Crandall’s Blog

   Watching all that’s out there about China and the Olympics right now, reminds me of my trip to China three years ago.  I had the opportunity to visited Hong Kong and Beijing.   A close, young friend lives in Hong Kong and he was our tour guide.  He’s fluent in Mandarin, and I was thankful for that, because I don’t know how much I would have eaten if I didn’t know what it was… I love to travel and will go just about anywhere – wanderlust, I guess.  Anyway, I visited schools and talked to lots of people when I was there and thought I’d share some of the things I learned.

     When in Hong Kong, I spoke with people connected with the “American International School.”  They spoke of the concern many teachers have regarding the thinking/learning style of the students coming from mainland China and those from traditional Chinese schools.  Those students are having difficulties with the strategies the teachers use that reflect a cognitive approach to learning. They are excellent at memorizing and regurgitating back what they’ve read or learned, but not at problem solving and real life application.  I was told they can’t think ‘out of the box.’   While I was there, I got the English version of the newspaper whenever I could.  There was an article in it one day, about the number of college students returning from the U.S. after failing out of Medical School.  It seems their study habits and learning style would not withstand the more application, problem or scenario type of learning that is more prominently utilized in Med school.  That confirmed my conversation with the folks from the International School. 

     In Beijing, I visited a preschool that was just around the corner from our Hostel.  It was in a traditional Hutong (neighborhood).   Those who live in the Hutongs live very simply – they are high poverty areas.  Each morning I watched as the mothers and fathers dropped off their little ones.  They were fascinated with my blond hair and often stopped to stare as they passed me sitting on the steps.  (There are numerous pictures of me, floating around all of China, with various Chinese children and adults.  Many times I would get a small child thrust into my arms, followed by many pictures).  By the 2^nd or 3^rd morning they were looking for

me and tried to practice the English they knew.  Every time one little girl saw me, she would spout the litany of English words she knew, “hello, good morning, thank you, good night, goodbye.”  She beamed with pride when I answered her in English and loved having her picture taken with me.   I went to the school one morning and watched tiny hands working the Chinese characters on the keyboards of computers (just a few computers).  There were about 25 children and 6 adults in the large room.  There were small rooms off this ‘great room’ and they were used for smaller groups.  There was one I saw with a group of 5 students who were counting and using an Abacus.  There was another that had a few (not many) picture books.  A number of them stories about, Mao Tse Tung.  Another was like a resting area or nurse’s room.  Still another held the few computers.  The walls were bare except for the occasional drawing, and the colors on the walls, were dingy from the coal used to heat.  One of the teachers told me parents expect their children to work hard and not spend a lot of time on drawing and playing.  She said the government provided money to run the school, but supplies were limited.  It’s important for them to learn a foundation of English before they leave the school so they will succeed in the next phase of their education.  In China, those children who go to school are required to learn English – the language of business. 

     Like I said, I love to travel and meet new people and learn about other cultures.  Writing this is making me want to go again!!