Sunday, April 18, 2010
I arrived yesterday afternoon to the Changchun airport after a one hour and forty-five minute flight to an exceptional welcome by Mrs. Guan and a number of the Second Experimental School students an staff. It was really special and surprising.
I then went with Mrs. Guan, Mrs. Christina (one of the schools English teachers who along with Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Jenifer that will serve as interpreters) to the hotel. The hotel is called the South Lake Hotel and is where foreign dignitaries stay when visiting Changchun. It is also the location where German engineers and their families stay in sort of a compound of duplexes that is in a very nice wooded area. It is extremely nice.
After checking in to the hotel we went to a dinner where I had the pleasure of meeting Principal Song, a famous educator that has been on the CNN talk show of China, discussing educational curriculum. Mrs. Song has made such improvements in The Second Experimental School that it is considered a “model school” in China. Much of her work has been around the concept of educating the “whole child”. Additionally Principal Song has been recognized by the Ministry of Education for her vision and commitment to improving education in China. Mrs. Guan was also there as were five other assistant principals, the director of the office, and the three interpreters. We had an awesome meal, which included: pork, beef, chicken, rice, vegetables, mushrooms and soup. We tried a bit to get to know one another a little and then it was time it call it a night.
On Sunday morning I had the opportunity of getting an outside tour of one of the two campuses of The Second Experimental School. It was an outside tour because it was raining pretty hard outside. The campuses are both quite large. One of them has 4,000 students (opened in 1984 and funded by the provincial and federal government) and the other around 3,800 (opened in 2005 and privately funded) students. Both schools serve grades 1-9. The buildings are very modern and secure.
At the second campus I had the opportunity to meet a large contingent of students and staff. When we arrived, there were a couple of students dressed up in a duck and Panda Bear costumes. There were also a large number of students representing their classrooms with delightful signs of welcome that they had made. It was a very neat experience.
We then went to the school conference room, which rivaled the conference room we were in at the Ministry of Education in Beijing. It was large, had a conference table that sat 24 people and nicely decorated. There were also a number of chairs that surround the table because there were about 60 students and staff members present. Mrs. Song welcomed me and then gave a power point presentation of her school (she is Principal of both campuses). The presentation was terrific! Next it was my turn to talk about the Helfrich Park STEM Academy, which I proudly did. I gave a brief history of the school, spoke about our STEM initiative, the Simple Six, and our wonderful students and staff. Following my presentation, I answered some questions the students had. Some of the questions included:
1.How long and when were our vacations
2.What were holidays that we celebrated
3.If I liked Michael Jackson music (I do)
4.Favorite musicians of myself and students
5.My thoughts on Martin Luther King
6.Who my favorite basketball player was (the NBA is pretty big over here)
This meeting with the students and staff lasted around three and one half hours and it was a lot of fun learning more about their school, telling them about ours and meeting students and staff.
Following that meeting we had lunch, another feast and then toured the Manchurian Emperor Puppet Palace. What an exciting tour. Emperor Puhi is known as The Last Emperor. The history behind his reign and the historical significance the China as a country is an incredible story. The tour was very interesting and I wish every student could have the opportunity to take part in it learning about this piece of Chinese history.
Following the tour we had dinner where I had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Guan’s husband. He is a fine man and a well-known intellectual. We ate at an authentic Mongolian restaurant where the employees are dressed in traditional dress; there is a lot of singing by patrons and an abundance of food.
There is so much to share that there is just not enough time to type everything. But believe me that this has been a tremendous learning experience. Tomorrow I will begin to spend my days at The Second Experimental School and I am looking forward to that very anxiously.
PUMA students, good luck to you as you prepare for ISTEP beginning on April 27. Follow the Simple Six daily do your best in all you do!
