But the Trees Have Stilts

Thursday, August 11, 2011 (9:29am)

I am feeling invigorated. As Summer Institute is winding down we are starting to prepare for diving into our mission and vision in Teach for China and how teaching in the classrooms will look in just a short few weeks. Staff is being trained on how to use a revolutionary database system to track our progress and goals throughout the next school year. The leadership team and second year fellows are tirelessly preparing workshops for fellows to invest them in their work as well as give them their last tools and pearls of wisdom before they embark on their journey. Fellows are wrapping up their classes with summative assessments and celebrations. I am doing my best to soak it all in and I can’t help but wonder why the urban trees have stilts.

When my plane arrived in the Lincang airport, I remember seeing beautiful foliage and terraces landscapes as the clouds parted and my plane touched down. As a walked from my bus to my hotel, I couldn’t help but be confronted with all of the wire and wooden posts impeding the sidewalks to support the trees.  I use the term confronted and impeding very purposefully because they literally extend into the pedestrian walkway and many of us regularly trip over them. While I am sure there is an explanation for why these tree stilts are a good idea, my mind reverts to its default “education” setting.

The Achievement Gap in China is vast and while there are few facts available to truly understand the impacts of the educations system here, those that are available are powerful. The Chinese education system is based on a merit-based ideology. Elementary school for students is required and free in China. In 9^th grade, students are required to take a very high-stakes test. The results of this test determine if they can continue their education into high school – if they pass, they can attend high school, if they do not, their formal education is done. Likewise in their final year of high school, they will take another high-stakes test. If they pass this test, they are qualified to apply for college, if the do not pass, their formal education is done. High school and college are both tuition-based as well and are not subsidized by the government. Because of China’s booming population, capacity, and ethical code, only those who prove they can achieve, are allowed to do so.

Urban children begin studying English in second grade and have access to native English teachers, while rural children begin studying English in 7^th grade and typically only have access to undertrained teachers. Rural children are left 5 years behind. Seventy percent of students from urban areas in China move on to high school and college while only five percent do so in rural areas. Sixty percent of China’s population lives in rural area, which translates to roughly 190 million children who are affected by this achievement gap

Core (tested) subjects in China include: Mandarin, math, English, physics, and chemistry, biology, society and politics, history, and geography – upwards of 10 hours and a week’s worth of administering standardized tests. Students are given a cumulative score based on their performance in all of the subjects mentioned and are then promoted (or not) accordingly. One of the richest resources that exists in education, teachers, also perpetuates the issue. Skilled and knowledgeable teachers in any of these given subject areas are much more easily accessed in urban centers. It is a rare commodity to find anyone who speaks English in rural China and even depending upon the parts, someone who speaks Mandarin, let alone has the knowledge needed to successfully teach the other core subjects. Often in English class, teachers do not even speak English, they just teach English in Mandarin (or the local dialect) the way they were taught English and have never needed to speak the language, even upon graduating from college.

These high-stakes tests are based upon the texts books that are required teaching resources by the government. Multiple-choice questions, which technically only have one right answer, many actually have quite a few right answers, but only one is deemed correct because only one aligns with what was presented in the textbook. For example (taken from an actual test):

—What’s this in English?

-- ___________ a book.

a.     This is

b.     That is

c.      It’s

d.     Its

Students spend countless hours memorizing specific sample test questions, answers, and the specific writing in their texts so that they can have the opportunity to move on in their education. Teachers tend to invest more in the students who have this valued skill of memorization, as those are the ones who will be more qualified to pass the exam, while those who struggle aren’t as likely to pass and therefore aren’t worth the extra effort.

As you can see, the Achievement Gap is incredibly dynamic, wide, and undocumented. There is plenty still that I do not know and am learning every day. What is fair, right, and even humane does not necessarily reflect our conception of those ideals. Those who “can” do and those who “can’t” don’t get the chance.

So I can’t help but walk down the street and wonder why the urban trees have stilts.  Why is there so much more support given to our urban trees when the trees on many hillsides are being demolished for strip-mining and deforestation? How can all of the support be funneled to the urban students while the equally deserving rural students are overlooked? For that matter, if so many students are being disadvantaged by a system that cannot provide for its people, how come the trees get stilts?

A Weekend Vision in 3D

Monday, August 8, 2011 (8:38pm CST)

Amidst the madness, it has been quite difficult to write that vision. You know, that “statement to articulate my vision in hope that it will act as a pillar in this extraordinary and challenging journey while I experience a Range of Change…” from my first post. So I will take the time now, to write precisely my purpose for my new job as well as my intentions for developing and growing within the position. It is important for me to write this for myself, but I think it is equally as important to share this with everyone too.

My intent on being a Program Manager for the next two years in rural Yunnan, China is to do my best to fully understand the achievement gap that exists here, and do everything in my power to minimalize it. I look forward to compromising the training and experience I have had so far in my teaching career with what is currently considered best practice here in China. I will constantly be reflecting to refine the optimal curriculum, planning strategies, and execution techniques so that Teach for China’s fellows will be transformational teachers and their students will be our future’s leaders. I strive to always give and receive feedback with a genuine and open heart and with an optimistic mindset. I must always feel a sense of urgency with the work that I am doing regardless of the scale of the task. I will act as much as possible with a preventative rather than a problem-solving approach. Lastly, I will never forget that the work I do will forever impact incredibly deserving children and society as a whole.

It feels so refreshing to put into words a sustainable vision that will ground me and guide me over the next two year. I look forward to constantly referencing this vision to reignite my passion and dedication and build excitement in fulfilling the rest of my time here.

