My Brief Experience in a Beijing Bilingual School

The prohibitive cost of having a child educated in one of the accredited "top" International Schools in Beijing has created a new layer of less expensive "Bilingual" schools. These also call themselves "International" because labels are free. Any school in Beijing can call itself anything.

Luckily, I have been able to work in three levels of schools in China. First at an accredited International "IB" School in Suzhou, then in a small private English school in Haidian District of Beijing, and, most recently, one of the Bilingual "International" Schools on the East side of Beijing.

In the Bilingual School I was only a temporary replacement for the final three months of the year. Within two weeks I was receiving very positive feedback from very happy kids and from formerly very disgruntled parents. But that is another story. Beyond seeing that my students received the best of what I had to offer, I considered myself simply an observer.

To the experienced eye, a number of problems immediately surfaced. Like the smaller school in Haidian, there were no "Policies and Procedures" in place. If you had a problem, you took it to the Owner because the two Principals were basically powerless and often had diametrically opposite views. Rumour had it that the Second had been hired because he had the ability to appease parents, while the first had the attitude "If you don't like us, go elsewhere." Neither had the talent of knowing when or how to intervene to resolve conflicts. They may have seen intervention as futile in any case, given that many took their grievances directly to the Owner. Both Principals had an aura of total defeat.

Teachers had organized themselves into various camps and thought nothing of telling tales about their colleagues to the Owner. The Owner, of course, could hire and fire at will, and did so right up to the very last day of school (when the best jobs in other schools had already been allocated). Pity the teacher scrambling to find a position at the last minute.

Teachers gravitated toward colleagues who had teaching philosophies similar to their own. The more draconian types became less of a team and more of a gang. These were the ones who seemed to be best understood by the Owner, perhaps because she could better relate to their leadership style. Some others had worked in accredited International Schools and were simply trying to figure out what the heck was going on here, having been fooled by the school's name. Staff members appeared to be divided according to which Principal they liked, what program they thought best, and of course, who had the ear of the Owner. There were also a few - usually those with true international experience - who simply carried on with their work and tried their utmost not to get involved; they had long ago determined to leave at the end of the year.

All schools hire teachers with various teaching styles. Where there is sound leadership, these differences can complement each other. There is nothing wrong with students experiencing various approaches to teaching as long as a sound curriculum is in place. In North America, Principals are trained as facilitators, not "bosses"; their role is to harmonize what goes on in the school for the benefit of the children. When an Owner allows a specific lobby group to work behind the backs of the Principals, she undermines the smooth functioning of her school.

In this particular case, the situation deteriorated as the year drew to an end. No one was told whether one of the two Prinicpals would be staying on. There were rumours and counter-rumours. The Principal who had been instrumental in establishing the school, had already resigned, forced out by some questionable decision-making at The Top.

During the final month it was finally officially announced that the school would be moving toward accreditation by the IBO and that the staff member who had had some experience in this area would spearhead the move. Unfortunately, this person was already a member of staff with allegiance to a specific lobby group. The news created dismay among many of those who were staying. The vast majority of teachers - more than half of the school's professionals - had caught wind of rumours and had already accepted positions elsewhere. Some, tragically, felt they had to leave because they had been in a camp that opposed the camp of the new self-anointed IB "specialist".

Had the school brought in expertise from the outside to introduce the IB program, they may have stemmed the departure of many highly capable and experienced staff members. My distinct impression was that the most experienced teachers left, and the younger, generally more aggressive, remained. More than one colleague was of the opinion that they needed to escape this "snake-pit'.

What impressed me most about teachers at this school was that, regardless of their squabbles and differences, they did not allow the acrimony to spill into their classrooms. They remained professional. Oh, there were a few who openly played favorites among their students and refused to share material with colleagues, but, generally speaking, the job got done and done well.

But there was lack of continuity in the core curriculum. This school was expanding and recognized that it needed to veer away from teachers being allowed to do whatever they liked in their classrooms. This may have contributed to the pattern of losing students after a year or two. The shift to other schools may also have been precipitated by parents becoming aware of the friction between staff members and, perhaps, to some following behind the departing Principal.

There seems to be a disconnect in China. Owners tend to cling to absolute power, while parents struggle to claim their purchased rights to an appropriate education. Owners have yet to understand that creating a positive school environment for their staff translates to a more productive school and much happier parents. Draconian control only exacerbates problems.

If schools were to provided a clear, sequential, and coherent map of what was to be covered each year along with a statement of philosophy, plus some kind of assurance that all staff members, regardless of teaching style, would adhere to the curriculum and core materials provided, the decision for parents would be so much easier. It would also be much easier for new teachers who are trying to decide where to apply. Striving for accreditation may not be fiscally possible, but providing parents with a cohesive, clear curriculum is always possible.

Owners need to recognize when to let go of the reins and allocate the job to someone who understands the role of administration in a complex school environment. I have worked for any number of Principals in many places and would venture that even the weakest, if given power to operate without interference from an Owner and his/her "favourites", would be capable of doing a much better job than what I saw happening in this particular bilingual school.

One reassurance for parents is that the majority of teachers do their absolute best. Young Chinese children are polite, highly motivated, and so much easier to teach than those here in North America where even a very young children can argue with the teacher. Here there is a lack of "responsibilty" to accompany all the "rights". Tutorial services are a growth industry while our Ministries toy with providing concept-based education. Still, here too, teachers have to bow to the will of their employer, but policies and procedures, like the curriculum, are clearly defined, and teachers know exactly what is expected. Unions exist to protect the individual from being dismissed unfairly or harassed by colleagues.

Of the many teachers I met in China, those who worked in the small private English school were the least aware of "Best Practices" in education, or of any recent educational research. Often they expressed their reluctance to consider ideas other than their own. The best-informed teachers were, of course, in the accredited "real" International school. They were open to professional discussion and shared expertise willingly. A truly collegial environment. At the new "Bilingual School" level, I found a jumble of philosophies, curricula, and materials. An environment in which too much energy was wasted on conflicts and those with the most draconian leadership styles were encouraged to take the lead.

One can only hope things will improve for Beijing parents. At the moment, securing continued appropriate education for a child seems to be a full-time occupation. The demand for English education still outweighs the number of school places available. Anyone can set up a school and run it any way they like. Some kind of regulation might help - as long as the passing of envelopes were not permitted to over-ride professionalism. I dream on...

I do miss the classroom environment and the eager eyes of children!