New Rules to (Hopefully) Make the Subway More Civilized

A trip on the Beijing subway can be… interesting at times. However new regulations promise to make it a slightly more pleasant experience in the summer heat. Eating, lying down, and playing loud music without headphones have all, thankfully, been outlawed. Selling or marketing on the subway has also been forbidden, which should put a stop to all those people asking you to scan their QR codes. Offenders will lose social credit, and eventually this can lead to them being banned from using the network, unless they recover their status by volunteering for the subway. We applaud any move to make traveling around Beijing more civilized; it just remains to be seen whether the new rules are actually enforced…

New Toy Store Puts Magic Back in Shopping

Parents across Beijing will be getting ready for an assault on their wallets, now that iconic toy store FAO Schwarz has now opened its doors at the China World Center Mall in Guomao. The new store, even larger than the original in New York, aims to bring the magic back to toy shopping. “FAO Schwarz is focused on creating a theatrical experience, where there will be many demonstrators to interact with children and parents in store,” the company’s Chinese partner said. With 2,600 sqm of teddy bears, robots, dolls, cars, and Lego, there’s something for everyone… and for the child who truly has everything, there’s a USD 25,000 crystal-studded miniature Mercedes Benz.

A Season of Change… and a New Career for You?

Summer is always a season of change in Beijing, as it’s the time when many families leave and arrive. If you’re heading off to new adventures, then we wish you the very best of luck, and hope your time in this city has been a productive and fulfilling one. If you’ve just arrived – welcome! Whether you’re here for the long haul, or just for a couple of years, you’ll find this an exciting, unique, and sometimes challenging place to live. But we at beijingkids are always here to help, whether it’s finding the new fun places to play, or guiding you through the difficult days. You can find us at events or contact us on WeChat, and we’re always delighted to answer your questions or share your stories. With the brilliantly talented Niicole Bonnah stepping up to take over as Deputy Managing Editor, we need new writers too, so if you’ve got a flair for writing and a zest for Beijing, get in touch – you could become part of the team!

This article appeared in the beijingkids June 2019 Home & Relocation Guide issue.

Photos: Fang Yifei, Uni You, the Beijinger

Music teachers have long argued for the wider educational benefits of learning a musical instrument. Now a major study conducted by a US university has found serious evidence to back them up.

The five-year study, begun in 2012 by the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California (USC), working with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, studied three groups of children from underprivileged LA schools. One group received music tuition, another had soccer coaching, and the third got no extra support. The results, published in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, show that the music students had more developed auditory systems than the control groups. The same neural pathways are associated with speech and language development and learning to read.

The findings are particularly significant because a recent meta-analysis cast doubt on previous research, suggesting that their methodology was flawed. However, the USC study appears rigorous enough to confirm the earlier findings.

One local educator who has never doubted the value of learning an instrument is Anne Dwyer (pictured above), Primary Music Teacher at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing). I met with Dwyer to talk to her about YCIS Beijing’s music program, and what her students gain from it.

“The YCIS violin program operates from Years 1 to 3 [K2 to Grade 2],” she told me. “All students attend violin lessons twice a week. The classroom program occurs alongside it, and I work with the strings teachers to ensure that we’re adopting a common approach.”

The choice of the violin is not arbitrary, Dwyer said.

“One of the reasons I’m a real fan is that it develops a sense of pitch which you just can’t develop in the same way learning on a keyboard. Learning a string instrument is a good foundation for studying any future instrument.”

And the fact that the program runs for three years is also important.

“It’s about working as an ensemble, playing together as a group. Through repetition, the students develop skills and move beyond the awkwardness that’s associated with the early stages of playing an instrument. A three-year program allows for that to occur.”

Dwyer sees the benefits of studying music carrying across into other subjects.

“Students learn to look for patterns. Through contrast and repetition, they start to see structure in a different way. It’s not uncommon for people who are good at math to be good at music too; both are about structure, organization, patterns.”

