Though I arrived in Quzhou just seven weeks ago，sometimes it seems that I’ve lived here all my life，and the warm reception and acceptance I’ve received from the community at large has been greatly enhanced by the students of Quzhou Middle School＃2.I’ve told them on many occasions how much I admire their self discipline，excellent manners，neat appearance，and respectful attitude toward adults。These behaviors were most evident on the Sunday when the sister city del-egation was here，and we were all so impressed with their superb performance in so many areas of the arts and sciences。
Each week，I look forward to teaching and working with 16 classes of Senior 1 and 2 students on a regular basis，as well as an additional 2 to 4 classes on Fridays，resulting in about 900 to 1100 students weekly。Though we’ve discussed some contrasts in the Chi-nese and American systems of education，the students themselves，are far more alike than they are different。They seem to like the same music，sports，reading materials，and activities in general，and I believe that if they had occasion to get together on a personal basis，they’d all get along quite well。
However，from a foreigner’s viewpoint，some aspects of Chinese education seem quite different from what I’m accustomed to in Red Wing。For instance，the Chinese school day seems more regimented with various morning activities，synchronized exercises，and breakfast beginning with wake-up music at 6：00 A。M。The students all take the same subjects，and the study periods are also regulated with lights out at 9：10 pm。Of course，dormitory living calls for more specific rules，and it is my understanding that about half of the students live on campus。
In your sister city of Red Wing，MN，all the students live at home，so their school day begins with the first class at 8：15 am。and，though they are required to take certain core academic subjects，they have many choices to select from when planning their I。E。P。（in-dividualized education program）。The Program Planner booklet contains various courses in art，music，industrial arts，agri-science，computer technology，and business education，as well as several selections in the areas of math，language arts，and science。Choice is not necessarily better，but it can motivate students as their personal educational goals and needs are nurtured in a more specific manner。The all-important exam at the end of a Chinese student’s middle school years is also“foreign”to me。The test seems to be such a strong determiner of the future for each student，with so much emphasis placed on the results。In Red Wing，anyone can try college courses，even if they weren’t successful as high school students。Of course it is less likely that they will succeed in college if their high school performance was weak，but they have the right to try，and some have a change of attitude and do quite well。
We are currently in the global“age of information”，where com-munication and connections are of utmost importance。We are also experiencing a convergence of telecommunications，with a kind of marriage of television，computers，and the telephone for the better use of all technology。
Most American schools are currently connected to the internet，which offers a wealth of ideas and information in many areas of learning。I hope this valuable tool will be available to Chinese children in the near future，as it will help them to stay abreast with the latest ideas and technology。The internet also encourages the use of English and cre-ates an opportunity for friendships with people of other cities and nations，as well as the sharing of one’s culture。
I’ve always enjoyed a great deal of discussion in my classroom，with an emphasis on thinking skills。The learning of facts is only im-portant when you are able to apply them to real-life situations，and use them in meaningful ways。I feel successful as a teacher when a stu-dent can challenge my viewpoint，or that of the textbook in an intelli-gent manner。I have felt a certain reluctance from the Chinese stu-dents to give opinions，or to be confident enough about their personal beliefs to voice them openly。In an interdependent world that’s getting smaller all the time，the ability to invent new solutions through problem solving techniques is a necessary tool that children should readily be able to use。This can be encouraged even in the early grades through such questioning as：“How would you do this differently？”“suggest some other ways that this could be accomplished。”etc。
Another difference that I noticed almost immediately，was the lack of any handicapped students in the classroom。Inclusion of all students in the regular classroom whenever possible is practiced in the U。S。，and I am accustomed to children with both mental and physical disabilities taking most subjects in the regular classroom。Of course they receive special services either in or out of the classroom as necessary，but the feeling is that everyone benefits as we respect and better understand those who are“differently abled。”This can be expensive for the school district，as additional aids must be hired to assist the disabled，but can we（or should we）only value those who are perfect？
When I compare our educational systems，I fully realize that we are dealing with contrasting variables in population and government，as well as economic and cultural differences。In the U。S，we are con-stantly critiquing our educational system，hoping that we can do a better job，as there’s always room for improvement。I also hope that this viewpoint is not viewed as negative。Criticism，because，as I said earlier，I’m extremely impressed with most of what I see，and am just citing suggestions that might make an excellent Chinese educational system even better！
