Tuesday's Activities

I visited another elementary school today. I was very impressed with classroom teaching. The teachers have incoporated cooperative learning and project learning. It is not just rote memory that we may have perceived. Class sizes range from 45 to 52 students. The school had art, music and physical eduation incorporated in their daily schedule. Selected students and teachers met with me and asked questions. They were very curious about how hard American students work. The typical schedule for elementary school is 7:30/8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Fang Qi's school ended at 4:30 p.m., whereas today's visited school ended at 5:30 p.m.

There is much rigidity with behavior and planned exercise and play tme. However, they have incorporated limited free time twice a day for 15 minutes. They do not use bells. Instead, they use music between class changes. The school principal shared a video of the school life of teachers and students. They gave me the CD to bring back and share with you.

Later today, we met up with the other Ohio administrators and Chinese partners and cruised on the rivers in Wuba.

Tomorrow is another visit to a school.

One striking difference between the Toledo area and the cities I have visited in China is there is much new construction. Everywhere I look, there are cranes and workers building.