My Impression of Schools in China

By Stefanie Marra
Northport High School
Long Island City, New York

Group 1 poses with students in front of Middle School No. 15

While I was in China I shared many amazing experiences with my group. From the Great Wall to the Shaolin Temple, everything was absolutely astounding, but there is one experience that particularly influenced my trip.
Going to China I was prepared to see a totally different culture. To have a complete "culture shock" but when I arrived nothing seemed to stand out as all that different. From the tallest building to the smallest child everything seemed so familiar. It wasn't until I went to the School Number 15 that I realized how different our worlds truly are. As I sat in the room listening to a Chinese teacher talk to her students in English, I realized that they were very serious about their studies in school. I could tell right away that the students were smarter then the average student in the United States. However they seem to be quite timid. The teacher would ask a question and no student would raise a hand. They were afraid to be wrong. They wouldn't ask or answer any questions. After the lesson was over I got to talk to some of the students. I was very interested to see how differently the students react towards social subjects. I would ask a student if they had a boyfriend or a girlfriend and they would laugh like I was crazy! To them, school comes first.
During the trip we also visited a school for kids from ages 1 6. The school its self was very large and many students attended. We visited several classes during the visit. One class was of four children playing the violin; they were amazing. They played from memory and didn't seem nervous at all for their surprise performance for the Americans. Another class we visited was a class to learn how to design clothing. I was very impressed with the level of difficulty of the classes.

Grace, Rayon, and Stefanie talk with Celia at Beida

Stef and Dallas take a break from speaking to a group of girls at Middle School No. 15