of government policies. So many contrasts–and I suspect a visitor to our country who stayed for two weeks would identify the contrasts here, also.

I’ve always thought that travel, especially travel to another culture that moves you far beyond your own comfort zone, is one of the most educational experiences one can have. I believe that even more firmly in this, my first 24 hours home. I have returned with a little knowledge, a deeper level understanding history and culture and cultural competence, more questions than answers, and deeply grateful for the opportunity.

I thought about calling this my last observation or final observations but I know it won’t be. The many kindnesses shared by our Chinese hosts, highlighted by the drawing of the Terra Cotta Warriors, reluctantly given to me by a 5 year old artist, fill my heart. The many personal stories told us, especially Penn’s story, our 26 year old, Chinese tour guide in Beijing, make me realize what a blessed life my family has. Penn grew up on a 10 acre farm, worked by hand, in a rural province. He told of eating sorghum cakes most of his childhood after the birth of his little brother. Penn, a college graduate, now lives and loves the ultra modern life with the 16 million plus people of Beijing. The learnings about Chinese culture and language challenged and then expanded my understanding of history and linguistics. The kindnesses, stories and learnings fill my heart and my mind. China observations will continue. Just ask me!

On the last full day in Xi’an, we visited the Farmer’s Painter in the afternoon.  The painter who hosted us lives in a small village, and he is a farmer.   He raises wheat and corn.  He and his wife served us a wonderful noon meal of farm-raised meats and vegetables, including noodles, my new favorite food.  He showed us a small collection of old farm tools and implements; in some ways, I was reminded of the collections at Pioneer Village or the State Historical Society.  On opposite sides of the world, farmers and craftsmen developed very similar tools.

The farmer also gathered together residents of the village to perform traditional Chinese music and dance, including the Dragon Dance.  After demonstrating, they turned the dragon over to seven of us; I think Bess has a photo of that performance moment!  I was especially taken by the drummer.  He set the beat loudly, firmly, and with absolute consistency; it made everyone a more accomplished performer.

The farmer is a painter, painting in the style known as Farmers’ Painting.  He wanted to study art at the university, but as things sometimes happen, it didn’t work out.  So he took an art class in the village, and now he paints and teaches others to paint.  The paintings are of bright, rich primary colors, and they depict traditional and rural Chinese life, and they are distinctive and compelling.  They were the paintings that hung in the halls and rooms of our hotel in Xi’an.   Three of them will hang in my new office, when I get them matted and framed; please stop by to take a look.

It was a wonderful change of pace to drive through the countryside and to spend some time with this artist and his family.  From two schools of more than 1000 students in the middle of a city of 8 million people in the morning to a small village in the afternoon, we experienced yet another example of China’s diverse culture.  As a bonus for all of us, the farmer’s six-month-old grandson made a brief appearance, and several members of the group were able to hold him.  Just like in the office, when a baby appears, everything stops, and we all ooh and aah!

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

“The test” in China is the National Exam, given to seniors, and others who wish to take it again, in late spring. It was administered the week that we were in Beijing, and the papers were filled with stories about “the test.” The results of the test determine to which college, if any, students will be admitted. The competition is strong, the stress is high. Newspaper stories reported incidents of cheating, including students attempting to smuggle answers into the test and test administrators willing to sell questions for a significant amount of money. A photo that has stayed in my heart and mind is of parents, standing in the hot sun outside the building where the test is given, in silent support of their children. (News photos.)

“The test” has its origins in a much earlier dynasty, when a test was devised to determine who was best qualified to serve in high government positions. It was an essay at that time, on such a topic as describing best practices (my phrase, certainly) for governing. It was strictly based on the teachings of Confucius. Because of the possibility of cheating, elaborate security measures were put in place even then. In the early 20th century, that test was discontinued. However, “the test” to enter a university remains, and it has been the topic of conversation with some educators and students with whom we have met.

