Outside the Box – Juliann Talkington

“Almost all parents want “the best” for their children.  However, “the best” and how to achieve it is very different in China and the US.

“This fall Qinglan Liang, Deputy Principal and Senior Teacher in Chinese Language Arts at the Lu Cheng MIddle School in the Jiu-Long-Po District of Xipeng, Chongqing, China was a visiting scholar at the Panama City Renaissance School (Panama City, Florida, USA).  According to Ms. Liang, in China there are so many people, only children with outstanding academic records are assured good jobs.  As a result, Chinese parents do everything they can to give their child a competitive edge in school.  In this culture, the majority of the parents follow the teacher’s requirements for study.  They make sure their kids complete all the homework and do not complain about the amount or the difficulty.  In addition, parents generally do not make excuses for their children, if they perform poorly. 

“To provide their children with an even better chance for success, Chinese parents are willing to make many personal and financial sacrifices to get their child into the best schools.  In addition, parents teach or hire tutors to teach extra content to assure their child is ahead of the class.  If their child is behind, they work many extra hours at home or hire a tutor to bring their child up to speed.  

“According to Ms. Liang, in recent years Chinese parents have become very concerned about new facilities and equipment, because there is the belief that “new” means “quality”.  This perception is creating problems, because resources are being moved from the classroom to facilities and equipment which means the quality of instruction is suffering.  Also, Chinese parents do not encourage many extra-curricular activities (after school music, art, sports, theater, community service, etc).  As a result, most Chinese children only have a few diverse experiences.

“The US is very different.  

“Until recently, it was easy for a young person in the US to get a good job with average academic preparation.  Even though the information revolution has radically changed the type of academic background required for a good job, the changes are still not well understood.  Many parents still believe their children will have a good standard of living no matter how well they perform in the classroom.   As a result, schooling is way down the list of priorities — behind vacations, second homes, recreational gear, etc.  

“Many US parents believe educational experience is more important than how much their child learns.  For these parents, homework is a low priority and poor grades are a reflection on the teacher rather than on the student and the parents.  To make matters more challenging, a large number of US parents spend a lot of time and energy analyzing why their children cannot learn and little time taking action to make sure they do.  On the positive side, US parents are very interested in the broad exposure offered through extracurricular activities and encourage their children to participate in many of these activities to gain an understanding of the world.  Also, US parents are tend to be more concerned about what a school offers than the appearance of the facilities or equipment. 

“Even though we live half way around the world from each other and speak two completely different languages, it is amazing how we can help each other.  If we could combine the extra-curricular exposure and lack of concern with facility and equipment appearance from the US with the high academic performance expectations and personal responsibility from China it would be amazing how much the children in both countries could learn!

Outside the Box – Juliann Talkington

“Energy filled the air last Friday as children at the Panama City Renaissance School sang, played musical instruments, recited poems and acted out skits – in Chinese, Spanish and English.   After the presentations, the children and their parents and teachers chatted, exchanged hugs and enjoyed a potluck lunch.  A couple from the Silicon Valley in California joined the festivities.  They mentioned that they were surprised that a school in a small Florida resort town could offer a language immersion program similar to programs offered in the metropolitan San Francisco area.  They were impressed with the happy children’s ability to converse in Chinese and Spanish and handle advanced academic subjects.  They were quick to add that the schools in the San Francisco area cost a lot more and have long waiting lists.  It was nice to get such positive feedback.  Teachers, thank you for doing such a wonderful job with our kids!  

New York Times - Jennifer Medina

“. . . Education reformer E.D. Hirsch, a former University of Virginia English professor, puts it this way: You have to know things to learn things. His Core Knowledge curriculum, already being used in 718 schools in 45 states, is an antidote to the problems Perlstein found in Maryland.  New Holland Core Knowledge Academy, for instance, is a public elementary school in Gainesville, Ga., where most students are minorities and poor, many of them just learning English. Just before Christmas, Arlena Greene’s fifth-grade students were studying animal and plant cells in science. In social studies, they were studying World War I. . . .“ (more)

USA Today – Heather Frye

“. . . The children learn reading, writing, math, science and social skills at a lightning pace, but they don’t seem to mind.  They have no idea how much math and reading and writing they are doing,” Thompson says. “They have no idea how hard they are working, and I never want them to know. . . .“ (more)

New York Times – Jennifer Medina

“Sixty New York City elementary and middle schools have been newly identified as failing under the federal No Child Left Behind law, according to a list released on Thursday by the State Education Department, which also showed that the number of failing schools was rising in both the city and the state.“ (more)

New York Times – Jennifer Medina

“Education officials, acting under the city’s new system of accountability, released report cards on Wednesday for several charter schools, with the majority receiving A’s and B’s, but one school in Queens getting an F.
The grades came more than a month after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein released grades for the rest of the city’s public schools. Officials said that they had always intended to release grades for charter schools, but that it had taken longer to make sure the data was complete and accurate because the schools are privately run, though publicly financed.“ (more)

USA Today - Greg Toppo

“The five-year effort to break Baltimore’s big high schools into smaller, more autonomous schools seems to be paying off with better academic results and attendance, offering new evidence backing a reform that has stalled nationwide in recent years.“ (more)

New York Times - Staff Writer

“New York City officials released the names of 205 public schools where teachers have chosen to take part in a new bonus program based largely on improving test scores.  The schools run the gamut, from the Bilingual Bicultural School in Manhattan to Millennium Art Academy, a high school in the Bronx, and Bushwick School for Social Justice in Brooklyn. .“ (more)

Outside the Box – Juliann Talkington

“Like many art rooms, pencil, cloth, and paint art pieces line the walls.  But if you close your eyes and listen to the instructor, you might think you are attending a high school art class, instead of a program for 5-8 year old children.  According to Kim Griffin, the Panama City Renaissance School artist in residence, “exposure is more important than execution.”  Instructors often wait too long to teach the concepts of shading, color mixing, composition, facial features and the importance of accurate observation, because many children do not have the motor skills to apply these techniques in the early elementary school years.  Griffin is a firm believer that a lack of motor skills does not mean the concepts should not be taught.  In fact, the opposite is true.  By introducing the concepts early, the child can learn about the concepts and apply them as they are ready.  According to brain research, children are born with almost unlimited potential much of which is lost when the children reach puberty.   If kids are not exposed to complicated artistic principles until they are 14 or 15, the learning process is much more difficult.  According to Griffin, “If you believe young children have the intelligence to learn almost anything, it amazing what they can accomplish.”  The art work shown below was created by Panama City Renaissance School students between the ages of 5 and 8 who participated in Ms. Griffin’s Artist in  Residence program.

 Outside the Box -  Juliann Talkington

“After an hour an a half of running and jumping, one would think three, four, five, six and seven year old children would be exhausted.  But rather than getting tired, they all seem to get a second wind as they ran into the party room to nibble on pizza, sample cake and sing happy birthday to one of their schoolmates in Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English.  Pump It Up was a fun place for the parents too.  They had an opportunity to chat  and left with the assurance that everyone would sleep well that night.”