The classroom program is carefully planned to complement the rest of the curriculum, Dwyer told me.

“What I’m doing is picking up on the topics they’re covering with their homeroom teachers, and teaching core music skills which relate to them. For example, Year 3 have been learning about speed and force, so we’ve been looking at dynamics, tempo, and attack. During Africa Literacy Week, they were allowed to choose any instrument and create a backing track to Hakuna Matata. And Year 1 are writing rap songs about the animals they’ve been studying!”

But the most valuable learning goes deeper, she said.

“What I focus on in the classroom program is trying to develop core skills in playing, listening and appreciating music. It’s about creativity; the violin program is about discipline. Those are the two things essential for success in life. Learning an instrument isn’t something you can do in three weeks. It’s really important that students understand that mastery takes time, but you can have fun on the way, and if you persist, you can do really good things.”

This post is sponsored by YCIS Beijing. 

Photos courtesy of YCIS Beijing & Uni You

Budding actors and young theater lovers from Beijing and beyond will come together to create and perform new dramas next weekend, at the Middle School ISTA Festival.

ISTA is the International Schools Theater Association, a not-for-profit organization promoting drama in international schools, and the event, to be hosted by Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS Beijing), will be attended by students from the International School of Ho Chi Minh City and King George V School, Hong Kong. For Head of Performing Arts Dan Pearton, hosting the event is the latest stage of an ongoing process of raising the profile of theater studies at YCIS Beijing. He sees broader academic benefits from involvement in drama.

“It’s a great way of showing kids that teamwork doesn’t just happen in sporting activities, it can happen in the arts too,” he told us. “They learn about creating as a group, thinking critically about theme, drawing on their own knowledge and on material from teachers and professionals. And if they go on to study IB [International Baccalaureate] Theatre, then it has direct academic application.”

One of the IB Theatre students at YCIS Beijing is 17-year-old Nina Fitzpatrick, who told me about her experience of attending ISTA.

“I first went in 2016,” she said. “It was kind of scary at first. There was a really tall girl, like six feet tall, so I was really intimidated every time I had to work with her! But we were given a task where we had to talk about things we liked, and that helped us get to know each other.

Head of Performing Arts Dan Pearton

“This year it was easier. It’s definitely increased my confidence.”

She told us how her ideas had formed the core of her group’s performance. Each group was given a poem to work with, and hers was Pavel Friedmann’s “The Butterfly”. She described how they integrated techniques from different traditions which they had learned during the Festival’s masterclasses: Chinese stick fighting, Japanese drama and English mumming. They also chose blue lighting and a Jewish folk song for the music, creating a complete theatrical experience.

I asked her what advice she had for the middle school students attending the Festival at YCIS.

“Don’t be afraid of talking to people,” she answered. “It may seem scary at first but it makes the whole experience so much better. I don’t think I retained as much knowledge as I could have from my first year. This year I had a lot more fun, and it’s also given me more to think about. It especially helps in IB Theatre, I can incorporate all these things into my devised piece or director’s notebook.”

The inspiration for the middle school festival comes from YCIS Beijing’s immediate neighborhood, Pearton told me.

“The theme is Community,” he said. “Last year the markets by the school were closed down. They used to be a real hub, and I was thinking about what it means for the community. The area is so different to five years ago, it’s really gentrifying.

“That got me thinking about what China used to be like, even ten or twenty years ago. I talked to the Chinese staff at the school about their experiences growing up. They said that everybody used to know each other. Now it’s very different.”

Participating students will go to Chaoyang Park on their first day, to learn Chinese games. They’ll practise taiji with a master, and learn the art of the diabolo and the jianzi (the shuttlecock-like “hackeysack” which you have to keep in the air with your feet.) They’ll think about parks being a place of community, and explore what community means to them, especially given the impact of technology on their lives.

