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Lanzhou Shi Wai Guo Yue Gao Ji Zhong Xue

The picture above is on the uniform of the school we visited in the city of Lanzhou.  It's a school that students apply to if they have a particular desire to study foreign languages.

A pair or trio of our students was met by the representatives of a number of 10th and 11th grade classes.

Our students attended classes with the Chinese students.

Peeking into classrooms, I saw a large percentage of students hiding their cell phones behind those stacks of books playing games.  It made me smile to know that those students are the same as all around the world.

The students stay in one room the entire school career and the teachers come to them.  Each class has up to 50 students.

Lunch!!

Every student has to go through exercises.  You would think that the Chinese students would take these seriously and do them to the nth degree.  Nope.  Kids are the same everywhere and most of the students just go through the motions.  It's fun to watch.

PE Class!!!

On the right, a Chinese Literature Teacher and on the left a kid who is learning German and when he found out I learned German in high school started talking to me in German.

During our day at the school, I was given a chance to wander around and I ended up spending some time talking to some 11th grade teachers about the Chinese education system.  The Chinese teachers were fascinated by the lack of the "Gao Kao" or the Chinese college entrance exam.  I tried to explain to them that our SAT was simply one of many factors in college admission.  But that in China the results of that one exam determine college placement or college acceptance.  Turns out that there simply aren't enough places in Chinese universities to meet the demand of college bound students.  The teachers were amazed that any students who wants to go to college (and can pay) in the US can go. 

The other interesting question I was asked by a Physics teacher was how come if the US has a lower level of academic rigor in their classrooms and thereby students enter into college with less "knowledge" how can he US produce such an amazing amount of cutting edge technology and innovation?  I really couldn't answer that question but I did think about it and tell him that the US does have a long standing system of valuing research at the graduate level because we have so much funding for research. 

There were so many other questions that I wanted to ask, such as whether or not teacher pay is a deterrent for the best and brightest Chinese to entering the profession as I believe it is in the United States.  I also wanted to ask about how they deal with the fact that they don't track their students by ability.  So many questions, so little time.