Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Delegation splits up to cover more ground, gather insights from Chinese education system

While some of the education delegation was at Tianjin High School No. 41 on Tuesday, other members – those from Catskill, South Colonie and Schodack – visited Tianjin High School and Junior High School No. 57 where they were treated to a tour of the campus, lunch, student shows and meetings with education leaders. Members of the delegation from Schoharie were dispatched to Tianjin High School 13 for a similar itinerary.

What is clear in all of the schools is an extreme focus on the math, sciences and arts with top-of-the-line equipment in science labs and classrooms available to students.

Another observation: Class size is not an issue in China. Classes in all three high schools routinely exceeded 40 students and in at least one instance, a teacher stood in front of 56 students teaching Chinese language.

Chinese educators said discipline matters rise infrequently in class because students and their families are committed to education – another result, they said, of China’s policy restricting families to one child. As a result of the policy, the entire family – from grandparents to parents – strive to make sure that sole prodigy succeeds, the educators said.

Educators will meet with several more school leaders on Friday in southern China.

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