My name is Gao Yang. I’m from Shenyang, Liaoning. I am the exchange teacher at John Stark Regional High School and Henniker Community School in New Hampshire during this school year. I’m very glad to have this opportunity to teach Chinese in the United States. It is a very special experience in my life. The education systems in China and the United States are really different, but I love teaching in both countries.

I teach my students both Chinese language and culture. The students love both. I like to use different activities in Chinese lessons. I use flash cards, pictures, videos, crafts, etc. I use Chinese as much as possible in and out of the Chinese classroom. For the Chinese festivals, I make traditional crafts with my students. I also find every opportunity to teach students about Chinese culture. The students went to see a Chinese drumming performance in Concord, NH. The performance was from Shanxi Province in China. The students said they were so impressed after they saw the drumming. I helped the students make lanterns on Mid-autumn Festival, make Chinese and American flags on Chinese National Day, teach them about the Beijing Opera and drumming before they went to see the performance. I am trying my best to teach more Chinese to my American students.

After class, I have a wonderful host family. Dan is a teacher in the same high school as me. Sharon is a surgeon. Jacob is nine. Evan is seven and Lena is two. I teach them some Chinese when we have time. They also love learning Chinese. I went to several places around New Hampshire. Such as the White Mountains, Boston, Plymouth, and Salem. I also went to the pumpkin festival. Over Thanksgiving I had a big dinner with my host family and my colleague and friends. The United States is such a beautiful country. I cook some Chinese food for my host family sometimes. They love the Chinese dishes very much. I love it here, and it has been a wonderful year.

• I always feel fortunate to be here in Tulsa. Everyone is so kind to me! I am very well taken care of here. I've already made several friends. They treat me as a family member. I think when I go back to China, I'll bring back not only knowledge but also a heart filled with love. I like my students, and appreciate their efforts and progress in learning Chinese. The principal is also learning Chinese from me. I am enjoying my time here very much and will try my best to repay everyone for their kindness and friendship.”
  --Wang Youhua, Bishop Kelley High School, OK
• “The highlights seem to be unending. New places and experiences have become the norm. What a year! At our last English Corner meeting, the students decided they wanted to give me a real Chinese name. We came up with Wang Mingzhen. Mingzhen means dreams come true – that’s largely what teaching in China has been to me.”
  -- Christine Walderhaug, Suzhou No. 10 Middle School, Jiangsu
• “Thank you for your program. The exchange teacher we received, Mr. Fu was a wonderful teacher… Not only did he teach, he brought with him a lot of materials and programs which we will benefit from for years in the future. The students and all the teachers really liked him and have enjoyed being with him for the past year. Mr. Fu is truly a wonderful teacher and deserves recognition. I am very happy to have worked with him, and I have learned a lot from him too. I will be very pleased if we can work with other exchange teachers from this program next year.”
  -- Tianya Zhao, Chinese Teacher, Milwaukee School of Languages, WI
• "...[T]his was definitely one of the most educational, rewarding, and fulfilling experiences of my life so far. I wish more people would take the opportunity and the benefits from such an experience."
  -- Adrienne Fazzolara, Beijing Foreign Services Vocational Senior High School, Beijing
• "...I have taught a different type of student and worked with a different type of faculty...All these helped me to get a better understanding of America, its history, its culture, its school system, and its people."
  -- Dong Shuhua, Kearsarge Regional High School, NH
• “I had a wonderful year working here, and did learn a lot from the teachers. Their culture and their spirit is a great treasure for me to take back.”
  -- Xu Miaomiao, John Stark Regional High School, NH
• “My teaching experience is excellent. Working together with the Chinese teachers on curriculum based instruction is working well for everyone involved, especially the students (the ones who count the most). I wish I could do this for several more years.”
  -- Frank Colletti, Beijing No. 14 Middle School, Beijing
• “My American colleagues have come back from China invigorated. For a year at least they have been loved, admired, and respected. They have not only brought back more information and understanding of China into the classroom, but they more critically examine what they teach, how they teach, what should change, and appreciate more the very best things in American education. After all, learning and teaching are not one way streets. The better teachers are better because they are always learning, they take risks, and they constantly question themselves as well as their students.”
  -- Bill Bronski, Dalian No. 23 Middle School, Liaoning and Yangzhou Middle School, Jiangsu
• “I think the most wonderful part of our exchange program is that people build their friendship and a mature understanding on different cultures and begin to appreciate some of the differences. I do hope…more teachers will be able to have this great opportunity to explore new culture, new world and…friendship.”
  --Yang Haiyan, Belmont Public Schools, MA

The U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program is now in its thirteenth year. Established in 1996 with funding from the Freeman Foundation, the Teachers Exchange Program sends American K-12 teachers to China and brings Chinese secondary school teachers to the United States.

