Xiamen, Wine, and Song

For those of you who are regular readers, you may, after reading this entry, begin to think that my time in China is just a pretense for me to enjoy the finer things of life...probably not far from the truth. Here is a snapshot: at 10PM last night I found myself in the backseat of a late-model Mercedes, careening through the beautifully neon-lit streets of Xiamen, while listening to the driver (my host father and the CEO of a sizable concrete corporation in China) sing "Happy Birthday" (the only English he knows...it was no one's birthday) at the top of his quite inebriated lungs. Yeah...probably not what YOU were doing last night at 10PM.

The Main Entrance to Xiamen Public School #6...They Don't Go for Fancy Names

Last night I was wined (considerably) and dined (deliciously) at one of the swankiest dining establishments in Xiamen by the principal of Xiamen Public Schools #6. It was my first experience with the extravagant intersection of Chinese hospitality and protocol. The event was attended by the previously mentioned principal (sorry, passive voice you students of mine...see it sometimes works), one of the vice-principals, several English teachers, and my host family. After being ushered into a private room upstairs in the restraunt, I was seated right next to the principal, while my host father occupied the principal's other side. I was served personally by the principal (he put the food on my plate, poured me wine...again and again, and pampered my every need). Now given my language skills, I missed most of the conversation, but it basically centered around what appeared to be an endless series of toasts and counter-toasts. The presence of a Chinese coporate CEO in the person of my host father, introduced what is, apparently, a important element in parts of the Chinese corporate world...the significant consumption of alcohol. Many of you now that I am not a drinker; I don't enjoy alcohol that much, and I am certainly not a regular consumer, but the ability to drink and hold your drink well plays a part in the protocol (or so my teacher translators told me), so I felt compelled to prove my capabilities. Another very interesting niche of Chinese culture. The protocol hospitality that I enjoyed is certainly fascinating and quite different from American hospitality. While in America we would also certainly direct a high degree of hospitality towards the guest, the lavish attention to detail, from the seating arrangement to the food sequence, is quite different...and, I must say, quite enjoyable. I probably worked my way into a pickle by displaying some level of wine fortitude during the dinner. My host father (the concrete company CEO) now believes that I am some kind of American drinking god and has promised to take me out some evening in the not too distant future. Now his mastery of English is the inverse of his ability to consume alcohol--which is considerable (as the night wore on, it seemed that he came to the conclusion that my inability to understand Chinese could be overcome with an increase in the volume of his voice). So I now expect to find myself sometime in the next few days in some swanky Chinese nighclub attempting to knock back an endless series of drinks while a wildly gesticulating CEO attempts to beat the Chinese language into a my head with the simple force of volume. I'll let you know if that pans out.

Students Playing Soccer...Still Wearing Their School Uniforms

Tomorrow I will teach my last class to the English teachers at Public School #6. I spent the day today attempting to explain our troubled system of public education and the various attempts at reform. As I may have mentioned in a previous entry (sorry, my mind is still a tad fuzzy), the Chinese are moving in the opposite direction as America. Their students are inundated with standardized tests; therefore, their entire curriculum is driven by getting their students to pass the these tests. Thus, for example, spoken English plays only a small role in their English classes since there is no oral component to the state-mandated tests. Several teachers have mentioned to me that they wish that there were more room in the curriculum to teach creative and critical thinking skills. They say that the government is now pushing that creativity and innovation play a more significant role in the general curriculum, but, since there is still so much pressure for the students to score well on the tests and since there is no test for creativity and innovation, such instruction does not happen. I say that the US and China are going in opposite directions because it is generally held that the US system does a decent job of teaching creativity and personal expression, sometimes to the detriment of basic skills and knowledge. Our public school system seems to be heading towards increasing our standardized testing to improve these basic skills. The Chinese system, by all reports here, does a great job of teaching basic skills and filling the kids up with general knowledge, but the Chinese public school system is trying to figure out how to introduce creativity into the curriculum because they see such skills as essential if they are to become, not just a growing industrial power, but a locus of new ideas and innovation.

Construction Everywhere! My Home Away from Home is the Large Building in the Background

One last thing--my last entry led to a few emails from some Jesuit students saying that they also experience a tremendous amount of family pressure to do well academically. This was in response to the listing of my Chinese colleague's description of the value of education in their society and the resulting pressure on students to succeed. I wholeheartedly agree that similar pressure exists at Jesuit. The pressure that these students feel corresponds very closely to what I see at Jesuit; the similarity is quite apparent. However, the idea that a student's educational success is a measure and reflection of the family appears to be more universal here than it is in the United States. Not that such sentiments don't exist in the U.S., but they are perhaps more deeply ingrained in the wider culture here. I am not an expert on Chinese and American culture, so I could be wrong. So please Jesuit students, I hear your stress. In fact, contrary to what I initially thought when I arrived here, I think Jesuit students spend just as much time, if not more, on their studies than their Chinese counterparts. It is true that the students at #6 start their day around 7AM and don't end class until around 6PM, but they have a two-and-a-half to three hour break in the middle of the day for lunch and rest. My fellow English teachers thought that our students had it easy when I first showed them our school schedule, but after I described the average day of a Jesuit student with school, co-curricular activities, and homework, some of them thought WE were crazy.

Until later.

written by

mflamoe on July 8, 2009 from Xiamen, China

from the travel blog: Xiamen

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Mark,

What a fascinating entry on culture and education, both in China and the US (and more specifically, at #6 and JHS).

The similarities and disparities bear more reflection--and reflect more of that element of paradox that you noticed upon first arrival in Xiamen. I know some Jesuit students who feel intense pressure to perform academically. I also know a few who could benefit from a bit more internal motivation to do the job (I think you know them too!).

There exist some intriguing metaphorical possibilities in the concrete CEO's pouring and pounding... I suggest you play with that a little more, once your head clears.

xie xie,

Paul

written by Paul Hogan on July 8, 2009

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