Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WUNC's American Graduate Project is part of a nationwide public media conversation about the dropout crisis. We'll explore the issue through news reports, call-in programs and a forum produced with UNC-TV. Also as a part of this project we've partnered with the Durham Nativity School and YO: Durham to found the WUNC Youth Radio Club. These reports are part of American Graduate-Let’s Make it Happen!- a public media initiative to address the drop out crisis, supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and these generous funders: Project Funders:GlaxoSmithKlineThe Goodnight Educational FoundationJoseph M. Bryan Foundation State FarmThe Grable FoundationFarrington FoundationMore education stories from WUNC

Chinese Educators Tour North Carolina Schools

Chinese educators from Xuzhou checked out a middle school art class at DSA.
Jess Clark

Principals and administrators from the city of Xuzhou visited Durham School of the Arts (DSA) on Thursday.

They are the third group of Chinese educators to tour North Carolina schools this year through UNC’s Center for International Understanding(CIU).

Julie McGaha, K-12 program director for CIU, said the purpose of the visit is to give Chinese leaders in education a more nuanced understanding of American public schools.

"They can take these things back to their province, to their school," McGaha said.

The group of 20 Chinese educators visited a dance class, a visual art class and a piano class at DSA.

Chinese principals and administrators tried traditional North Carolina barbecue during a visit to Durham School of the Arts.
Credit Jess Clark
Chinese principals and administrators tried traditional North Carolina barbecue during a visit to Durham School of the Arts.

Xinwei Dai is a researcher with the Department of Education in the city of Xuzhou. Dai said through an interpreter that Chinese educators can learn from American schools the importance of helping students develop vocational and art skills.

“In Chinese society we say books is the most important, your academic performance is the most important. But we overlook the difference in students' talents," she said.

Dai added that few schools in China focus on teaching the arts.

But Dai also said she thinks American schools can do better at pushing their students to excel in math and science.

Chinese educators visited a piano class at the Durham School of the Arts.
Credit Jess Clark
Chinese educators visited a piano class at the Durham School of the Arts.

"Here in the United States, I think teachers tend to follow students' lead and give them the freedom to choose what they want to do, and may not actually give them enough incentive to perform even better," she said.

The group will also visit schools in Mount Airy, Carrboro and Chapel Hill.

Tianlu Redmon interpreted for this story.

 

More Stories