“Then on Friday,” Pearton told me, “we’ll have a group of local artists, including a Jingju performer, Master Shieh who will teach them kung fu, and a Beijing drum teacher. On the last day, they’ll work with artists to create drama, devising a piece with lots of ensemble work.

“The biggest thing is that drama has got a real buzz at the moment. Four years ago there wasn’t really a drama program at the school. Having kids experience this, they can bring back the skills, and that leads to other experiences.”

Following a recent triumphant performance of Legally Blonde: The Musical, drama is really on the up at YCIS Beijing.

This post is sponsored by YCIS Beijing. 

Photos by YCIS Beijing

[Editor’s Note: To meet schools featured in the School Choice Guide, register for the free Beijing International School Expo, where you can save time, energy, and money in you school comparisons. Scan the QR code below.]

The current Chinese public school system is based on the revisions to national education that followed the introduction of the “Four Modernizations” presented by Zhou Enlai in 1974. These four goals – to develop agriculture, industry, technology, and defense – are considered the pillars of modern education in China.

What is unique about the curriculum?
Critics of the local system often cite its over-reliance on rote memorization and test scores, creating incredible pressure for Chinese youth to succeed. However, in 2010 the government took steps towards education reform by loosening control over the national curriculum. Though most schools have not adopted all of these measures, many families are starting to demand more emphasis on self-directed learning, creativity, whole-child development, and critical thinking skills.

How is it applied?
Divided into a “6-3-3” schedule (six years of primary school and three years each of junior and senior middle school), the Chinese education system relies heavily on public funding. Schools vie for the designation of “key school,” which grants them more government funding. These schools enroll the most academically-gifted students and are considered the most prestigious. At the secondary level, “key schools” are similar to college prep schools in the US. National entrance exams are required for admission into both “senior middle” school (American high school) and university. Schools in Beijing that teach the Chinese National Curriculum through a bilingual model usually assess a child’s Mandarin skills before granting admission.

Why should parents consider it?
The single greatest benefit is complete immersion in Mandarin. All or most subjects are taught in Chinese, leading to literacy and fluency in the world’s most-spoken language. Additional benefits include an environment in which Confucian ideology provides teachers with palpable respect. Not only do they enjoy untaxed salaries and a national holiday (Teacher’s Day), but students are expected to obey their instructions without question, making classrooms much stricter than in Western schools. In general, Chinese students are also better at math than their American counterparts, a difference that has been attributed to everything from teaching methodology to student motivation.

How well does this education system prepare students for the real world?
There are more than 100 million people learning Mandarin all over the world. Establishing fluency early can provide them with an edge in their future careers. The Chinese National Curriculum reinforces a built-in belief that all children can achieve regardless of their background – as long as they put in the effort.

[Editor’s Note: To meet schools featured in the School Choice Guide, register for the free Beijing International School Expo, where you can save time, energy, and money in you school comparisons. Scan the QR code below.]

“Bilingual” isn’t a curriculum in itself, but is an approach used by numerous schools to deliver instruction. Parents should note that for a native pronunciation, learning must take place before age 7. While fluency can be achieved at any age, the feat becomes harder as a child or adult grows older and if motivation wanes at any point.

What’s unique about a bilingual education?
A bilingual education seeks to put two languages in the part of the brain that considers a language as primary. This means the language is used as a skill rather than a subject. A good bilingual program will include both culture and language in multiple subjects, as the two can’t be separated, and using both languages beyond studying grammar and topical vocabulary.

How is it applied?
The split between languages can be 50:50, 30:70, with co-teachers, split-days, or in rare cases, simultaneous teaching. Trilingual education might be available in some programs, such as Eduwings, where German is included. If a parent is committed to providing an academic atmosphere at home with the child’s native and home language, an immersion program can be created by sending an English-speaking child to a Chinese-only program, for example.