The professor who was our second teacher on Chinese history and culture spoke of her concerns about the test. She has studied in Singapore and Great Britain, and she is the Dean of the School of Foreign Studies at Jiaotong University. Her degree is in English, and her research interests are in discourse and genre studies. She is well-spoken, thoughtful, and wise. I would like to know her better. She commented that she fears that the test has narrowed students’ studies, that they can only focus on content of the exam. She is concerned that the pressure to perform is too great; that student suicides have resulted from this pressure. She believes that not all students are interested in, nor suited for, a university education, and that the option of a professional school (we would call it a technical education) should be seen as a legitimate option for students. (This sounds familiar, doesn’t it. We are not the only nation struggling with issues such as these.)

My student interpreter at the secondary school we visited today is a junior. His spoken English was quite good, and he was charming and delightful. He likes physics, and he especially likes the experiments that are a part of physics. He wants to study in America. He’s already started to study for the test, and he’s taking it very seriously. Other students with whom we spoke told us about the length of their day (7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m, with a two-hour lunch break) and their week (school is also held on Saturday). They spoke of homework until 11:00 p.m. Some said it’s “too much.” They know it’s necessary to do well on the test.

I don’t think the Chinese, nor the Americans, have figured out a system that assures that students are competent and capable at all the basic skills and the higher level thinking skills, with assessment that is fair and balanced and valid, assuring that all students are college or career ready at the conclusion of high school, whatever we define the “conclusion of high school” to be. And doing this in a way that builds in time for students to develop their own interests, explore new interests, develop friendships and social skills, and practice being a good citizen. We have a ways to go….

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

We visited four schools all associated with Jiaotong University: a Kindergarten school – ages 2 – 5 years old; 2 Primary schools – grades 1st – 6th; and a Secondary school – grades 7th – 12th. I loved hearing the noise of children learning. We heard it at all four schools. I’m embarrassed to say I expected silent, rigid rooms. I did not see any. Proud principals took us to art rooms, calligraphy classes, music rooms, computer rooms and to the school garden. Students gave us their art and calligraphy work. They were so proud. I was so honored. I know there were other rooms learning English and math and science but those were not on the tour. At the primary school today, students danced, sang, played musical instruments, rapped and put on a fashion show of recycled items for us. Students enthusiastically joined in with the performers as they closed the show with a patriotic song. Parents waiting to pick up their students for the two hour lunch/nap break watched proudly through the fence. Everyone was smiling as the morning ended.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Today was the day we’ve been waiting for, our first visits to schools. We visited a kindergarten school of 500 hundred children, from age two and a half through five. They were delightful. They sang, danced, played musical instruments, recited a poem, and demonstrated kung fu for us. They gave us gifts of their painting and other art work. They acted out the story of “The Little Match Girl,” in English, with costumes. How could we be anything other than enchanted! As David Lavender, middle school principal from OPS said, it was better than the Great Wall!

Then we visited a primary school, 2300 children (yes, that’s right, 2300 in one school) in grades one through five. We saw them near the end of their day, in math, computer, and art classes. We saw the room where their internationally competitive robot team works and practices. We listened to their music teacher play lovely music on a bamboo flute, and counted the seats in the room and realized that it’s set up to have 62 students playing bamboo flutes at the same time. The classes we observed, which were grades 3, 4, and 5, all had 55 or more students. A little eye-popping for most of us….

These two schools are what we would probably call lab schools, associated with Xi’an Jiaotong University. The students are children of university staff members or students from Xi’an or the province whose parents pay tuition for the to attend. China’s compulsory attendance law extends from grade 1 to grade 9; kindergarten is not compulsory, nor is it available to parents unless they can pay for it. The programs for the pre-schoolers that we saw were excellent, developmentally appropriate, with small adult to student ratios. They are just not yet universally available to all pre-schoolers in China.

We spent time this morning with the principal of the primary school; she gave a complete and concise overview of the educational system and its challenges in China. I was struck by many similarities to our current reality. There are national content standards in China, with national requirements for particular courses of study that must be taught in every school. Professional development for teachers is a major emphasis. The national education ministry is encouraging greater attention to the development of lifelong learning skills, problem solving skills, and creativity on the part of students. They’re working on a teacher and principal evaluation model. The principal is concerned that students’ assignment to a middle school is based on one test that students take at the end of fifth grade; she thinks it would be better to base that assignment on multiple assessments.

