• 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, 24 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, 2010

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.

Last Friday we had a Chinese character recognition competition as a celebration of the New Year. All the students who learn Chinese came and had a competition between different classes. It's fun. The students were excited but very well behaved. It's really a very good way to motivate them.

In the past 20 days, I have been as busy as a bee, getting used to the routine, learning about the teaching and the students here, preparing for classes, meeting new friends, going sightseeing, doing shopping, and keeping a diary.

We are lucky to have those helpful friends like Carmen, Thom, Karen, Rick and Patrick, who have made our life much easier here!

The first week has passed smoothly. I am trying my best to adapt myself to the teaching here. Our school, Logan High, is great! Teachers are professional and nice. Students are polite and well-behaved in class. I have started to observe Dennett's classes, who is chair of our department. She teaches Spanish and always has her classes well managed. Though I cannot understand Spanish, I have learned a lot about classroom management.

I'm busy all these days because I have many meetings to attend, new teachers training, all district teachers meeting, faculty meetings and department meetings. I'll teach Chinese 1,2 and 3 in two middle schools and one high school, and I'll give lessons to Chinese 1 and 3 at the same time during one class period. It's incredible, right? I'm learning to drive, because when school begins, I'll have to move around from one school to another. Everyday I get piles of booklets and handbooks to read through from the school district and the driving coach will give us a written test this Saturday. So I'm so tired but i think it's a good way to develop my potential, just as what the driving coach tells us," You girls has got much improvement every day!" I like it...

We have now started school here in Anqing. The smallest class I teach so far has 65 students. My other classes range between 68 and 72 students. My days at Broken Arrow High School with classes of 30 students certainly seem pretty cushy from here!

At the moment, I teach 13 classes but I understand through the grapevine (the way official word travels) that I may end up with 21 classes.

The kids have been great so far. They seem anxious and interested in learning. As a teacher, isn’t that what we all want? A few of the students have been exposed to foreign teachers before, but most have never met or spoken to a foreigner. The main drawback to their eagerness is that I can’t get work done in my classroom! Because so many students come visit in order to learn and practice their English, my time to grade papers or prepare lessons is short. That’s fine, of course. That’s a big reason why I am here. Also, I want to learn about China and Chinese culture and students are much more open about their ideas. All the extra time, however, can leave me quite drained as my students are willing to chat for as long as I let them.

On Tuesday evenings (like tonight) all the teachers meet with their respective departments for planning meetings. I took advantage of the time to hand out some small gifts I brought for my department: Tulsa calendar books and Oklahoma postcards.

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)
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Program Minisite: U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program

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 is teaching at the Anqing No. 1 Middle School in Anhui Province.

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.

I will never feel lonely in America. My life here is colorful. I must admit, everything here is much better than I expected. Yesterday afternoon Laura (my hostess) and I went to the county playhouse to enjoy a performance of "A Christmas Carol." It was wonderful.

Last night I saw the movie, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" for the first time. Although it is a Chinese movie, I had never seen it in China. I guess I will just have to catch up on all my Chinese movies here instead!

Wang Peihua (Westport, 2007-08) and I also enjoy going to the YMCA. While there we use the exercise equipment and go swimming. I think I will be in excellent shape by the time I return home!

I really enjoy everything here. I love Staples High School, where I teach. I also love everyone I have met over the past five months. I enjoy the beautiful weather here and especially love the beautiful trees.

I have had so many wonderful opportunities to go and do things ever since my arrival in New York City last summer! Last Friday, I went on a field trip with students from the upper division of the Garden School. We went to Fortuna Gallery at 77th Street in Manhattan and also to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I learned a lot about mosaics and works of renaissance art in Italy. Two parents were kind enough to arrange the trip for us. I had a wonderful time!

I am also spending a lot of time helping our music teacher with the rehearsals for the school’s winter performance. It’s a lot of work, but very fun!

I had an unforgettable experience watching The Cirque Du Soleil, Wintuk performance in Madison Square Garden on November 29th. Tomorrow, there's another show in Lincoln Centre that I’ve also been invited to! Isn't this great?!

My host family, the Browns, is a great family. They are very nice and helpful to me. Charles is a geologist and we are both history buffs, which makes for great conversation. We have plenty to talk about when it comes to history, religion, politics, sports, and so on. He is always adding to my vocabulary. He has already taken me to two football games. He has also made a great effort to explain the rules of football to me. While I don’t understand all of the details yet, I understood which side won! I try to help out as much as I can with work around the house. I frequently help Charles trim the hedges and mow the lawn.

