DAY 2: Beijing Welcomes Us

Day 2: School and Factory Visit

I started off my morning pretty early. I was up at about 3:30a just because I couldn't sleep. After spending a few hours examining my fantasy baseball team and then puddling through a few podcasts (the Freakonomics examination of one of the Koch brothers was particularly interesting), I decided to go for a morning walk in the rain. I was greeted with a monstrous monsoon-like rain, and I think we're supposed to receive 2-3 inches today before all is said and done. From what I gather, that's nothing for this "rainy season" of Northeastern China and the 25 million residents of this city, which, for those of you who don't know, means "Northern (Bei) Capital (Jing)." Nanjing, which is near Shanghai, is the Southern "capital."

I learned that, of the 25 million people here, those who own a 1,000 sq.ft., 2 bedroom house costs $1-$1.5 million AMERICAN. HOLY FRIJOLES!

After meandering through the town a bit (I didn't dare veer off the road of our hotel as I don't know what the heck I'm looking at with the Mandarin Characters), I came back, showered, and then went downstairs for breakfast. Here I met my fellow 40 colleagues and were gorged on an amazing breakfast buffet. I had plenty of eggs and egg soup, but there was also delicious salted vegetables, fluffy bread, banana bread, and fruits and veggies. I think I liked it better than American breakfast.

We then traveled to a middle school here in Beijing. This was very fortunate for several reasons: 1.) since it's so darn rainy, it's great that we're going inside for all our tours today (tomorrow when it's nicer, we'll be outside) and 2.) it's testing month, and the students' compulsory education ends with the placement test, where the students figure out what future lies ahead. Stressful stuff for a 13-year-old.

Here are some other differences between the U.S. & China:

• No sports after school
• Longer school day (begins 7:30a, ends 3:30p for early elementary and 5 for high school)
• Students stay in the same classroom all day (teachers move)
• 40-ish student class size
• Lots of pressure to have quality tutors to help pass the placement test
• English is begun to be taught in middle school; the students don't very much learn to speak the language, but rather how to read it
• Teachers prepare together at least once a week; she said it's very different from America, as all the teachers of all subjects are to plan together and to actually go to other's classrooms to observe and learn

Some of the words that Li Jun (John), our tour guide, has been great so far and is teaching us plenty of words:

• Ma ma hoo hoo (so-so, still trying to speak)
• Na li na li (you flatter me)

SCHOOL

Once we arrived at the Wenhui Middle School, we were ushered into a large group room where as many students were waiting for us as there were teachers. I sat down next to a smiling young kiddo that looked about as old as the students I teach, and I was pretty lucky. His name was Zhang Xin Nuo (pic with me attached), and he was in 7th grade. His English was quite good, but he wasn't all that confident with it. He and I traded some stories, as we shared our families' backgrounds - which were quite similar as his parents both serve in the PLA (army). Additionally he's a history buff (he said he's the "history president" of his class, meaning he's the top performer). He loves American cinema and wants to be an actor someday. He loves sports (especially basketball), but he doesn't have much time for it because he's expected to study for 2-5 hours each night. 

I dropped my jaw.

He said he also has family in America. His uncle lives in the United States with his cousins, one who is currently at university and the other who is in 5th grade. He's visited Hollywood (and hopes to get there someday) and will also visit the US and Canada this summer. When he departed, we exchanged WeChat contact (that's the rage here) and I hope to be in touch with him.

Afterward, we met the Vice Principal who explained how the school and school day works here in Beijing. She discussed how there's tiered homework differentiated for the students to choose, which I didn't expect. There are then plenty of competitions for the students to compete in (that's what Nuo probably won), and the teachers have high expectations of them and for the students. There's plenty of western education in their ancient and rooted collective society, and the vice principal said that English is very much promoted by the school - in fact, 40% of the exit exam they just finished yesterday was in English, as it's "an essential to success for the future."

Their program here is simple, she says: they eat well, learn well, play well, and do well now and forever.

One of our people here asked how respected the position is here, and the VP said that "it's essential" and that "if you tell someone you're a teacher, you'll certainly find a good date." HAH!

I asked the VP what's one thing that China does better regarding education than we do, and vice versa. She said as a mathematics teacher (which she was before) the base of mathematics is much stronger than American students. American students are open-minded and creative compared to their Chinese counterparts. She did plenty of research on STEM in Canada and she noticed there's one big problem in China, that we have too many abstract questions for students rather than concrete examples of problems, and that's a waste of their time. In America there are so many questions based on real-life. She elaborated on my question for a while and said "good question." I felt I did my due diligence. 

