Shandong Training Groups Coming

This is an alert that the two Shandong training groups scheduled for this fall have now received permission to come to Connecticut. After the Sichuan earthquake all government funded training groups going abroad were put on hold. Just hours before the closing cermonies of the Olympics it was announced that groups could continue with their plans. From information I have received, the Connecticut Shandong School Partnership Program will be the only Shandong education group K-12 with permission to go abroad.

Since the internal process has just begun, I anticipate that the groups will probably arrive in the United States in mid to late November. They will need to be back in China before December 25. We will work around Thanksgiving to make sure the homestays do not conflict during that time. It takes a minimum of two months to just process the internal paper work before being able to obtain interviews for obtaining visas. Over the next week I will be discussing possible dates with the Shandong Provincial Department of Education for both groups. Each group will have approximately 20 participants. Hosting and homestays will be required for all of the participants.

Sichuan Earthquake: Donation Suggestions

I know that many of you have been following closely the devastating earthquake in China. We have heard and seen the stories of schools collapsing and loss of life. Even though Sichuan Province is a distance from Shandong where we all have our sister schools, we still feel connected to Chinese culture and students no matter where they are in China.

In April 2006 Peng Zhen and I travelled the route northwest of Chengdu. We also observed a lake that had been formed by an earthquake in 1933. The quake dammed a river and created a lake. An entire village is buried beneath the lake. There was only one survivor from the village. I clearly recall the awareness that we were in a dangerous earthquake zone. The geological explanation for the area was totally exposed to even a casual observer.

We had dinner and stayed overnight in two of the towns that are at the epicenter of the current earthquake. We are not sure but we don't believe there is much left of the two towns.

After staying overnight we got up early to travel further. At one point we saw children walking along the road in large numbers. After a mile or so I saw a brand new school. We remembered the message in the presentation at the Ministry of Education in Beijing -- the effort to provide more resources to rural areas. We both remarked how we were seeing evidence of that policy. Knowing the location of the school, I doubt if it is still standing. The area abuts the Tibetan Plateau where Tibetan and Qiang minorities live. I am sure these more remote areas have been hit hard by the earthquake where there are narrow valleys and high mountains.

I have received many requests wondering how one could make donations. Below is a list you can choose from:

1. New York Chinese Consulate for Sichuan Earthquake Relief (English)
http://www.nyconsulate.prchina.org/eng/

2. MercyCorp (English)
http://www.mercycorps.org/chinaearthquake/

3. WorldVision (English and Chinese)
http://www.worldvision.org.hk/eng/appeal/Sichuan/emer_frame_e.html

4. Red Cross China (Chinese Webpage)
http://www.crcf.org.cn/gb/jianjie/jkindex.asp

5. Red Cross Hong Kong for Sichuan Earthquake Relief (English and Chinese):
http://www.redcross.org.hk/donation/user_donation.asp

6. AmeriCares (English)

http://www.americares.org/

National Chinese Language Conference

Register by March 26 and Save!

Asia Society and the College Board are co-organizing a National Chinese Language Conference – the first, large-scale meeting of U.S. education leaders to promote Chinese language education and global competence among U.S. students. We are expecting an audience of 500 educators, including: school board members, superintendents, principals, teachers, higher education faculty members and administrators, as well as senior representatives of key federal agencies and national associations. The conference will take place April 17-19, 2008, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.

The Opening Ceremony on the evening of April 17 will feature Congressman Rush Holt and Madam Xu Lin, Director General of the Office of Chinese Language International.

Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong will deliver his speech on the evening of Friday April 18, accompanied by a keynote by Gordon Gee, President of Ohio State University.

Other confirmed speakers in plenary sessions so far include Harry Harding, former Dean of Elliott School at GWU; representatives from the National Security Language Initiative; and several state commissioners of education.

To view more detailed Conference program, please visit http://www.askasia.org/chinese/announcements/nclc_program.htm.

For more information about the Conference, please contact Jeff Wang at Asia Society, 212-327-9333 or jeffw@asiasoc.org.