His wife, Linfei, is a Chinese American from Shanghai. Just like Wu Laoshi, she works hard in her garden every morning. She also often treats me to a home-cooked Chinese dinner.

Their son, Roland, is brilliant and talented. He is in eleventh grade at Cascia Hall but is already taking advanced classes at Tulsa University.

This is a great family. I think they are as happy with me as I am with them.

Today was “Teacher Day” in China…..or at least it was celebrated today in Anqing. Maybe in other cities it has a different celebration day.

The schools in Anqing had a singing competition at a local theater in celebration of the day. My school, Anqing No. 1 Middle School, took first place. I didn’t watch all the other schools sing but it did seem that Anqing No. 1 quite good!

I was not asked to sing until I showed up at the theater to watch the presentation. At that point I was politely pressured but I opted for being the school’s unofficial photographer instead. Here are just a few of my pictures:

In contrast to most schools I have experienced, the Anqing No. 1 staff is comprised mainly of male teachers. I have been told this is because Anqing No. 1 puts a heavy emphasis on science and math. Don’t throw rocks at me for saying that! That’s what is said here, and that seems to be what sociologists generally agree is true. No, males aren’t more intelligent. As Mark Twain put it, “Everyone is ignorant; just on different subjects.” Females, as we know, are much more “language intelligent” than males. (A note on cross-culture education comparisons: From the teachers I have talked to here in China, female students outscore male students in all but some math and science. The same is true in America.)

I am so excited to be in America for the first time! I arrived yesterday afternoon and had dinner with my host family, the Masts. Linda and Bob Mast are wonderful, as are their two sons, Robert and Will. They are very hospitable and I really feel at home.

After only a day, I feel that I have already settled in nicely here. I live within walking distance of the school. It is about a 15 minute walk, or I can just take the train two stops which is also very convenient. I am SO lucky!

Both Robert and Will like listening to my Chinese stories. We had story time last night after dinner! I hope they keep enjoying my stories for at least 10 months! I think my situation is perfect because my host family is happy when I’m around, and I’m less lonely when I’m around them!

Tomorrow I plan to walk to my school and around my neighborhood in order to get familiar with my surroundings. I bought my first Charlie Card this morning for the subway, and I think I might sign up for a library card tomorrow.

Seeing, thinking, asking, and doing will be the keys to my new life here in the United States.

This afternoon I saw Santa Claus in one of the kindergarten classrooms at Hoover. Some of the kids were frightened and they cried. They were so cute! I took pictures with Santa. I like the Christmas decorations everywhere at this time of year.

Han Dongni is teaching at Hoover Elementary School in Tulsa, OK.

Today, I ate roast turkey in school! Last week, a girl student asked me to join their family party on Thanksgiving Day. I said" thanks" but refused because I had travel plans on that day. It was a pity that I missed a chance to taste her mother's roast turkey. Guess what? Today, her mother cooked a whole turkey and brought it to my classroom. So all of my students and I ate that turkey. That nice and hospitable lady offered me a chance to taste authentic American roast turkey.

Pan Huali is teaching at Saint Edward's School in Vero Beach, FL.

It’s Chinese New Year! Well in advance I decorated my classroom with lanterns and colored streamers to make it look festive! For class I prepared many holiday related activities such as having my students make lanterns, ox masks and paper cuttings, sing holiday songs, write Chinese calligraphy, make dumplings out of play dough and then eat the fried dumplings I made. On Monday I made an announcement over the school radio; I spoke about the Chinese New Year and wished everyone the best of luck for the Year of the Ox. Afterwards many students and teachers came to tell me “Ms. Zhao, Happy Chinese New Year!” A fifth grader even came to my classroom to wish me Happy New Year in Chinese!

On Friday our school had a Chinese New Year Parade, all of the teachers wore red and most of the students wore red as well. Students who had Chinese style clothing wore them and everyone looked very festive. The entire school was decorated with arts and crafts that the students made and the school radio even played Chinese holiday music. I was so happy and I think of this parade as a gift to me. The students wore masks, held lanterns, beat drums, and greeted me as they passed. Unfortunately I didn’t think ahead to prepare candy or festive gifts to give to the students who passed me.