It’s clear to me that there are some questions and issues that cross language, boundary, culture, and tradition…. How wonderful to engage in this important teaching and learning conversation with colleagues around the world.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Xi’an is an ancient city, established centuries ago. As was customary for many cities over the years, a wall was constructed to enclose the city as a protection from invaders from surrounding territories. The City Wall in Xi’an was first constructed of dirt and clay; in the 1300’s, it was reinforced with stone and brick. It stands intact today, a structure that is 15 meters wide at the base, 15 meters tall, and 12 meters wide at the top; it’s circumference is 13 kilometers. There are four historic gates, at the four compass points, and there are guard and watch towers every 120 meters. The position of the guard towers at 120 meters was based on the fact that an arrow, shot from a bow, would fly for 60 meters. so the tower placement meant that every point of the City Wall was protected.

Today, the four gates are open all the time, with Xi’an’s busy traffic flowing in and out of the inside city. (The traffic is crazy, but that’s another story.) The City Wall is lit at night, and the towers are especially beautiful. It is an historic attraction, and if one visits Xi’an, one must climb to the top of the wall and walk along it, at least for a ways. Fortunately, the City Wall is much more accessible than the Great Wall. It is a climb of 66 steps, easily done. Once at the top, one can walk, or one can rent a bicycle and ride. So we biked.

I haven’t ridden a bike for years, but it’s true, you just get on, and it all comes back. It was a relatively cool morning, a most pleasant time for a bike ride–on a wall that’s been standing for 700 years. I am constantly reminded of the ancient nature of the Chinese land and people.

When time was up, we returned our bikes and waited for the last members of our group to join us. It was still pleasant, so we waited in the sun by the bike rental stand. Bess was wearing her Nebraska volleyball t-shirt. A man walked up to us and asked if we were really and truly from Nebraska. We affirmed that, and he told us that he’s a professor at Dort College in Iowa. He and his wife were in China visiting the exchange student from Beijing who had lived with them last year. They had come to China from Zambia, where he had been teaching agronomy for four weeks at a college that is a sister college of Dort. It is indeed a small world….

I believe there is evidence that many colleges and universities are developing sustained relationships with higher ed institutions in other countries, and that study abroad is a more and more common experience for college students. All that we are doing to help our students see themselves as citizens in a global society is a good thing; we are increasingly connected. Meeting an agronomy professor from Dort College, who had just come from Zambia, on the City Wall in Xi’an is a picture of that connectedness. Cultural competence is not just a nice attribute for our students to develop; it’s an essential.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

At the Forest of Stone Tablets and at both lectures on Chinese language and culture, we learned about Confucius. We learned that the Confucian concept of filial piety is larger than how we respect and care for our elders and ancestors. It was about Confucius trying to influence the emperor, how the emperor treated the people, and how the people treated each other. It is about relationships: ruler to subjects; husband to wife; parent to children; sibling to sibling; and friend to friend. It is about love and benevolence. It is about the leader modeling the behavior and ethics of the relationship. Hmmmmm….relationships, relationships, relationships…My thoughts keep returning to the relationship base of our work of educating children, educating each other, and leading.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

I love food. I’m good at food. I love to read recipes, plan menus, shop for fresh produce, cook, and eat. Especially, I love to eat. So this trip has been a dream come true. We have eaten familiar foods, like chicken, pork, and beef, and carrots, broccoli, and celery, cooked in some familiar and some new ways. We have eaten foods I’ve never eaten before, including pig’s ear (yes, that’s right, the ear of a pig), jelly fish, seaweed, and gui, a river fish. We’ve eaten very mild foods, and we’ve eaten foods that make your face red and your eyes tear. Like the lovely looking white radishes last night, with just a hint of hot sauce drizzled over them. Well, that hint of hot sauce set my mouth on fire. Still, I liked it. I’ve liked everything we’ve been served. And I’ve eaten it all.