2008 Chinese New Year Celebration

An invitation from the Chinese Culture Center of Greater Hartford has been extended to all participants (previous and present) in Connecticut-China-Shandong programs to join the Chinese community in celebrating 2008 Lunar New Year (Year of the Rat). The celebration will be held at Central Connecticut State University, Herbert D. Welte Hall Auditorium on Sunday, February 3, 2008 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. Performances beginning at 2:30 PM will feature the following:

Chinese Music Ensemble
Martial Arts
Children's Dance
Soprano Solo
Ethnic Dance
Violin Solo
Kanghua Singing
Acrobatics

The event is sponsored by the Chinese Culture Center of Greater Hartford and is free and open to the public. Your family and friends are welcome too. For directions to Herbert D. Welte Hall at CCSU go to: http://www.ccsu.edu/campus_map/default.htm and
http://www.ccsu.edu/Viewbook/find_us.htm

Introduction to Peking Opera

Jamie H.J. Guan offers a variety of programs to introduce Peking Opera to schools and community audiences. Mr. Guan performed with Peking Opera Troupe No.1 for 15 years. He made his Broadway debut as an actor and choreographer in the tony-award winning M. Butterfly and on its national international tours. Mr. Guan is known to education audiences for his presentation on Monkey King and Dragon King. For information on obtaining Mr. Guan for a school assembly or education event, he can be reached by E-mail at: jamiehjguan@hotmail.com or on the web at: http://www.jamiehjguan.com/.

Urgent Help

Beginning on October 26 we will need homestays for approximately 20 Shandong teachers. Many come from existing partner schools and some do not. The homestay experience will last for 12 days. The teachers are looking at American teaching methods and learning about American culture and schools. You students and community will benefit from exposure to some outstanding teachers. The teachers coming are the top teachers amongst 70,000 Shandong teachers. Some will speak English and some will not. We can cluster some teachers together in a community and try to group with one English speaker to facilitate communication. We have a large number of primary school teachers this time so we are looking for more elementary schools than usual.

Last year I sat in on the briefing sessions for both groups of Shandong teachers. I can't describe the level of positive experience these teachers experience. It was a combination of a new world being opened to them with great wonder and a lot of positive emotion about their feelings about Americans. They fell in love with us! I know the committed read this blog so if you can help, please send me an email and I will contact you with additional details. Please email to: dwgregg@gmail.com

Dan

Conference Board Features China's Education System

Education Minister Counselor You Shaozhong, People's Republic of China Embassy to the United States will speak at a session sponsored by The Conference Board in Washington, DC, Wednesday, October 3, 2007. Minister Counselor You Shaozhong is the former Secretary General for the China Education Association for International Exchange, Ministry of Education. The session will be moderated by Daniel W. Gregg. Please see description below:

Exploring the Evolving Educational System in China
General Session G: 8:30 - 9:45 am

The global marketplace is waiting and watching to see what China does on every front – and education is no exception. China is a country with 367 million school-age children. It is using a centralized education system to create the human capital that will promote economic growth and continued integration of the urban and rural populations. Because the country is going through such rapid socioeconomic development, it is constantly re-evaluating its curriculum, measurement systems, teaching methods and priorities, while making huge investments in infrastructure and technology. Learn what China is doing in terms of planning for all levels of education, what it values and what it admires in other systems.

Moderator
Daniel W. Gregg
Director Connecticut Shandong School Partnerships

Dr. You Shaozhong
Minister Counselor
Chinese Embassy to the United States

Corporations are dependent upon the success of the educational system in the countries in which they do business to – among other things – produce a qualified workforce, and a well-prepared and engaged citizenry. Many US-based companies are investing resources – both dollars and time – to make improvements in the educational system in the United States, and others are also recognizing the importance of taking an active role in the workforce preparedness of the global population. The Conference Board is designing this high-level conference to inform both strategies. Equal emphasis will be placed on US-focused programs and those operating globally. The program will give you insight into the following:

· Measurement as a critical factor in developing any program
· Leadership development as a critical tool in educational improvement
· Using educational programs as key to workforce development
· Gaining multiple benefits of corporate social investing through the use of volunteers
· Creating unique grant-awarding methodologies as a way to enhance the funded program
· Global awareness as an integral part of any educational system, and
· Early education as a gateway to future educational success.

China Initiatives Discussed with CEAIE

George A. Coleman, Deputy Commissioner of Education, Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and Daniel W. Gregg, Social Studies Consultant and Director, Connecticut Shandong School Partnerships met with the Honorable Liu Bin, President of the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) and Education and Culture Committee Chair, National People's Congress, People's Republic of China and Lin Zouping, Deputy Secretary General, CEAIE, Ministry of Education on July 2, 2007. The two-hour luncheon agenda included a summary discussion of the exchange between Connecticut and China and a proposal to work together on an international school concept of mutual benefit to Chinese and Connecticut students.

Shanghai Education Forum

George Coleman, Deputy Commissioner of Education, Connecticut State Department of Education, spoke at the Shanghai Education Forum on June 28, 2007. The forum included international speakers from the United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, and the United States. Urban education was the focus for the conference and each speaker reflected on the challenges facing each country.