On the first day of Chinese New Year, we had a small parade at school. We talked to some teachers the day before New Year and paraded into their classrooms including the main office on New Year's Day. We asked the students questions about Chinese New Year and handed out red envelopes to those who gave the right answers. (Actually, a few days before that we had put up posters with information about Spring Festival.) We even served them with more than 200 dumplings. The teachers and students were very excited about this; and we are greeted by a lot more smiling faces at school these days.

[T]oday is a big day for all the Americans and of course the world. We can't miss it. So at 11:30, all the faculty and the students went to the Old South church near Snowden [International School, MA] and watched the inauguration live on TV. The church was full of people, including a lot of local citizens. Some of them were formally dressed up. One black lady in a beautiful red dress said, "I have no choice. My mother let me wear this." All of the people were very excited although we were not on the spot in Washington. Obama's speech is also very powerful and inspiring. All of us hope the change will come soon…I feel very lucky to be here this year to experience all of these great and historic moments.

On the first three days of the trip, Shang Yuanyuan (Royal Oak, MI 2007-08), Yu Yuping (Jackson Heights, NY 2007-08), Wang Youhua (Tulsa, OK 2007-08), Gong Aiping (Stamford, CT 2007-08), Zhang Qunfang (Tulsa, OK 2007-08), Li Xuede (Tulsa, OK 2007-08) and I visited Disneyland, Universal Studios and Sea World. Because all of us have children of our own, we wished they could have been here with us. They would have loved it! We spent the next three days of the trip visiting the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. The Grand Canyon left the greatest impression on me. It is such a magnificent area, but because we were only able to spend 50 minutes there, I feel that we only got to see the tip of the iceberg. I didn't gamble while in Las Vegas, but I was impressed with the beautiful and prosperous hotels there. While in Las Vegas, the seven of us met up with another Teachers Exchange Program participant, Chang Chun (Milwaukee, WI 2007-08).

During the final three days of our trip, the eight of us toured Yosemite National Park and then traveled on to San Francisco. San Francisco is now my favorite American city. The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Hearst Castle, and Demark village were all so wonderful! In my eyes, San Francisco is modern and historic at the same time, charming, open-minded, and warm. I can't even think of the best word to describe it.

The trip was very fun, but because most of us took bus tours at many different places through out the trip, it was very tiring as well. Even though it seemed we had to rush to everywhere, it was still an unforgettable trip for us.

• Dan Becker (Nanjing, 2003-2005) will return to Nanjing this summer to teach a course as part of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Talented Youth program. His course, entitled Medicine: East and West, will ask students to explore the interplay between Chinese and western medicine. Topics include the use of acupuncture and its role in pain management; the role of spirituality in the healing arts; and the divergent systems’ basic approaches to disease and patient care. Students will look at the history, philosophy, and science that determine the similarities and differences of the two approaches. In addition, students will examine shifts in western medicine as physicians seek to learn from the Chinese healing arts.
• Dave Krueger's (1999-2000 and 2001-2002) wife, Anna, gave birth to a healthy boy, David Chun Krueger, on December 13, 2007 at 12:17 p.m., weighing 7lbs 10oz. Mother and baby are doing fine.
• Congratulations to Chris Fray (1998-1999) for being selected as the 2007-2008 Teacher of the Year in Westport, CT! Follow this link for more information: http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18860227&BRD=1654&PAG=461&dep...
• Xia Haibo (2003-2004) is now vice principal of Hefei No. 2 Middle School.
• In 2004-2005, Joan Burress (1996-1999) participated in the year-long Yale program, "China in Transition: Tradition in Change", which focused on ethnic minorities and transition in China. Last summer, she traveled to Southwest and Northwest China on a field study with 7 other educators led by Dr. Eileen Walsh (Luce Assistant Professor of Asian Studies, Skidmore University) and Jeffrey Levick (Programs in International Educational Resources [PIER] Director of External Affairs, Council on East Asian Studies at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies [YCIAS]). Learn more about the trip and program at http://research.yale.edu/eastasianstudies/pier_china/.

Coming Soon!

I recently returned from a trip to Canada. I enjoyed my stay in Vancouver immensely, although I was not very excited, as this was not my first time abroad. I was appointed the head of a group of 32 teachers, most of who were traveling internationally for the first time. We visit several locations within Canada and included a 4-day trip to the Rockies. It was very beautiful. We liked the Columbia Glacier and Lake Louise best.

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.