Brad Swanson (photo below), Libertyville High School Principal, described and illustrated his experiences in November, 2007. Brad was one of 65 secondary school principals and educators from the US, UK, Canada and Australia spending two weeks with 80 of their Chinese counterparts. The group met in Changzhou, Jinangsu Province. The intent of bringing together educators from the Western tradition and China was to promote understanding and potentially to lead to student and staff exchanges.
After describing the markedly different system found in China, Brad commented that the greatest surprise was the Chinese interest in “how to develop a healthy balance” in teacher/student relationships. Brad stated that the Chinese system is a very autocratic classroom, something many teachers are interested in relaxing.
Following refreshments provided by Sedgebrook, Bob Chen (photo below), an Elderhostel alum and resident of Sedgebrook, illustrated an extended Elderhostel in southern China. Bob, trained as an engineer in the Chinese schools in his youth, shared his love of beauty as found in China, his observations on the ease with which the many minorities in China live together peacefully, and the contrasts between the rural areas and the pollution-generating industrial areas.
Both presenters remarked upon the contrast between the very old and very new, one as an outsider looking in and the other as an insider, absent for years, looking anew.
reported by Don Nylin
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