The meeting with principals and English teachers after the school visits was informative and gave me an opportunity to pursue a relationship with a Chinese school and one or more of our schools. It was an opportunity to share in more detail the packet we produced with two principals and one vice principal.
As always there were a number of people in the room not from an individual school who represented the Bureau of Education in Zhangjiakou City and others from the Hebei Province Educational Department. They were with us at all times preceding the bus with multiple black cars with flashers on and directing school staff on what to do. What changed at this meeting was a directive to us to speak openly and to the Chinese school staff to also speak openly and ask any questions that they wished. From my conversations I believe that at least some of the principals or headmasters took this to heart and the tone of the conversations changed from polite to inquisitive with a focus on instructional practice. I left that meeting feeling good about the potential to establish a relationship with primary and middle schools.
Before I share some thoughts about the conversations at each level I want to share how hard it was for the Chinese to understand what a superintendent is and does. They continually wanted to know who the principals were in our group because they perceived this as the most important person to speak with. I can’t dispute this, but we had no principals in our group. We had superintendents, teachers, and other central office staff who seemed to not command the same respect as what would be given a principal. It was only after we found a way to show the place of a superintendent that this changed. Interestingly, it was not an organizational chart that created this change, it was by describing the superintendent job as the boss of the principals and that there were many principals that reported to one boss.
Elementary School: I met with the Headmaster and English Director of Dongfeng Primary School who were interested in our packet and the potential to establish a relationship with one of our schools. I believe that there is a good chance that we will be able to connect with them. In addition there was interest expressed for collaboration to establish video exchanges from the Headmaster of XiaDongYing Primary School. This came from her after hearing about our packet from another school. This too, could become a partner of one of our elementary schools.
Middle School: My conversation with the President of No. Seven Middle School of Zhangjiakou City was the most informative. He was open in telling me that the decisions to visit what rooms were based on impressing us and not in his control. He shared that the lessons were not what you would see if you dropped in and could go where you wished. He asked questions and wanted straight feedback from us, not what we would say to make him feel good. I was impressed with this young man and believe that he will follow-up on any request for collaboration in the future.
High School: As I shared in an earlier post I was able to visit Zhangjiakou No. 1 Senior Middle School where I started a conversation with the vice principal and an English teacher. I found their website (in Chinese) if you would like to visit. The vice principal seemed very interested and actually spent much time with me later at dinner. I don’t know, however, that I feel as good about this school as I did the middle school. Not having an opportunity to speak at length with the principal I fear may be a problem because of the anxiety I observed earlier in trying to share our information packet without the “responsible” person being present. We will, however, pursue this relationship.
There will be considerable hurdles to climb for any relationship to sustain over time. Those include the 15 hour time difference, language issues, technology, and finding the focus for the collaboration that will result in each party seeing this not as another thing to do, but as an important component of their educational program. Access will also be a problem in our elementary schools and in the Chinese schools because the main point of access is in a computer lab. We are beginning to address this in our elementary schools, but I know of no plan in the short term to increase access in the potential partner schools.
If you controlled the content of the collaboration, what would you want the students and adults to focus on so that it becomes something that all can’t wait to take place each day and not something that must happen because the superintendent and principal decide that it is important?
4 comments:
Welcome home, Mike. I hope you enjoyed the 4th of July celebration here on American soil. I know I did. I also hope you found your experiences in China valuable, inspiring, and unforgettable.
As I have followed your blog entries about your China trip, I have been struck by the differences of EVERYTHING, but mostly the limited freedoms, limited access, limited openness in China. I love America!
I’m not surprised, of course, seeing that modern China still has aspects that are quite similar to a communist country.
Communism is “a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party”. (Dictionary.com)
Today, mainland China is administered by the People's Republic of China—a one-party state under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Hmmm, similar to a communist country, indeed…
Your blog entries really got me thinking about effective organizations, and how the Chinese organizations you witnessed fell short of being high functioning in so many regards.
I never came away from a single blog entry thinking, ‘wow, there’s something we should try!’ Classes with 40-60 students, substandard facilities, limited curricula, kids just parroting (and not understanding) language, top heavy bureaucracy…what is there to like?