During the current school year, 10 Chinese teachers are teaching Chinese language and culture in the United States.

Since the program began, over 100 American teachers have taught in Chinese secondary schools, and approximately 250 Chinese teachers have taught in American elementary, middle, and high schools. The Chinese teachers typically spend a school year teaching Chinese language and culture or English as a second language in American schools across the country. The American teachers teach oral English in secondary schools in Chinese cities including Anqing, Beijing, Changzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Hefei, Hohhot, Jiangdu, Luoyang, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Yangzhou. The exchange program provides the teachers a unique opportunity to improve their own language and teaching skills; deepen their understanding of another culture; and share new curriculum, pedagogy, and experiences in their home classrooms upon their return.

Exchange program director Margot E. Landman works with the Chinese Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), the program’s counterpart organization in China, to make the program possible. In addition to the teacher exchanges themselves, we organize conferences and workshops for current participants and program “alumni” in both countries to help them form networks and enable them to share curriculum and other information for their own classrooms and with their colleagues at their home schools and districts.

To receive an application, please write:

Teachers Exchange Program
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1901
New York, NY 10010
Tel: 212-645-9677
Fax: 212-645-1695
tep@ncuscr.org

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2011

Students told me they wanted to learn American songs. Every week I teach them the names and locations of one or two new states, so I played “Sweet Home Alabama” as a way to introduce that state.

We’re also learning about regions in the United States and watching short travel commercials about Boston, Miami, Minnesota, Seattle, the Grand Canyon, and California.
I show them six pictures of places and they have thirty seconds to come up with three descriptors for each location. At the end of the activity, they have the opportunity to share their answers with a partner.

Davis Burbank taught at Anqing No. 1 Middle School in Anhui Province during the 2009-2010 school year. The photos of his students above show some of their work over the year.

I taught my students to make paper cranes and write their best wishes on them. This is what we usually do (in China) when we give regards to good friends. Or sometimes students make cranes for teachers.

Pre-Departure Orientation Program
2011-2012 Chinese Teachers

Ten Chinese pre-collegiate teachers of English gathered in Shanghai for an intensive training program from July 21 to July 27. Dr. Wu Wei-ling, a Chinese language teacher in New Jersey who previously taught English at the Shanghai Foreign Language School, where she was also principal, convened sessions on many aspects of American education including an introduction to American K-12 schools and students, reflections on Chinese language programs in the United States, descriptions of American foreign language standards, guidance through American curriculum and lesson design, assessment, and more. She was joined by Teachers Exchange Program alumnus Richard Sanford (Dalian, 1997-98), whose sessions focused on the use of group activities in the classroom and keeping students engaged. Two Chinese alumni, Pan Huali (Vero Beach, 2009-2010) and Zhou Qin (Milwaukee, WI, 2010-2011), shared their experiences living and teaching in the United States.

Margot Landman, the Committee’s senior director for education programs, led a discussion of challenging questions the teachers were likely to encounter from Americans; she also spoke about the responsibilities of Chinese exchange teachers, and walked the teachers through practical matters related to international travel, living with host families, dealing with homesickness, and taking advantage of opportunities arising throughout the year. She emphasized the importance of asking questions; no one can read a teacher’s mind so if he/she is puzzled by something, it is critical to ask about it.

The intensity of the program was leavened by an evening sharing Chinese songs that teachers might use with their American students, learning how to make Chinese crafts from each other, and creating classroom decorations that make American students feel that they are in a Chinese environment as they study Chinese language and culture.