How well does this education system prepare students for the real world?
Many mid-manager jobs in international companies across the world require bilingualism as a minimum requirement. Another issue parents’ face is that children might become bilingual, but not bi-literate. At the International Montessori School of Beijing (MSB), “Dual-Language students benefit from full immersion in both English-language and Chinese-language curricula. Students graduate from MSB with a deeper cultural understanding of China as well as fluency and literacy in Mandarin and English.” MSB seeks to equip students “with the skills and attitudes they need to participate effectively in a globalized society.”

Where is it offered?
Many schools claim to be bilingual, when in fact the program offered is actually second language learning. A Chinese kindergarten might claim to be an English bilingual school, but English is taught as a subject or foreign language, with students meeting to speak and learn in English for only a forty minute period, five days a week or less.

Curriculum Spotlight: Adan Rubin, age 9, Grade 5, US, has attended the International Montessori School of Beijing (MSB) Dual Language Programme for 8 years. His father is British, and mother is Korean-American. 

What was the most interesting project you completed this year?
My favorite tasks are my creative writing projects. When I’m writing I enjoy it so much I forget everything else around me. I create adventure stories with my friends in my free time. We pick a topic, such as zombies, and we develop a story about it. I also love to write in Chinese – I keep a journal in Chinese.

What are the challenges?
I write quickly in Chinese, and I put my thoughts down very fast. But the challenge of writing in Chinese is that, because it’s not my native language, I can’t express my full idea right away. It’s still really enjoyable though, because writing in Chinese really motivates me to learn new words. When I use new vocabulary in my writing, I understand the meaning better, and the words stick in my memory so I continue to use them. Repeating them in writing is another way of pushing the new words into my mind.

When I get stuck, I stop and ask a teacher and use a dictionary, though most often I ask my friends. That’s the great thing about having a class with a mix of native English and native Chinese speakers. We always help each other out. I help other people with their English, too.

This article originally appeared on page 10 of the 2017 issue of beijingkids School Choice Guide. Click here for your free online copy. To find out how you can obtain a hard copy, contact distribution@truerun.com.

Photo: Dave’s Studio

[Editor’s Note: To meet schools featured in the School Choice Guide, register for the free Beijing International School Expo, where you can save time, energy, and money in you school comparisons. Scan the QR code below.]

The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is a comprehensive, thematic, creative curriculum for 3-12 year olds, with a clear process of learning and with specific learning goals for every subject, for international mindedness and for personal learning. House of Knowledge told us more about it.

What’s unique about the curriculum?

The IPC:

• has explicit international learning goals and an international section in each unit

• makes international connections and develops international learning throughout every unit

• celebrates similarity as well as difference, helping children develop a sense of their own identity alongside an understanding of the identity of others

• explores every unit from Host and Home country perspectives, developing an understanding of the independence and interdependence of peoples, countries, and cultures

• ensures children develop the skills and mindset to become global citizens who make active, positive contributions to society

How is it applied?
The IPC has over 130 units or learning topics which cut across traditional subject boundaries. Each unit begins with an “Entry Point” designed to engage the students’ interest. This is followed by a “Knowledge Harvest” used by students to gather what they already know and make connections with previous learning. The next stage is “Explaining the Theme” which gives children and parents the “Big Picture.” Children then carry out independent learning under “Research and Recording” before reporting back for the “Exit Point.”

Why should parents consider it?
The IPC has been designed to ensure rigorous learning but also to help teachers make all learning exciting, active, and meaningful for children. Learning with the IPC takes a global approach; helping children to connect their learning to where they are living now as well as looking at the learning from the perspective of other people in other countries.

How well does this education system prepare students for the real world?
The IPC develops all the skills students will need in order to confidently face the world of tomorrow by focusing on a combination of academic, personal and international learning. It allows students to enjoy their learning; develop enquiring minds, develop the personal qualities they need to be good citizens of the world, and develop a sense of their own nationality and culture, at the same time develop a profound respect for the nationalities and cultures of others.

Where is it offered?

BCAIS, House of Knowledge, Keystone

Curriculum Spotlight:  Emerson Zhou, age 7, attends House of Knowledge.