Calligraphy in Lanzhou

From Mr. Laue: This photo was taken at the school in Lanzhou. The principal showed us how to write Chinese characters, and we were asked to write something that we could share.

The translation of the Chinese part (not shown) was " Friends come from very far away. We are happy to welcome you".

In these photos, Dr. Bjoin and Mr. Laue are practicing the art of calligraphy. 

The word calligraphy comes from the Greek word kallos, meaning "beauty", and graphein, meaning "to write". Thus, calligraphy = beautiful writing. (Source: etymonline.com)

Third Day in China

Greetings, Parker and Craig High Schools!  (Written by Chris Laue)

It is our third day in China- we are at the half way point in our journey and we have been busy almost every minute! 

Tuesday evening we met with staff from the JiangSu Broadcasting Company (JSBC) in Nanjing.  They are staring a new education channel and are looking to partner with schools across the world that have high quality high schools like Janesville.  Dr. Bjoin and Mr. Laue were interviewed for a future news show that will highlight schools that have international programs.  The JSBC is the largest broadcasting company in China.

Also on Tuesday evening, (which was Tuesday morning in Janesville) we connected remotely with Craig and Parker teachers during Tuesday morning professional development.  Another member of our team from Janesville, Dr. Smiley, is working to make it possible for our technology to connect us with schools across the world.  Our hope is to connect Janesville students studying world languages with teachers and students in the country they study!  We were excited to see teachers and tell them about the work we are doing.  Even though we are 13 hours away, we are still doing email, connecting with staff, and helping run Parker and Craig! 

A = Nanjing
B = Shanghai

Today we toured two schools- one in Nanjing and one in Shanghai (the cities are about 200 miles apart; we traveled by car and high speed train).  The school in Nanjing is also developing an international program. We talked with their principal about ways we could create opportunities for students from both schools to study abroad, make it possible for our teachers to share ideas, and support each other in improving how we prepare kids for life after high school.  The highlight of this trip was interacting with students.

We saw kids playing sports (basketball and volleyball), spoke to a class about what it is like to be an American High School student, and visited a computer class that was using Visual Basic, the same software we use in Janesville.  Students in China are very eager to have a "western" educational experience and attend our high schools and universities.  Perhaps the most thought provoking part of the visit was that the principal spoke about Nanjing being a “small country town”… It “only” has about one million people that live there!

We ended our visit in Nanjing and moved on to Shanghai, which is the second largest city in China and a major manufacturing hub. We toured the Far East School and met with students who came to Janesville last August to attend our district’s first International Educational Institute.  Dr. Bjoin, Mr. Laue, and Mrs. Brovick helped teach parts of the class… It was wonderful to visit students that we know and have them give a tour of their school.  The principal of Far East School, Dr. Chen, is interested in bringing a group of teachers to Janesville in the spring to learn more about western teaching.  

A = Shanghai
B = Lanzhou

We are finding that high school in China is much different than in America.  There is limited cooperative learning, little application and problem solving and a high level of memorization of facts.  I have a stronger appreciation of the great things our teachers do to make learning be interactive and alive at our high schools after watching many Chinese teachers in action this week.

Tomorrow we will fly to Lanzhou, which is in central China, four hours away by airplane.  Mr. Getka, who teaches computer science at Parker, is going to teach classes for a day and the rest of our group will present to students about American education and preparing for college.

Tuesday Update: China

Greetings from China, Students, Families, and Staff! (Written by Dr. Bjoin)

Our group had a safe flight from Chicago to Beijing, China. During our 13-hour flight, we flew from day, into night, and back to day. As we flew over Siberia, the outside air temperature was -86 degrees Fahrenheit. Our flight departed the O'Hare Airport at noon on Saturday (Letter A on Map), and we touched down in Beijing at 2:45 in the afternoon Sunday due to the time change (Letter B on Map).

A group of teachers from Primary School No. 3, a school that has sent teachers and students to visit our school district, greeted us at the airport. They took us out for dinner at a famous local restaurant called Hot Pot. The custom is to boil thinly-shaved pieces of meat and vegetables in broth at the table family-style. We also mixed our own dipping sauce by using ingredients arranged like a salad bar. 

Yesterday morning, which was Monday in China, we visited Aceleader School - a private school for students in Grades K-12. Mr. Laue and Dr. Bjoin, along with Mrs. Brovick and Mr. Getka, met with their Principal to talk about how we can partner to build student exchange programs. Below is a picture of elementary students at this school in their uniforms, which are purple-colored workout suits.

After lunch, we went to Beijing Primary School No. 3. This school is a public school that serves over 6000 students. 

We were taken on a tour of their new campus which is currently under construction. Two of the floors will be below ground, and two floors will be above ground because of limited space for new construction in the city. Their pool will be located on a level below ground.

When we walked back to their school, they showed us brochures from companies that are helping build their school. One of the companies was HUFCOR which is located in Janesville!






We visited three classrooms at the school. First, we stopped by a 5th grade classroom where students asked us questions in English about living in the United States. Then, we toured a room which highlights the 56 Chinese ethnic groups of students who are represented in their student body. Lastly, we stopped by what they call The Kennedy Classroom. This classroom was built to look like classrooms in our school district.




We also visited their library which is very different from ours. Students do not check out books; instead, teachers go there to get  textbooks.

In the evening, we were treated to a traditional Chinese dinner. Food is served family-style on a Lazy Susan while guests are seated around a large round table. Following the Chinese tradition, everyone at the table was asked to make a toast. Many of us made statements to affirm our new friendships, talk about our hopes for the future, and thank one another.

As we write this blog, our group is traveling on a high-speed train to (Letter B on Map) Nanjiang, China (Letter B on Map), which is 600 miles south of Beijing (Letter A on Map). It will only take us four hours to travel that distance.

We will write more as soon as our Internet connection allows. The country is not Google-friendly, and we are having some trouble signing to our accounts.