The teachers hail from nine cities around China including several new to the program: Lanzhou (Gansu), and Qianjiang and Yichang (Hebei). Other cities represented include Anqing, Ma’anshan and Hefei (Anhui); Luoyang (Henan); and Nanjing and Suzhou (Jiangsu). They will go to five American states: Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

Pre-Departure Orientation Program
2011-2012 American Teachers

The American participants in the U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program met in West Point, NY, for a pre-departure orientation to help them prepare for their year in China. The four teachers come from California, Florida (two), and Oklahoma.

Program alumni, including Robyn Crispe, who had returned from China less than two weeks earlier, talked to the group about their experiences living and teaching in China through the Teachers Exchange Program. A. Tom Grunfeld, professor of history, Empire College, SUNY, gave the participants a quick but thorough tour of Chinese history and philosophy; and a speaker new to the Teachers Exchange Program, Margaret Lewis, associate professor of law at Seton Hall University School of Law, spoke about human rights and legal reform as well as the “Burdens and Benefits of Being a Foreigner in China.” Another program alumna, Suzanne Petrilak, a New York City elementary school teacher who was in the inaugural group of American teachers in China sixteen years ago, gave two presentations on English as a Second Language teaching techniques useful for people unaccustomed to teaching English as a foreign language. The 2011-2012 participants include middle and high school social studies teachers, and an elementary school teacher of all subjects. National Committee staff member Margot Landman briefed the group on China’s education system and living in China. Each day of the orientation also included “survival Chinese” lessons given by Wu Hong, a native of China who now works at Queens College in New York City, to give the teachers a basic foundation in the language before they arrive in China. The jam-packed days started and ended the traditional Chinese martial art, taijiquan, taught by master Yet Soon Jung.

The orientation concluded with a banquet dinner at a Sichuan restaurant in New York City. Excited about the year to come, the teachers returned home; they will leave for China in August.

Pre-Departure Orientation Program
2010-2011 Chinese Teachers

Twelve Chinese pre-collegiate teachers of English gathered in Suzhou for an intensive training program from July 17 to July 22. Dr. Wu Wei-ling, a Chinese language teacher in New Jersey who previously taught English at the Shanghai Foreign Language School, convened sessions on many aspects of American education including an introduction to American K-12 schools and students, reflections on Chinese language programs in the United States, descriptions of American foreign language standards, guidance through American curriculum and lesson design, assessment, and more. She was joined by Teachers Exchange Program alumnus Richard Sanford (Dalian, 1997-98), whose sessions focused on the use of group activities in the classroom and keeping students engaged. Margot Landman, the Committee’s senior director for education programs, led a discussion of challenging questions the teachers were likely to encounter from Americans; she also spoke about the responsibilities of Chinese exchange teachers, and walked the teachers through practical matters related to international travel, living with host families, dealing with homesickness, and taking advantage of opportunities arising throughout the year. She emphasized the importance of asking questions; no one can read a teacher’s mind so if he/she is puzzled by something, it is critical to ask about it.

The intensity of the program was leavened by an evening sharing Chinese songs that teachers might use with their American students, learning how to make Chinese crafts from each other – very popular this year are traditional Chinese knots – and creating classroom decorations that make American students feel that they are in a Chinese environment as they study Chinese language and culture.

The teachers hail from ten cities around China: Beijing, Luoyang (Henan), Ma’anshan and Hefei (Anhui), Mianyang (Sichuan), Nanjing and Suzhou (Jiangsu), Qingdao (Shandong), Shenyang (Liaoning), and Xi’an (Shaanxi). They will go to six American states: Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

Pre-Departure Orientation for American Teachers
July 6-10, 2010

The Americans participants in the U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program met in West Point, NY, for a pre-departure orientation to help them prepare for their year in China. The six teachers and accompanying family members hail from locations across the U.S.: Colorado, Florida, Oklahoma, and Washington state.

