Following the 2020 Jingkids International School Expo (JISE) in October last year, which brought together more than 70 schools, daycares, and educational centers, we’d like to acknowledge the people who make those schools and institutions truly great. Many of Beijing’s esteemed international schools submitted their nominations for the Jing Educators Award 2020, celebrating those who dedicate themselves to education, create innovative learning experiences, and maintain outstanding environments for our kids to study in. In this #JingEdAwards series, we’ll share these committed individuals and why they were nominated from now through the end of this year.

The Chinese language is fascinating and complex, and it takes a great teacher to help students truly understand and engage with it. These teachers play a key role in the design, development, and teaching of Chinese curricula.

Name: Susie Zhang 张荔舒
Position: Chinese Teacher
School: ETU Education

Susie Zhang graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She completed the course requirements of the Master of Arts program in Chinese linguistics and language acquisition with distinction. Based on her passion for education, she volunteered to teach in less developed areas during college, and also joined an exchange program at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She became a teacher after she graduated. She has taught IB Chinese and Cambridge English, during which she was awarded “Distinguished Teacher” on several occasions. Susie joined ETU School at its founding in 2016. She has been teaching Chinese and PBL in Grade K and Grade 1 and is currently a homeroom Chinese teacher for Grade 2. She also led routine teaching research in Grade 2 and is a project coordinator for a Chinese research program. Susie cares about each student and sees their potential and strong points. She always provides effective personalized support for the many questions raised by students or parents, helping every child to become a successful learner.

Name: Taurus Wu 武弈诗
Position: Chinese teacher
School: The Nord Anglia School (NAS) Beijing, Fangshan

Taurus graduated from Beijing Language and Culture University majoring in teaching Chinese as a second language. He has 10 years of Mandarin teaching experience. Before joining NAS Beijing Fangshan, he worked in Nord Anglia School-BSB Shunyi as head of the Chinese department. He leads curriculum development and assessments and has organized many successful events.

During the teaching process, he is patient and meticulous, which gives children a great sense of security and creates a good communication channel. Taurus is good at stimulating students’ interest in learning, in line with the belief that “Those who would like to know are not as good as those who know, and those who are happy to learn are not as good as who would like to learn.” He is good at leading the children and is happy to open the door to the world of Chinese language to all children.

Name: Xia Mingzhu 夏明珠
Position: Chinese Director
School: Yuecheng Courtyard Kindergarten

Dr. Xia studied in the United States for several years and holds a master’s degree in educational psychology from Miami University and a PhD in child and family studies from the University of Tennessee. Since returning to China, she has worked in several well-known early childhood organizations as a PYP coordinator, associate director of a research institution, and the director of an experimental kindergarten. She was nominated for this award based on her consultative role in determining the need for innovation and evaluating the impact of new innovations on student learning, as well as her engagement with the school community and other stakeholders in the educational design process.

KEEP READING: Jing Educators Award 2020: High School Principals

Images: courtesy of the schools

A new set of guidelines issued by Chinese authorities has highlighted the tragic and sometimes disturbing lengths parents will go to when seeking justice for their children.

The phenomenon is called 校闹 xiàonào (“school disruption”), and as Sixth Tone reports, is now sufficiently widespread that regulations have been introduced specifically banning certain practices. Parents who blame their child’s death on their school have protested by blocking gates, hanging banners and photographs, setting off fireworks and playing music, and, in some extreme cases, bringing their child’s body to the school.

The deaths are a mix of accidents during sporting or extracurricular activities, and suicides blamed on bullying or academic pressure. It is impossible for those of us who are parents to imagine the grief of losing a child, or what we might do in response to such a situation. However, it is hard to justify the disruption of other children’s education, or the distress that might be caused by such actions. The focus on financial compensation in many cases also leaves an unwelcome impression.

It is also not always students who are the victims. A teacher in Anhui province was confronted by the parents of a child whom he had told off. Following mediation, the teacher had to pay RMB 930 in compensation. His body was later found in the Yangzi river, and now his parents are planning to sue the students’ parents, claiming that the latter assaulted him and drove him to suicide. (No criminal action has been taken against the students’ parents.)

In finding the balance between protecting children from harm and protecting schools and teachers from harassment, it is hard not to conclude that the authorities have erred on the side of preserving “harmony”, and suppressing protest rather than tackling the underlying problems. But the issues are complex. Beijingkids has written before about the government’s attempts to relieve pressure on children by reducing homework and reforming the gaokao, and the push back they have encountered from the educational establishment and parents themselves. Bullying, on the other hand, remains a taboo issue, with a 2016 campaign seeming to have had little effect. Nearly half of children in Chinese schools report having been affected by bullying, while for 6 percent it is an everyday occurrence.

The problem is less acute for children attending international schools, which generally have smaller class sizes and more developed support systems. However we as parents can never be complacent. As always, the most important thing is to keep open regular, honest, and supportive communication with our children, so that they feel they can come to us when problems develop.

Photo: pablo/T via Flickr

Following recent scandals in the US, in which wealthy parents and celebrities were revealed to be “buying” their children places at top universities, a different kind of cheating has been exposed in China. A private school in Shenzhen has been accused of bringing in “ringers” from another province to boost its scores in the university entrance exam, in order to increase its appeal to parents.

The practice, dubbed “Gaokao immigration” by China Daily, is being taken seriously because each province has its own allocation of places at the top universities. By bringing students from Hebei to compete in Shenzhen, the school is perceived to be cheating local students of their places.

The Gaokao, China’s hugely important and fiercely competitive university entrance exam, is the scene of a long-running battle between education authorities and cheats. Students are subject to facial recognition scans, fingerprint identification, screening, and sometimes body searches before being admitted to the exam room. High-tech devices have been used more suited to James Bond, such as a pen with a hidden camera and a pair of glasses containing a scanner. The authorities have responded with drones, and sensors to detect radio signals.

“6933 days till the Gaokao”

The consequences of being caught cheating are grave: students are banned from taking the test for three years, adults have been imprisoned, and officials dismissed from their posts. However success or failure in the exam is seen as making such a difference to young people’s life chances that many continue to take the risk. In 2014 parents in Hubei rioted when their children were prevented from cheating, insisting that as everyone else did it they were being unfairly disadvantaged.

Suspicions were aroused when third-grade students from Shenzhen Fuyuan School performed exceptionally well on a mock test, achieving six of the top ten scores in the southern metropolis. Sceptical parents discovered that students from the school which had previously been admitted to prestigious Beijing universities also appeared in the promotional materials of Shenzhen Fuyuan’s partner school in Hubei. 32 students have now been barred from the test, having used dishonest means to sign up when their hukou (household registrations) means they should have taken the test elsewhere.

Photos: tes.com, tutorming.com

The Zhai phenomenon is an unavoidable situation under the Chinese education system. Parents are not only looking at how they may be contributing to the problem, but are also looking forward to big changes in China’s education system.