I taught 4th graders in rural China (in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Province) art and art history over the summer! It was fantastic.
This is a picture of me and a couple of students from the elementary school I went to in Inner Mongolia. We're about to wash our hands (and in her case, her entire body!) because we were just finger painting and having a paint party. Of course that wasn't the initial lesson plan but when I was in Ningxia, I discovered that the kids didn't know anything about mixing colors and had never finger painted so I quickly added that to my lesson plans. In one class the kids got so excited by having paint on their hands that they ran over to the nearest white wall and started making handprints. Fortunately the building we were in is being torn down at the end of the summer since they're building a newer building.
My fellowship ended mid-month at which point I traveled and couchsurfed to other parts of China.
A few more words about my experience at the schools.
1. What types of schools did I go to?
In Beijing, I went to two elementary schools. One was for the children of migrant workers and the other was for the children of really rich parents. The differences were stark. The children of the first school were more lively and happy to answer all of my questions. The students at the second school were often quiet in the beginning, dressed fashionably and didn't open up as quickly.
In Ningxia I went to two more elementary schools. One was comprised completely of Hui people who are all Muslims. The other school was about 30% Hui, 70% Han (the majority of China is Han) The conditions at the first school were about the same as the first school I went to in Beijing while the second one had a nice building and computer classes for the students!
In Inner Mongolia I went to my first boarding school for students from rural communities. The parents of these students were all farmers and didn't have any money to send their kids to school so the government provided all of their school expenses. They only get to see their parents once or twice a year :(
2. Were there other schools in the communities I visited or were these pretty much the only schools serving students?
There were many other schools in the communities. Some were a lot smaller than others but they were all approximately 10-30 minutes away from each other by car. Many of the parents of the students come home once or twice a year from various cities where they're working.
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I miss China but I'm excited to be back at Swarthmore!