Program alumni, including two teachers who had returned from China less than two weeks earlier, Clare and Zach Sisisky, went to West Point to talk to the group about their experiences living and teaching in China through the Teachers Exchange Program. Yu Renqiu, professor of history, Purchase College, SUNY, gave the participants a quick but thorough tour of Chinese history and philosophy; Richard Belsky, professor of history, Hunter College, CUNY, spoke about human rights and legal reform as well as the “Burdens and Benefits of Being a Foreigner in China.” Another program alumna, Suzanne Petrilak, a New York City elementary school teacher who was in the inaugural group of American teachers in China fifteen years ago, gave two presentations on English as a Second Language teaching techniques useful for people unaccustomed to teaching English as a foreign language. The 2010-2011 participants include high school history, English, and science teachers, as well as a professional librarian. National Committee staff members Margot Landman and Sara Gavryck-Ji briefed the group on China’s education system and living in China. Each day of the orientation also included “survival Chinese” lessons given by Zhan Zhiying, a native of China who now teaches high school Chinese in Connecticut, to give the teachers a basic foundation in the language before they arrive in China. The jam-packed days started and ended the traditional Chinese martial art, taijiquan, taught by master Yet Soon Jung.

The orientation concluded with a banquet dinner at a Sichuan restaurant in New York City. Excited about the year to come, the teachers returned home; they will leave for China in August.

Setting the goals and structures needed to develop a new Chinese curriculum can be a very difficult task. In order to aid those who are currently undertaking such a challenge, we have provided a sample framework, recently developed by Quincy Upper School in Boston, MA.

Follow the links below for curriculum structures for Mandarin levels 1, 2, 3 and 4.

In an effort to provide support for teachers of Chinese in the United States, the National Committee will post lesson plans created by Teachers Exchange Program participants. Lesson plans are divided between Chinese Language classes and Chinese Language and Culture classes. The first catergory focuses specifically on Mandarin Chinese, while the latter includes lesson plans that do not concentrate on language instruction. Follow the links below to find the lesson plan that best fits your curriculum.

The following books have been used by Teachers Exchange Program participants:

• Fangyuan Yuan, Advanced Business Chinese, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. (Bilingual Edition, ISBN 0300100507)
• Weiling Wu, Far East Chinese for Youth: Level 1, New York: U.S. International Publishing Inc., 2004. (Workbook Edition, ISBN 9576124964)
• Weiling Wu, Hailan Tsai, and Qing Yang, Far East Chinese for Youth: Level 2, New York: U.S. International Publishing Inc., 2002. (Student Edition, ISBN 9576124921)
• Yamin Ma & Xinying Li, Chinese Made Easy Textbook 1, Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2002. (Book & CD edition, ISBN 9620420268)
Parent nodes
Program Minisite: U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program

The United States is a wonderful country. I do admit to myself that the average life in the United States is better than in China. You always can see the clear, blue sky. You are always in the good environment. You never need to worry about the quality of food. But I still want to go back to China. There is something special deep in my heart; China is my motherland. I do want to go back. East, west, home is the best.

When the film crew came to interview me, I cried when they asked me about my family in China. I didn’t want to cry, but I lost control. It was hard to speak. I didn’t let my host family refer to my family, because I know if they say how much I miss my family, I will cry. I put all my emotion deep in my heart. I will be back soon. Wait for me.

I had a great year in United States. I learned a lot here. I learned that I should be more patient with the people around me. I learned more about how to relax in my spare time instead of being busy every day. I learned more about why we teach language. No matter what language you are learning, when you go to a foreign country if you can say some words of that country, the people will treat you in a very friendly way. We use language to communicate with each other. This is the goal for all of us. I tried to learn some Spanish and French. When I use these languages, I can open my mind to see the world. It’s a wonderful world. I enjoy it.

I tried my best to teach and demonstrate both Chinese language and culture. I taught not only my students, but also my department colleagues and my host family. They are very happy to learn Chinese. My host family loves Chinese food, too. I taught my hostess how to make dumplings. She can make dumplings all by herself now. I am so proud of her.

I love the friendly people here. I love the delicious food here. I love how people enjoy their lives here. I will come back some years later to visit this wonderful country, of course with my family. Wait for me, U.S.A!

Gao Yang
John Stark Regional High School and
Henniker Community School, New Hampshire
2010-2011

I just came back from my school's interim trip to the Florida Keys with students and five chaperons. We did algae labs and a sailing boat trip in Key West. It is a very special experience to me. I like the interim trip because it is designed to be both fun and educational. It provides the students a chance to see and experience what they have learned.