She then elaborated a bit on what it's like to have a teacher collective (union) and then how they're supported by an ethics teacher to help them make good decisions with the students. This teacher is referred to as the "master" of their field.

One other teacher (Amy, a special ed teacher from Alaska) asked how student with special needs are treated. She noted that this is one thing America also does better than Chinese - they don't have specific special education classes here.

MARKET

After the school we went back to the hotel for a bit and then changed so we could go shopping. I tend to enjoy shopping more than the average man, so for those of you rolling your eyes, I apologize. But, if you've only ever shopped in America, you're really missing out on plenty of entertainment. 

In this market it's all haggle, barter, and walking away. I love listening to the sales pitches of the sellers there, and you'd be naive not to admit that their sales pitch is part of the possible transaction. I ended up purchasing a silk scarf and table runner for 365 yuan (about $50) after starting out only with the table runner for 850 yuan. It took me about 10 minutes and 2 walking away sessions to get to that point, so I was pretty proud of that. I also purchased 4 LEGO characters for 25 yuan (or about $4). Some of the other teachers did quite well there, but many of them just observed because the process is pretty intimidating for people who haven't done this before. Thankfully I'd been a bit more refined by my stay in Turkey.

798 ART ZOO

After our stop at the market, we traveled to an old factory that's been converted into an art center. Li Jun (our tour guide) said that all the factories that have numbers were associated with the government manufacturing, probably weapons for war. Since then, though, most have been shut down and reconstituted for other industries. In this case, the Art Zoo emerged from those economic ashes. We ate at our first Szechuan place, and I'd been looking forward to that for a while. It's from Southwestern China (think Tibet) and very focused on rice and spice. We ordered a vegetable / tofu dish, steamed sticky rice meatballs, and beef and collards. We weren't let down by any means. Afterward, Jon (Wyoming Teacher of the Year) and I wandered around a bit looking at the art galleries. I was trying to find something that I thought Devin would like, but I didn't really find anything that I thought would be something of interest for her. I did, however, enjoy much of the art. I should probably start taking some more photos so she can enjoy the art, too!

LAMA TEMPLE

The next part of our travels took us to the Lama Temple, an older site dedicated to the seat of the Dhalai Lama. It was a majestic site, first a temple and home built for the dynastic prince. He then donated the site to the Dhalai Lama as a place for his residence when he returned to Beijing. There are 4 separate temple chamber areas dedicated to three different components of the Buddha. The 4th and final one is a super-huge (probably 50 foot tall) sandalwood carving of the man who founded the Tibetan version of the religion. Our guide Li Jun (John) has been fascinating to talk to about this, as his mother raised him semi-Buddhist, semi-Taoist. However, like most Chinese, he's somewhat spiritual but mostly atheist.

RICKSHAW TOUR & HUTONG FAMILY DINNER

I was lucky enough to draw short straws and ride with our tour guide on the back of a bicycle rickshaw from our bus drop off point for about 15 minutes through the back alleys. We had some great conversation about the political world around us, freedoms in the States vs. the Middle Kingdom, sports, culture, and more. Li Jun (John) is great to chat with, and I was thankful for that opportunity.

We finished off our ride with a quick 20 Yuan tip (about $3), which is different because most people here don't receive a tip. Then we entered the home for a dinner in the Hutong district of Beijing. The district is named by the Mongolians who conquered the countryside here, as they went from being nomadic to village-based, they set up along the waterways (hutong). The Chinese government has deemed the remaining Hutong homes, for as shabby as they are, as culturally significant. They are worth a pretty penny - about $40,000 / sq meter. Yes, these homes are selling for like $4 mill a pop, and many of them don't have bathrooms or showers in them. Unbelievable!

Our hosts for the evening were the Liu family. Mr. Liu is a Kung Fu master, having trained students for about 44 years. His son has carried on the family tradition as well, and he's a very famous Kung Fu choreographer for movies in Beijing. Mrs. Liu made some pretty darn tasty food, not least of which were her mushroom-gravy dumplings. Best dumplings I've ever had, bar none. 

RETURN HOME

On our return home (and for much of the day) I sat with Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, the Chair of the NEA Foundation Board. We had some great conversations about a variety of things: problems with our union, the future of education, National Board Certified teaching, Chinese culture. It reminded me that, for as much as great an experience China is, it's the people in the group you're attached to that can really make a huge difference. There are so many amazing educators around me, they make me feel like the little fish in the fishbowl. That's a good thing.

It's also reminded me about the importance of those folks back home. And how Chinese wi-fi does not satisfy my need to want to see my wife for just more than 2 minutes on a FaceTime call. #2ndWorldProblems