Speaking of vision and crazy dreams of what could be…all of the staff and fellows went to the local movie theater last Friday to see the newly release Harry Potter (!? I know right, I movie theater here? I was equally intrigued). Aside from being totally blown back by the fact that this tiny city buried in the hillside has a movie theater, upon walking in, there was a man selling kettle corn in a one-man popcorn cart and a woman handing me 3D glasses to enjoy the show! Yup! This wasn’t just Harry Potter…this was Harry Potter in 3D. My mind = blown. I paid my fifty cents for delicious popcorn, put on my glasses and enjoyed some blurry HP in 3D.

Some of the other favorite weekend activities here don’t differ that much from the states. They usually involve some high quality eating and high quality music. Hot Pot is one of the fanciest (and most delicious ways to dine) on a Friday night. Hot Pot is a style of Chinese dining where each table has holes in it with a burner underneath each hole to heat the pot. Each person is given their own pot and the table is served and assortment of raw vegetables, tofu, and meat, for each person to cook in their soup. It is delicious! The second dine-out option is the opposite of classy. It is called Xao Kao, or street BBQ. Literally on the corner of the street you will find random tents with a table serving every part of any animal on a stick, ready for grill. Everyone brings their own beverage and will remain their for almost the entirety of any given night – singing songs, playing games, and eating some delicious food (I stick with the potato and tofu skewers).  One of my favorite food discoveries has been learning that there are actually quite a few different types of tofu – each with their own texture and flavor. So far I have had four I think – Yunnan has its own regional tofu!! – but I am looking forward to finding more!

And then there is “high quality music.” This is either self-selected at one of the many KTV (karaoke) hotspots in town or hand-picked by a local DJ playing anywhere from obscure music from the early 90s to the particular Chinese favorite, “Happy Birthday” in Chinese to a techno backbeat (you’ve got to love the techno backbeat in China otherwise you will never be able to enjoy a night out). Whatever the case may be, the particular place we found this weekend had trampoline springs under there dance floor, which made for an incredibly off-beat, fun time.

During daylight hours, I have found a great Burmese café/restaurant where I can sit and do work. It is one of the two establishments in the city that has Wifi (free). The atmosphere is very Southeast Asisan-bohemian with incense and book-filled bookshelves. The seating is cushiony and booth-like and the menu has everything you could ever want (including pictures!). I’ve pretty much found my happy place. 

The Assembly Line

Thursday, August 4, 2011 (9:10pm CST)

Let me tell you, us crazies must be all sorts of passionate about education in order to survive Summer Institute! The past two weeks have been filled with observing, reviewing, debriefing, workshops, reflections, and meetings, meetings, meetings. I am making strategic plans for when I can use the bathroom and eat my meals! Coming home (to my hotel) at the end of the day, I can’t help but be exhausted and yet so grateful for the work that I am doing.

Every morning I wake up at 6:45am to usually find a close friend or family member online who wants to video chat (--yes, this is some quality wake-up footage). I then get myself together and out the door. By 7:45 I have walked the one block it takes me to get to our current headquarters and across the campus to the cafeteria where I eat the vast majority of our meals. This walk has to be strategic and has taken on many different angles by everyone in the organization. The school that we are based at has…. shall we say, very poor sanitation and there is only one way (that I have found) to avoid walking by the bathrooms altogether.

The cafeteria lady greets me with her huge smile and says something to me in Chinese even though she knows that I have no idea what she is saying. The breakfast food is mainly comprised of fried dough-based items, or enormous think boiled balls of dough –filled with either mystery meat, greens, or a sweet black bean paste. All of this is accompanied with hot soymilk or a BYOT (bring your own tea) jugs filled with hot water. Everyone here has their own personal reusable tea filter-thermos – what I consider the Chinese equivalent of the US’s craze with our reusable coffee cups. I am still holding out to try the cafeteria’s rice porridge or noodle soup for breakfast.

After breakfast I walk the 15-minute trek (usually accompanied by fellows) to the school where I observe most of my fellows teach. Fellows are teaching a combination of two 40-minute English or phonics classes. While, of course, there is always room for growth for all of us, I have been incredibly impressed with the rigor, reflection, and innovation with which the fellows have been teaching.

Once I walk back, and arrive at the school in which we are based, I go directly to the cafeteria for lunch. Lunch is assembled around a giant bowl of rice, that is the size of a 4-top dinning room table. Everyone lines up to get their rice and then proceeds to the assembly line of bowls with different accoutrements ranging from corn, pumpkin, and bokchoy to various types of tofu and pork. There are probably about 15 different options to choose from, all fresh out of the kitchen, and most choices are vegetables (easy to stay vegan!).  All of which have to mandatory seasonings: hot peppers, and MSG. Delicious.

Afternoons we carry on in the assembly line for making great teachers. This can vary from spending time meeting with fellows, meeting with staff, holding workshops, or reading and giving feedback to lesson plans. Whatever the agenda may be, it is guaranteed back-to-back-to-back up until 7pm when our whole staff meeting concludes (yes, I did run to the cafeteria for dinner in there).  By this point I am usually able to head back to the hotel when I can read and comment on more lessons and talk to friends and family before I snooze.

I am starting to become more used to squaties, doing my own laundry by hand, not spending more than a dollar when I go out to eat, and the new digestive trends of my body. I have found the go-to Boba tea place which is frequented a least once a day and yes, I was finally able to get money out of the bank. My fellow staff members have been very kind and supportive and are generally looking for me to have a smooth transition into my new Chinese life. They even took the privilege of giving me my Chinese name, which (so I’ve been told) means: peaceful, heart of the flower, and good person － 和蕊佳.  While my Chinese is still in awful condition, I am definitely looking forward to a time when learning Chinese will be an achievable goal.

Right now what is most important is making sure that the students of rural China are put into a position to receive the best education possible, and meanwhile I eat, sleep, and walk a little in my day without getting bitten by too many mosquitoes!