Pan Huali taught at Saint Edward’s School in Vero Beach, FL during the 2009-10 school year.

The school is a great place on the weekends. Yes, there are classes taking place especially on Saturday but the campus around the school is very quiet and pleasant. Just outside the school gate, there are several million inhabitants of Anqing. The traffic here, just as any American city, is relentless and never ending. However, when one walks just inside the school grounds the entire atmosphere changes.

There are two main apartment buildings filled with mostly retired and some working teachers. We are on the top (5th) floor and are still getting use to the climb up to our apartment. These are typical government cement structures built a long time ago and are not too pretty from the outside. However, we have a very nice apartment with lots of room and all the modern conveniences.

You can imagine what kind of complex it takes to educate 4000+ students. This school is the size of a small US prep school. We have a huge science center, large administration building (1 principal, 4 vice principals), a huge sports complex, outdoor basketball and volleyball courts everywhere, several other classroom buildings, a large (two floors) cafeteria building serving three (tasty) meals a day and even some living quarters for many resident students.

This is the No.1 high school in the city and there are at least a dozen. The schools are ranked according to how many students pass the rigorous national exam each year (like an SAT) and go on to the university. Our school is almost (100% pass rate) and the students are quite serious.

Davis Burbank taught at Anqing No. 1 Middle School in Anhui Province during the 2009-10 school year.

Before I arrived in America, I heard varied opinions of American classes and kids. I felt really horrified when I thought that I had to face the challenges. It almost ruined my first ten days before the school started in Gilmore Academy. Anyhow things happened as they should happen.

The first class seemed not as bad as I had imagined many times before. Maybe they were curious about the new appearance from China. This is the third year for my Eighth Graders to learn Chinese. I tried to add something current happening in China besides the requested curriculum. The things which I couldn’t stand were that they can freely go to the bathroom, drink water, see the nurse and whatever. Actually I didn’t like to be interrupted while teaching, but it’s allowed in American classes. I had no choice but to adapt to it.

Here inside Gilmore Academy, what impressed me most was the Heritage Festival on October 24th. Actually it started on the night of October 23rd. It is said that more than four hundred parents, teachers and students gathered in the school cafeteria. As they tasted the real, international foods provided by school, they could also appreciate the posters presenting various food cultures from different countries. It’s a pity I was not present that night.

The next day, I was asked to help one of my homeroom teachers. I accompanied over ten students to walk around the second floor. On the door of each classroom, the signs showed the themes of their project through which to explore different cultures. Inside each classroom, you could see different posters, in front of each poster, there were two or more students ready to explain their posters. They were about different countries, fictional stories from all over the world, games from different countries, inventions, sports and music. The school schedule gave each group a certain time in each classroom, so you could spend time learning about their projects. I learnt a lot from what the kids had researched.

One girl told me about her picture, the ribbon indicated connection, link together, she hoped we would live in a global world; She drew doves to wish peaceful life; the cross she drew is because of her religion, she wishes the friends to be loyal, faithful to each other.

After that, some Chinese University students on an exchange program from Bridgewater State College came to see what’s going on in Gilmore Academy. The superintendent, Dr. Nembirkow, gave us a short speech. We were surprised to hear his colorful experiences and his broad view of the world. He told us the purpose of teaching nowadays is to educate the global citizens. That’s why Gilmore Academy held the Heritage Festival. They wanted the kids to know about the world. At last, he wished us a fruitful school year.

I do believe everybody learns a lot from the Heritage Festival, it influences us from different aspects. It promoted and celebrated international-mindedness. I look forward to experience more fresh things here.

I went to attend the teacher's conference held in White Mountains last weekend. It is called exploring art in the nature. It is so wonderful. Some artists, writers like Clare Walker, storytellers like Rebecca Rule, musicians, composers, dancers went to the Crawford North and taught art or music teachers in this area about new ways in applying art in education. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I went to the workshop of a Nigerian artist and worked for him as his assistant. He taught block printing and visual art. I am happy to help him and he gave me his work of art as a gift. I also went to a workshop to learn how to compose music from the nature. Actually I don't know how to compose music but I learn how to observe. So is in the keeping a natural journal workshop.

