Jeline Harclerode just returned from a trip of a lifetime.
Harclerode, who teaches in the Emporia school district as a technology coach, went on a 10-day, all-expenses paid trip to China as part of the National Education Association Foundation’s Awards for Teaching Excellence.
Harclerode was one of 26 educators that went on the trip and toured schools in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
This is the first year that the trip has been offered to recipients of the Awards for Teaching Excellence.
Schools
Harclerode said she saw both differences and similarities between Chinese schooling and American schooling.
The Chinese place a great emphasis on education. A middle school girl that Harclerode spoke with in China said she has two hours of homework each night. Doing home is an expectation and not a choice, the girl said.
Parents are also active in their children’s educations in China.
“They take school very seriously,” Harclerode said.
Harclerode said that’s probably because of China’s one-child per family rule. The child is expected to do well in school, get a good paying job and to take care of the parents when they get older.
At a middle school the group of U.S. educators visited, there was a parent committee that decided what type of foods the children should eat for lunch.
“Parents want children to do the best they can,” Harclerode said.
The American teachers visited three schools: Beijing Zhenhua Tourism School, a secondary school; West Shanghai Experimental School, a middle school; and Hong Kong Institute of Education Jockey Club Primary School, an elementary school.
There was evidence at the schools they visited in China that the country is placing more emphasis on the arts. One of the schools had a fountain in the shape of a keyboard outside its doors. Schools also had artwork on the halls.
There was also evidence of technology in the schools, but it wasn’t as advanced as schools in the U.S. One school in China had a computer lab for sixth-grade students.
The girl that Harclerode spoke with said almost every student has a computer to do research on at home, so a computer at school is not necessary. There were also projectors in the classrooms, as well as computers for the teachers.
The group of American educators also visited a grade school and a school for students learning to be tour guides, which is comparable to a technical school in the U.S.
“The schools are changing,” Harclerode said.
The 26 teachers saw students present a show of fine arts, including musical instruments, while at one of the schools.
Students in China have four areas of instruction, including English, Mandarin, math, and either science or social studies. A three-day exam at the end of their secondary career determines where they will go for college.
Harclerode said both countries are looking at each other’s education systems to get ideas on what to do. She said as a teacher she would love to have the parent support and student commitment that the Chinese have.
Background
Each state can nominate one teacher for the Horace Mann’s Awards for Teaching Excellence. In 2010, Harclerode was the Kansas recipient and usually the annual award culminates with a big gala in Washington, D.C., in February. Last October, the recipients received an email informing them that in addition to the gala the educators were going to spend 10 days in China.
Experience
The trip also left the educators with some lingering questions. They saw no evidence of special education classrooms and rarely saw physically disabled people on the trip. Harclerode said she isn’t sure if those students are educated or if they go to another school entirely.
There were also no accommodations for handicapped or physically disabled in China, like cutaway curbs in the U.S. for wheelchairs.
She also said there was not much evidence of children working together in groups in the classroom.
Harclerode said she always felt welcomed by the Chinese and never felt unsafe.
“It’s not what you expect,” she said.
When they weren’t visiting schools the educators spent time sight-seeing. They visited the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square and the financial center in Shanghai.
“It was quite an experience,” Harclerode said.
They also rode a high-speed train that traveled at 260 mph, viewed a jade carving and toured a silk factory.
The cities they visited had populations from 13 to 23 million people.
Harclerode said because people live in such small apartments, oftentimes the Chinese gather outside. One morning a group of American teachers took part in morning Tai Chi in a park about a block away from the hotel.
“People were very friendly and very warm and very willing to talk about their country and culture,” Harclerode said. “Through their sharing, it made us care about them and their country. Their sharing caused us to want to learn more.”
Meals in China consisted of warm tea to start with, then egg-drop soup and fish, and always included eating with chopsticks. They also ate jellyfish, which had a crunch, like a cabbage noodle-like dish.
Harclerode said she wonders what kind of difference it would make in the world if every person was required to spend time in another country. She said it might clear up conflicts and misunderstandings.
“What would that do to our world?” she said.
The trip was sponsored by the National Education Association, the Pearson Foundation and EF Tours.
“Our experience was life-changing as we sought to understand a culture very different than ours and came away with positive thoughts about the people and the schools,” Harclerode said.
“For a period of time, we were part of something much larger than ourselves; we were at one with China. We were reminded that it doesn’t matter where we live, what our culture is like, or even what our government system is, we are basically one and the same. The world is indeed getting flatter.”