American schools through alien eyes

With the language barrier between Wang Yuqi and his counterparts in the Laconia High School administration, it was sometimes difficult to tell how significant the exchange program experience would be. Wang, a high school headmaster in Tianjin, a city of 11 million, spent a week this fall touring Laconia's schools and learning about how they function. In the spring, Laconia High School Assistant Principal Art Abelmann will fly to China for a reciprocal visit.

Wang and the other Chinese administrators, upon returning home, compiled a list of bullet points of their impressions, and that list was shared with Laconia administrators. Abelmann and Superintendent Bob Champlin were taken by the thoughtfulness of the list — although the conversation was awkward due to language difficulties, it is clear that the foreign visitors understood quite a bit about education in American public schools. Their observations offer an image of a familiar system viewed through alien eyes.

In the list they shared with the school district — which administrators shared with The Daily Sun — the Chinese visitors noted the "beautiful environment" and "warm, considerate and helpful" people. They noted the "love and care for students with disabilities." They also noted "rich natural resources" and "much less pollution." However, that last thought was followed by a comment that energy was often used wastefully.

The Chinese administrators were impressed by the work ethic of American professionals. They said "the workload of American teachers is quite large, and they are very hardworking and committed." American principals are "much busier" than Chinese principals, they added. They also said, "American teachers and principals get to school so early! The love, the dedication toward their work are so impressive — actually they stay at school for long hours every day." They also noted the freedom with which teachers could deliver their lessons and test their students' skill.

American students were another point of interest for the visitors. "At school settings, there is freedom and democracy for students... They are casual a lot of times, but they are quite serious when needed." They described the teacher-student relationship as "very friendly," and said students are "free and brave to express [themselves]."

Some observations of American culture and customs were noted. "Taking an oath to the national flag at 10 a.m. every day at school, a good and concrete way of teaching of patriotism." Also, "Church is a big part of American family life, and it plays an important role in the building of a civilized, peaceful society... Americans preserve and value their history, and there is a chance to learn about it almost everywhere."

Abelmann said "I think it's a neat collection of thoughts." As a former math teacher, he especially liked the comment, "The math level of students is actually not low!" Abelmann said, "We got a good chuckle out of that one."

From April 8 through 23, Abelmann will be in China, where he'll be the alien. "I'm excited," he said, although he added, "I don't like being away that long."