It is a pity that our Chinese students in my city are farther and farther away from the nature but closer to the computer games or TV or pursing higher scores and lost in exams. I think it is necessary for the teachers like me to get back to nature first and keep that in mind what is most important for our next generation. That is to create and to learn by themselves. Learning from and in the nature is a good inspiration for me from this conference.

The Chinese character 福, written by each of Xiong Manjing's students, was hung all over in celebration of Chinese new year. 福, which means blessing and good fortune, is widely used in China while celebrating the new year.

Xiong Manjing is currently teaching in Owasso, OK

Last night there was a Holiday Party for Foreigners Working in Shijiazhuang at a hotel in a huge banquet room. It was really fun! There are 140 foreigners here from 23 countries. Different groups did little performances - singing, traditional dancing, etc. It seemed the officials had put a lot of time, effort and expense to make this a nice evening and it was.

Robyn Crispe teaches at Shijiazhuang No. 42 Middle School.

From December 23, 2010 to January 2, 2011, I had my holiday recess. What impressed me most is my first Christmas Day in US and my first ski around the New Year’s Day.

Before Christmas Day, I helped to set up Christmas lights around the house, to chop a Christmas tree and decorate it with lights and presents, to go purchasing some Christmas gifts and so on. On Christmas Eve and Day, I stayed with my host family. All my host family members and relatives, more than 20 of them, came to our house. We together celebrated the Christmas Day, talking, drinking, playing games and eating a lot of different foods. On Christmas morning, we opened the present socks and presents all the morning. I gave them something Chinese as Christmas presents and I was also given lots of presents. I really enjoy it.

I went skiing with my host family and two other families to Breton Woods in New Hampshire. It was the first time that I had learnt to ski. I learnt so fast that after less than two hours’ lesson and practice, I can ski by myself, doing the turnings and stop. I had a lot of fun! And we also went to Mount Washington Hotel for breakfast. That’s a nice hotel with a long history and so much breathtaking scenery there.

I really enjoy my stay here. I am so lucky that I met a lot of nice, kind and helpful people here, my host family, my superintendent Ruth, my mentor Bob and even my students are so nice. Also I have made a lot of friends here.

Zou Zhongmin teaches at the Whitman-Hanson School District in Whitman, MA.

One of my students gave me a beautiful gift box of mooncakes on behalf of his family.

Sanya is the "Hawaii" of Asia. The average temperature year round is around 77 degrees. There are three main beaches in Sanya: Yalong Bay, Dadonghai, and Sanyawan. Yalong is for the rich, Dadonghai, just as beautiful, white sand beaches, and Sanyawan, a little dirty but not too bad.

Sanya is a haven for all Chinese people up north as well as the Russians during the cold winter months. It is a good place to enjoy all kinds of Western foods you have not eaten in awhile. Dadonghai beach is a great place to swim and do many other water activities. Of course you have to pay to sit in a chair, take a shower, or do just about anything.
During the Spring Festival here in China, the prices are doubled on many things. It is very crowded and there are many foreigner visitors to Hainan(Southern Seas). You of course have to be wary of the taxis and vendors. Some taxi drivers will charge you triple. You are hounded by the vendors on the beach trying to sell you white pearls and necklaces made of seashells. After you ignore them for awhile it isn't so bad. The younger girls are taught at a young age to hustle and not take no for an answer.

Betel nut is chewed by many locals, particularly taxi drivers and workers. It is red, and similar to chewing tobacco. You will see red stains on the sidewalks and beaches, looks like a crime scene. Seafood and fresh fruits are the specialities. The seafood is good but a little expensive. We were "Sanya'ed" a couple of times. If you have any notion of feeling sorry for someone there you will go broke very quickly.

If you have been to Florida or Hawaii you would say Sanya beaches are second rate; I would agree. However, It is definitely paradise in China. Definitely cheaper and a great time overall. One person could easily stay there for a week for less than 800US(flying from China of course) and have a great time. We are planning on returning next year.

Cenamon said when she needed to find me she would look down the beach or in the water for the "whitest" man and would find me. You will see what she means by the pictures.

Rex Burnett is teaching at Hefei No. 2 Middle School in China.

