Wednesday October 26th
I Woke up to a lot of rain today but with a temperature of 21 degrees!
I was collected from the hotel and went straight to the maths lesson which was already in progress and the students had already been in school for 1 1/2 hours having started at 7:30am. The lesson was quite fast paced from what I could understand of the maths and they were working on algebra. The students were 16 and first year maths students. They will contue until they are 18 this equivalent to GCSE-A Level.
The interesting observation was that all students were expected to keep the pace and they all replied answers together in unison.
They all listened to the teacher who spoke with the assistance of a microphone and replied when needed but all took this very seriously.
The teaching and learning methodology has some similarities to the uk system but there are some big differences too.
The students at Suzhou no.1 middle school, like most high schools in china, have 9 lessons a day and last for 45 min. There are normally 40 students in each class and the students so. Or move from class to class unless they have music, art or PE rather the teacher comes to them.
They start school at 730 and finish at 530pm. This is a very long day and different to LSA and most UK schools. In their final year they go home at 6:00! Over the course of a week students have 7 lessons of maths with 70-80% going on to university while the rest will go to vocational colleges. They also have, 9 lessons a week of science (chemistry biology and physics) in their first year at the school, when they are 14-15 years old, all 1st year students talked all sciences in the 2nd year they take exams to major in two of sciences such as physics and chemistry or even geography or history.
English, maths and Chinese are compulsory subjects ante are take to the end with 6 lessons a week of each with one of these six lesson likely being a test. They will be given homework from each subject every day.
English students working on letters and school information for LSA students.
Biology lesson.
The library
Echo my students Gide on day 2 in school. The students were taking up placements at the school during thier university studies.
Teaching Chinese to foreigners :
Morning for american foreigners morning is,Listening reading writing and speaking and afternoon
Cultural including martial arts and theatre trips
Placement tests are given to see what they already know
Some facts and figures about the school:
225 teachers 1300 students.
Afternoon visit to the Suzhou museum where there were many articles from ancient times such as the quing dynasty
Following that we visited a calligraphy whole where they had magnificent brushes and and paper for writing Chinese letters.
Teachers teach only10-12 lessons a week!
Planning and tutor time for the rest of the work day but also individual time as well
7:30-500 administration
7:20-5:30 usual hours for students especially in thier final two years.
Govt covers cost to junior school students, parents cover the cost of senior which is about 100£ a semester or term.
Assessments take place at the end of each term.
Who creates the assessment ? The head of each subject and students must score 60% to pass and the province has pass mark for science such as physics and chemistry geography.
They are not allowed to take the final entrance examination- if they do not pass the March exams which are provincial exams.
What is your pass rate ? 100% here this is a select school
National exam for entrance exam at this school.
The school does have some SEN and students from disadvantaged backgrounds
School grounds
Afternoon visit to the Suzhou museum where there were many articles from ancient times such as the quing dynasty
Following that we visited a calligraphy whole where they had magnificent brushes and and paper for writing Chinese letters.
The silk factory from the leaves, worms weaving and final products.
Dinner at the teacher training centre.
Finally we visited the silk factory! This was a once in a lifetime experience where we saw the making of silk from the worm to the final product !
We had dinner at the Teacher training and development centre. Not only was the food outstanding but the facility showed that the profession is very respected and an important industry in china. The profession is inviting and the centre makes you want to thrive and be your very best with the amazing facility thief have to offer. From seating and reading areas to a state of the art lecture theatre and library the centre is designed to give the best possible training for teachers and for the teachers to feel proud and respected in their profession.
This is where the pedagogy in education takes a drivers seat in career opportunities
The meal was equally outstanding with a large variety of delicious Chinese dishes.
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to visit this wonderful country and cannot say enough how wonderful it am has been.
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