You wrote yesterday: “…I want to share how hard it was for the Chinese to understand what a superintendent is and does. They continually wanted to know who the principals were in our group because they perceived this as the most important person to speak with. I can’t dispute this, but we had no principals in our group. We had superintendents, teachers, and other central office staff who seemed to not command the same respect as what would be given a principal. It was only after we found a way to show the place of a superintendent that this changed. Interestingly, it was not an organizational chart that created this change; it was by describing the superintendent job as the boss of the principals and that there were many principals that reported to one boss.” (MM; 7-3)
When I read this entry I thought to myself, ‘this is wrong. If a group from China were to come and visit me, with whom would I most want to interact? I’d want to talk to them all! Coming all the way around the world to talk to me? Let’s talk!’ And I never thought for a moment “I really want to talk with the person who ‘commands the most respect’.”
As an American I hold dear the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Personally, I believe that everyone plays a vital role; superintendent, central office personnel, teachers and support staff, and yes, I even believe principals are important, too!
I believe top down hierarchies are wasteful and stifle innovation, and that bottom up organizations are much more effective by inspiring innovation and maintaining a closer connection to the problem/solution.
Ultimately, I believe bottom up organizations are also more aligned with the Constitution of the United States of America. That being said, in support of our American ideals, I believe that students are the heart of our educational system, not the ‘hierarchy’.
Jonathan’s Educational ‘Hierarchy’ of Importance:from the Individual to the Collective:
Students and their families
Teachers; paraprofessionals; building level employees
Principals
Central Office employees
School Board
Mayor
Governor
Congress; Senate; President; Supreme Court
I’d like the content we share with a Chinese school to focus on the beliefs of liberty, equality, justice, and equal opportunity. The world doesn’t view America the same way we view ourselves and this could be an opportunity to share what makes America great!
God Bless America
In response to your question, I can't see how live feeds would circumvent the 15-hour discrepency... classrooms cannot simply talk to one another over that vast a difference (regardless of language barriers). But I could see kids getting intrinsically motivated, on both ends, participating in a modern version of penpals. I could see one of our elementary classes constructing a powerpoint along the lines of "A Day In The Life of Tiffany" or "One Week in Mr. Johnson's Ffth Grade." Kids could brainstorm, storyboard, assign groups to plan different events/activities then capture them digitally, add captions, (even stick video on youtube) and then burn it to a disc (or upload it to a site acceptable by the Chinese government but I think you'd have a better chance of burning a disc) and mail it. Then they can do the same. Each month a new student/class sends another. The Chinese kids would get to see all our holidays, the kinds of things we're doing in class, and so much more. In return we'd receive a similar disc each month and could pass it around/use as time alots.
As for older kids, I am a firm believer in the value of immersion. I could see kids getting intrinsically-motivated if it meant they might personally visit China/host a Chinese student. I guess that's my subjective bias, having been a foreign exchange student myself in high school. There are other avenues of opportunity as well...I could see Rick Haag's video production kids exchanging short films or Jennifer Gosnell's art class sharing student work or Crystal Hess' web design kids critiquing one another's work. Each of these provides our kids (and theirs) with the opportunity to "connect", on a more personal level, enriching everyone's experience and opening doors we never knew existed...doors of friendship, of employment, of empathy.
Oh, and to echo Jonathan's sentiments, kudos to the USA!
Jonathan,
So much to think about, but two points.
I believe that there are things we can learn from their work, especially as it relates to their pursuit of clean and efficient energy. They have embraced this need, perhaps not because it is the right thing to do, but because they understand that those countries that do will be better positioned for success and power in the future.
As it relates to organizations and top down/bottom up; I believe that those organizations that have come to understand and know when each process is effective and efficient are better positioned for growth, adapting to a changing environment, and supporting change that sustains over time.
Thanks for the comment.
Mike
LoomDog,
I agree, live will be difficult, but on occassion perhaps possible. At the high school level students told us that they study until 11 each evening and that access is available for some.
Thanks for the ideas, hopefully we will have multiple opportunities to pursue them.
Mike
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