Li Yuepeng took a whirlwind tour of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas with his principal and host, Jerry Privett, over the Memorial Day weekend. They covered a distance of more than 2,500 miles in only three days!

Li Yuepeng taught at Irving Middle School in Norman, OK, during the 2009-10 school-year.

Where to start? The beginning? Okay, my Chinese wonder year started with a notice on a bulletin board. A year in China, why not? Normally I like to have my ducks in a row, and plans A through infinity ready to implement. I had about three minutes before my first class started and in that time I called Margot and arranged for an interview.

Somehow all the wrangles with the NYC Board of Education, subletting my apartment and cat care got solved and before I knew it I was in Nanjing at the Foreign Language School. I laughed to myself at the first faculty meeting when I saw almost all the teachers sitting in the back of the auditorium reading newspapers, eating snacks, grading papers all through the meeting – just like home. Even the women who ran the copiers played Freecell or Solitaire – just like home.

But, of course, not much else was just like home. I had 55-60 kids in my middle school classes. I’ll never forget the little boy who used a telescope to see the front of the classroom or the kids taking off their glasses for eye exercises. Did the exercises cause poor vision or were the glasses simply a fashion statement?

The students and teachers were surprised to see me walking around the classroom instead of lecturing from a podium. They were also surprised that I couldn’t tolerate the constant chatter that was typical of most classrooms, but we all got used to each other soon enough.

Some of the women faculty members met with me weekly, ostensibly to improve their English. At first we talked about education and methods and finer points of English grammar, but in a short time we were just “girlfriends” talking about what girlfriends talk about.

I decided I would refuse no invitation that came my way, so I had lots of dinners at people’s homes. One I remember was about eight courses, ending with a Chinese style “hamburger”. I was a vegetarian in the US, but found it too difficult to maintain that diet in China, but I stayed away from meat as much as possible. Not wanting to offend my hosts who had gone to great lengths to provide what they thought I would really enjoy, I somehow got it down.

I went to a Christmas party at a kindergarten and sang Jingle Bells several dozen times, directed a sing-a-long at a senior center (I’m sure I was the oldest person there), had a part in a made for TV movie playing Dick Castle’s wife because Peggy looked too young for the part. That was as hard to swallow as the hamburger. Then there was the time I showed up at the western bakery for breakfast three days in a row with a different young man each time. On the third day, the Chinese waitresses gave me the raised eyebrow equivalent of a high-five. The young men were colleagues who missed their mommies.

I visited a school run by a Chinese friend’s brother-in-law and was treated like a rock star. I don’t think they had many western visitors. Many of the teachers told me that I was the first native English speaker they’d ever met. TV cameras followed me around all day and I was interviewed for the evening news. Three hundred students were chosen to have a Q&A with me and about two hundred young soldiers materialized and crowded into the auditorium. The first question was one I’d heard several times before: Does everyone in America have a gun? I don’t think they believed me when I said I’d never even touched a gun.

I was sure that there were some average students in Nanjing, ones who didn’t come up to the standard of brilliance of the students at the FLS, and I wanted to visit their school. My Chinese colleagues didn’t seem to understand why I would want to make such a visit, but one of them agreed to arrange it for me. I spent the morning talking with the English teachers and established a special bond with one of them. He had worked in a coal mine before he became a teacher. I told him my father also worked in a mine and then became a teacher, too. We spent a lot of time boring the other teachers with our comparisons of coal mining in China and the US, but we really understood each other. Several days after the visit a colleague asked me if I had a second teaching job (which I didn’t) because he’d seen posters on the fence outside that school with my picture on them advertising the “fact” that there was a native English speaker teaching there.

I could go on but I realize that I’ve not said much about my classroom experience, but honestly it wasn’t all that different from my teaching in the US. Middle school there was the same mixture of boys playing with matchbox cars and girls mature beyond their years. When I switched to high school the second term, the students’ English was fluent enough that they could read and discuss poems and short stories, give speeches and engage in Lincoln-Douglas debates.

I’ve kept in touch with several of the teachers I worked with and a few students. All in all, I had a great time!

