A recent visit to China dispelled some of Oxford Superintendent Dr. Bill Skilling’s misconceptions about the eastern titan and re-enforced his belief about what American students need to learn to compete on the world stage.
‘If you’re going to compete successfully in this global economy, you’re going to have to know at least two languages, if not a third,? he said. ‘And it’s very important to understand the culture of the country with which you want to do business.?
Skilling visited China Oct. 23-Nov. 2 with representatives from Michigan State University and Oakland’s intermediate school district and county government.
The trip was part of an on-going effort between China’s Ministry of Education and the U.S. Department of Education to foster more cooperation and the exchange of ideas.
Skilling and the delegation met with educational leaders and school officials while visiting classrooms in K-12 schools and universities in Beijing, Chongqing and Shanghai.
‘They were showing us their best schools,? he said. ‘Those are kids that show up at the Harvards, the Princetons, the Yales, the Oxfords (England), etc.?
While there, Skilling discovered the reason Chinese student excel academically over their U.S. counterparts is because ‘they have a much stronger will to succeed than we do in America.?
Contrary to popular belief, Chinese students don’t spend more time in the classroom. Students are in school from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, but they take a 2?-break in the middle of the day and their classes usually last about 40-45 minutes each.
It’s the time they spend outside the classroom that makes the real difference in their learning.
‘These students will be studying independently or with a tutor that the parents hire for another four to six hours daily (plus weekends),? Skilling said. ‘We don’t collectively in America have students who are that motivated.?
‘I would love to transfer the motivation and will of those students into our American students. We don’t have enough students in this country that have the desire and the hunger to learn as they do.?
Chinese parents are also much more involved and committed to their children’s education. Because each couple is only allowed to have one child, they focus most of their money and resources on his or her education.
‘The typical family living in the city areas will spend 50 to 70 percent of their total income towards the education of that one child,? Skilling said. ‘Those parents understand the only way child going to succeed and have the chance is having good education.?
But the good news for America is the urban Chinese students we see here attending our universities and visiting through exchange programs are by no means the norm.
The vast majority of Chinese students are still educated in the rural areas.
‘The type of education those kids get versus the kids in the cities is quite different,? Skilling said. ‘In fact in many cases, probably most cases, the kids in the village will have somebody teaching who’s never attended college. It’s like going back in time 100-plus years.?
It’s true that the 25 percent highest-performing Chinese students far exceed the entire U.S. student population. But it’s also true that China’s bottom 25 percent also far exceeds the American student population.
‘There are millions of Chinese kids who don’t get an education, period,? Skilling said. ‘They have some serious issues to deal with.?
Besides assessing and observing educational practices in China, Skilling went on this trip to ‘make connections? in order to get Chinese teachers for the Oxford school district.
‘I don’t want to hire American teachers to teach Chinese. I want to hire Chinese teachers to teach Chinese,? he said. ‘They bring an authentic perspective to the language and the culture in China versus somebody that’s read about it.?
Currently, Oxford is the only school district in Oakland County to offer Chinese language and culture classes at the elementary, middle school and high school levels.
‘We’re trying to create a more global education for our kids because we know that is the future,? Skilling said. ‘For our kids to be successful, they need to have a global perspective.?
‘We tend to have a mind-set that when we go to another country, we compare things against how we operate in our country and then make a judgement based upon whether they’re doing things correctly or incorrectly. That’s not a mind-set we can take on.?
As a district, Oxford is beginning the process of becoming a Model Confucius School for the teaching of Chinese language and culture.
Under the program, the district would have guest teachers from China each year, trained by the Oakland Intermediate School District to teach at all three levels.
The district would receive curriculum, technology, software and professional development for the guest teachers and staff at no cost.
Starting next year, the district will be adding more Chinese language to the elementary level and eighth-graders will have the option of taking Chinese I.
Beginning next fall, Oxford is looking at the possibility of piloting an ‘immersion program? in which participating students would take half the day’s classes in English and the other half in Chinese.
The immersion program would begin at the kindergarten level, so parents would have to sign up their students. If it happens, the pilot program would take place with a kindergarten class at Leonard Elementary, according to Skilling.
For anyone who wonders why it’s so important for American students to learn Chinese, Skilling noted that Mandarin (the official language of China) is the most spoken language in the world and China has the largest English-speaking population on earth.
Eventually, Skilling would like to see an English-Spanish immersion program in Oxford as well. ‘I want to offer more than just Chinese as an option,? he said.
Not only will making Oxford students multilingual help them compete in the global marketplace, it will also help the district achieve its goal of creating an international baccalaureate high school.
One day, the high school will have courses which are recognized and certified internationally.
‘It’s a high rigor,? Skilling said. ‘It’s equivalent to taking AP classes, so it’s not for every student.?
A requirement of being an international baccalaureate high school is the participating students must be exposed to at least three languages, meaning English plus two others.
Based on what Skilling learned during his visit to China, it’s going to be absolutely critical that American students have an international education in order to compete with the eastern economic powerhouse as well as other emerging nations.
‘The Chinese have a vision for the future and they have a very strong will to achieve that vision,? Skilling said.
According to the superintendent, China is building more skyscrapers per square mile in its cities than in the entire U.S. ‘They’re building skyscrapers right now that aren’t even going to be filled for years to come,? he said. ‘Where is that happening in America? Nowhere.?
The Chinese are ‘putting a lot of money into their infrastructure? and as a result, Shanghai is one of the most modern cities in the world.
‘More modern than any city we have,? he said.
Skilling said everyone reads and hears about Chinese passing America as the number one economic world power, but ‘to go there and see it, it’s overwhelming.?
Because China has its own internal banking system, not tied to the world bank, ‘this whole world economy crisis is hardly a blip on their radar,? he said.
‘When these stock markets fluctuate worldwide, it has very little impact on them,? according to Skilling. ‘That’s something I didn’t understand until I visited there.?
That’s why it’s important for America to act now by giving its students a global education and fundamentally changing our culture to be more competitive.
‘We have no vision,? Skilling said. ‘We haven’t had a vision in this country since Ronald Reagan was president. We don’t have a strong will to compete. Americans are into instant gratification.?
America’s affluence has bred within its students ‘a sense of laziness, where everything’s given to them,? according to Skilling. ‘They haven’t developed a work ethic.?
One of the ways to change that is to shift the focus in education from grades to what students are actually learning both in and out of the classroom.
Ultimately, Skilling said that’s what’s going to happen here in Oxford. ‘We’re not trying to emulate the Chinese way of doing things. That’s not why we’re doing this,? he said. ‘We’re doing it so our kids are better prepared to compete with the Chinese or with any other country.?