Walnut Dumplings

There are regional differences in food in China, just as there are in any large, diverse country. In Beijing we had rice with every meal. In Xi’an, which is located in an agricultural setting that looks kind of like Nebraska, we’ve had noodles and dumplings, using the wheat that’s grown locally. And speaking of dumplings, what a treat! We had dumplings for a late lunch on Sunday, after visiting the terra cotta warriors. We were served 18 kinds of dumplings, we were warned not to eat too many at first and not have room for those at the end, but I ate one of each, and two of several. My favorites were those with these fillings: pumpkin; spicy chicken, pork with green onion, walnut, and duck. There was also a spicy beef one that had the impact described above. They were small dumplings, just two to three bites each, and they were magnificent. Enough so that we agreed as a group that we did not need/want dinner that night–the only meal we’ve missed in ten days!

The Chinese practice of serving dishes on a turntable in the center of the table, sharing food with all at the table, is a wonderful social grace. It sparks conversation, as people compare notes on what they’re eating, and as we work out the system to turn the table at the right pace to not miss anyone. And, we’re all getting good at using chopsticks, not only to eat, but to serve. I watched in amazement last night as I reached for a peanut in a serving bowl with my chopsticks and brought it safely to my plate. A single peanut–could never have done that two weeks ago! (The peanuts were marinated in a vinegar dressing, and they were an appetizer. Delicious!)

As for photos, I’m not good at them at all. I’ve taken more than 300 photos so far, and I’ll be pleased if even 10 of them are good. It’s not the camera; I have a perfectly fine camera. Lots of people on this trip have a similar camera, and they’re taking great pictures. It’s the eye, and I don’t have a good one. I don’t see the frame, I don’t see depth, I don’t know how to capture the “spirit” of the event, celebration, ritual, or activity. I’m sure I could learn better technique, but even with that, there’s still an eye, and I don’t think I have it. I’m grateful that Bess is here, taking great photos. Those pictures you see on the blog, they’re hers. And they tell the story in a way that I never could. Lesson learned: find a partner in your work whose skills fill in the gaps in your own. The work is better.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Yesterday was a former French teacher’s dream.  We got to learn about Chinese culture and language from a Chinese teacher who had spent two years at the Confucius Institute in Lincoln.  As she taught us how to count from one to ten, we also learned how to use our fingers to count the Chinese way.  The number 6 looks like the old “hang loose” hand sign –  thumb and pinkie extended with the other three fingers curled into the palm.  The number 8 is thumbs up, index finger extended with the other three fingers curled into the palm.  I knew using the signs while I learned the words would help my brain anchor the sounds.  I’m still struggling with 5, 7, and 9.  The sounds are so different from the sounds we make in English.

More delightful is the culture embedded in the numbers.  The number two signifies double happiness like twins which are a special gift under the current “one birth” policy.  Chinese abounds in words that sound alike and have different meanings.  Our teacher made us aware of many with the numbers.  The numbers 1 and 3 also sound like and signify together -one whole life.  The number 4 sounds like the word for death.  Thus four is an unlucky number.  Our hotel does not have a fourth floor.  1314 gives the meaning of one whole life forever; 3, 6, 9 a prosperous life.  The number 8 is viewed as a very lucky number.  Pronounced it sounds like good fortune – wealth.  The Beijing Olympics opened on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds after 8:08 pm to benefit from the luck of the number 8.  Some Chinese will even pay to assure their personal and business address and phone numbers contain the right numbers.  A note from hotel hospitality welcomed us and let us know we could contact them by dialing 8888.  I smiled with my new insight into what I would have viewed previously as a peculiar number.

Our teacher was patient as we struggled to pronounce accurately and remember the numbers.  We were doing this to expand our knowledge not for survival.  Every single Chinese person who sold us goods bartered with us using English numbers. How monolingual I feel!  How in awe I am  of our students, our parents and the rest of the world who embrace and learn multiple languages and cultures to survive and thrive in this 21st Century.

Posted from Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.