By Fan Hongya
Yangzhou University Affiliated Middle School
Snowden International School (Boston), 2000-2001

It is indeed hard to believe that ten years have passed since we came back to China. The scene is still vivid in my mind when my wife and daughter and Principal Li and Mr. Fu were expecting me anxiously and eagerly at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I AM FINALLY BACK. This was what I wanted to say to them when I saw them.

What I decided to do was to get accustomed to the NEW environment, have some rest, meet friends once in a while and then try my best to get back to work. I was eager to work and meet my new students because I personally thought I mastered some advanced teaching methods or skills or strategies that I had learned from my American colleagues and I was definitely sure that my new Chinese students would be amazed by me as well as my new way of teaching. “Why do we have to put too much extra pressure on kids since they are still kids and they are humans?” That’s what Bill Bronski always says. “If kids get enough rest and have enough fun, they will probably achieve more and love study throughout their life.” That’s what Jack Regan always says. “I would like to be a teacher who assigns the least homework and encourages students to achieve the most.” That’s what I always say and do.

Principals as well as my colleagues were more than happy to see me and they gave me a big welcome by arranging a huge banquet. We had lots of toasts and had the greatest fun that I had ever had. I am still grateful to my principals and colleagues because the welcome-back party was like welcoming a king. They really gave me more than I expected. The only thing I could do to repay them was to work hard and whole-heartedly for the school and, to be more exact, for my kids. Several colleagues attended my first lesson. Kids were wild with joy. No doubt they were charmed by my teaching. Some kids wrote articles on the Internet singing high praise for my teaching. When we had our selected course of English Culture, I got the most fans among all my English colleagues. Kids were happy to be at school, happy to learn, happy to harvest in their studies and they enjoyed their lives every day. During the mid-term and final tests, my kids got the best scores and some even made tremendous progress, much more than they had expected.

Study is always a serious matter and it is never a joke. As time went on and as the education situation developed, more and more pressure was added and students began to suffer. “Competition is fierce. If you don’t study hard, how can you survive in the future competitive world?” “If you play with time, time will sooner or later play with you.” “If you don’t study hard to get knowledge today, you will try hard to get a job tomorrow.” That is what teachers and parents always said to kids. Time is as precious as gold. Time is as precious as life. Evening classes began in several schools, and then in all schools. Weekends were almost fully occupied as precious time to study. More and more work was assigned; more and more test papers given out; and less and less leisure time given to kids. As national tests approached, the situation became even more serious. Kids, parents, teachers, administrators, and directors of Education Bureaus were driven crazy by the competitive tests. “We have to be responsible for all the kids, for all the parents, for the society and for the development of our nation. The only way for us to survive in the future is to get as much knowledge as possible while we are young,” teachers often say to their kids.

So what is the use of what we learned in the U.S.? Shall we follow others and put just as much pressure on those poor kids? Some say yes while some say no. Or sometimes we say yes while sometimes we say no.

Several years ago, I did a bold experiment: when winter or summer holidays came, I said to my kids, “I will assign no homework to you during the holidays. When you are free and feel really bored by your idleness, do some English reading.” When the holidays were over, the test results proved no different from those of kids in other classes. I always believe all gold glitters so long as it is gold, but if you polish gold too much and too often, it will perish or disappear.

During the last summer holidays, I, as an expert teacher, attended a so-called advanced class for teacher development. When a question was raised about which we should choose between quality education or examination-oriented education, Mr. Chen, former director of our provincial teaching research organization, said, “We always stand for, push and promote quality education and try to abolish examination-oriented education, but obstacles are so strong that we sometimes find it hard to walk ahead. When there is a contradiction, what we should do is hold our ground.” I couldn’t agree more.

Guan Yi taught at P.S. 120 in Queens, NY during the 1996-97 school year.

In December 2010 a group of teachers, students and parents from Saint Edward's School, Vero Beach, FL, visited Cao Wenjuan in Nanjing. They visited Cao Wenjuan’s school, Jinling Middle School and joined Cao Wenjuan and her family for dinner at their home.

Cao Wenjuan taught at Saint Edward’s School during the 2008-09 school year.

The Teachers Exchange Program published The Exchange three times annually from the program's inception during the 1996-97 school year through December 2003. We have since shifted to an electronic format. See below for several back issues.