Contents
Organizational News
Starfish Rural Youth Cultural Research Center Established
RCEF is supporting the Starfish Center which has taken over the program RCEF started in Shanxi Province.
Preparing Our Teachers
Find out how program staff on the ground in rural China are being supported and trained.
Reading Class Updates
A Simple Pleasure: Reading Class Focuses on Reading Aloud and in Groups
Students delve into a series of children’s books by international authors.
Integrated Practice Class Updates
Our Village's Revolutionary Roots
Students investigate what life was like in their villages during a critical period in history.
Donor Updates
Recognition of Recent Donors
We warmly thank those who donated to RCEF from October 2010!
Starfish Rural Youth Cultural Research Center Established
This fall, RCEF helped its mainland Chinese staff members to establish a new domestic Chinese non-profit entity called the Starfish Rural Youth Cultural Research Center. To increase sustainability of the program and local ownership, the Starfish Center now runs the program RCEF started in Yongji, Shanxi Province. RCEF is a grantmaker and resource provider to the Starfish Center, which has nine staff and teachers working in rural public elementary schools. The articles in this month’s newsletters report on the work of Starfish staff in two schools in Yongji, Shanxi Province: Dong Wu Xing Primary School and Xiaochao Primary School.
Preparing Our Teachers
By Zhao Junfang, Director and Program Manager, Starfish Rural Youth Cultural Research Center
It is very hard for our organization to find suitable staff by relying only on recruitment. If salary is the main tool used to attract good people to join us, then the relationship between staff and the organization is just a simple exchange of labor and resources. The staff won’t feel a sense of belonging or true loyalty. Only when staff find that as the organization develops, they are also growing, and that the development of the organization is closely tied to their own development will they really care about the organization they serve. Thus, helping staff to develop their abilities through internal trainings is extremely important and a crucial part of Starfish, our new organization which is being incubated by RCEF. Every week, we have internal studies and training activities for staff.
Above: Director Zhao Junfang leads an internal training session in the village office.
Understanding the Organization
In July and August, the main topics of our training were organizational mission, philosophy, management and structure. Each person had to participate in making semester plans. This helped the staff to become familiar with their responsibilities and the organization’s expectations of them. We discussed and decided internal policies such as those for vacation and business trips. However, we knew that understanding and accepting a philosophy would take more than a few days. It needs constant effort and this was just the start.
Teaching Skills Training
In September we began weekly teaching skills trainings for the curriculum teachers who focus on developing and teaching lessons in two subjects: Reading and Integrated Practice Class. We also trained the program managers who are responsible for coaching the curriculum teachers. Trainings start from the basics of how to prepare a lesson to how to teach a lesson. We have seen the staff’s hard work in their lesson planning and classroom teaching. They meet time after time in coaching and debriefing sessions. This is very important for the teachers to improve. We have to help them diagnose their problems and work together to solve them.
Curriculum Content Training
In the first week of November, we held an internal curriculum sharing. Each curriculum teacher and program manager shared all of the things they tried in their classes from August to the present, including the problems they have encountered. This is the start of our training on curriculum content knowledge. Previously, this kind of training was left to each curriculum subject group but since the organization has the same requirements for the two subjects, we must have standard training as well.
In conclusion, we can see the impact of our organization in the growth of our people and their ability to fulfill their potential. When we put the emphasis on developing people, we can’t go wrong.
Reading Focuses on Author Series
By Wang Yanzhen, Reading Curriculum Teacher & Zheng Kai, Program Manager, Starfish Rural Youth Cultural Research Center
In October, we picked a series of books by two authors to use in our third grade reading class at Dong Wu Xing Primary School. Each author series lasted two weeks. Based on students’ interests and reading levels, we selected the six stories from The Little Hen Who Wanted to See the Sea by Chrisian Jolibois and seven picture books by Japanese author Keiko Kasza which included Badger’s Fancy Meal and The Pig’s Picnic.
Above: Students read "The Pig’s Picnic" in their small group.
We asked the students to focus on the characters and plot in the books and we conducted various activities to help them understand the stories:
- The teacher would pick 2-3 books to read to the students, demonstrating how to glean information from illustrations and discuss aspects of the characters and plot as one progresses through a story.
- In short 5-15 minute lessons, we taught students some methods for reading a book together in a small group. These included what kind of information to include when introducing a book to others, how to discuss a book, and how to take notes.
- Students took notes on their thoughts about the characters and plot of the story so that they could share them with their small group later.
- Students discussed questions related to the book either as a class or in small groups.
- Students participated in different kinds of reading activities such as independent reading, small group reading, and listening to the teacher read. This constantly increased their understanding of the stories.
During the classes, students improved their sense of cooperation. They paid better attention to each individual in their small group and were better at listening to what others thought of their ideas. We gave students chances to express their own thoughts. For many students it was their first time saying their own question or opinion in front of the whole class.
One of our students, Xu Peng, does not get good grades. A few weeks ago, he stood in front of the class for the first time. Flanked by his group mates, he stated his question and opinion about the reading clearly. The confident light in his eyes and smile playing at the corner of his mouth showed everyone how happy he was. However, just at that moment, another student in the audience said, “That’s the worst student in our class!” Xu Peng lowered his head in embarrassment. Ms. Wang quickly said, “Does he seem like the worst student to you now?” The other students replied, “No. He’s doing great!” Xu Peng smiled again. We can still see his happy expression in our minds today.
To read more about student changes in this class, click here (in Chinese).
INTEGRATED PRACTICE CLASS UPDATES
Integrated Practice Class is a national primary school subject which emphasizes interdisciplinary, community-based learning. We are developing practical approaches for teaching this class with the goal of sharing field-tested case studies and methods with more rural schools.
Our Village’s Revolutionary Roots
By Zhao Junfang, Director and Program Manager, Starfish Rural Youth Cultural Research Center
Dong Wu Xing Primary School is one of our partner schools. Located about 10 kilometers from Yongji City, it has about 130 students who come from three surrounding villages. The school buildings are among the most dilapidated in the county. There is no playing field. Originally, this school was slated for closure. However, partly because it is located in a village that played a critical role in the anti-Japanese war in the 1940s, the efforts of its well-respected village head and principal were successful in keeping it open. We began to collaborate with this school in July and are currently developing curriculum there for our flagship subjects: Reading and Integrated Practice Class.
This semester the topic of our Integrated Practice Class is to study the history of this old revolutionary village and help the children to better understand the place where they live. We found that many children don’t know about what happened in this area during the war and only have a few guesses or assumptions about this period that shaped their hometowns. Our hope is that through interviews, readings, a visit to a museum, and other activities, they will increase their understanding of this very important part of the history of their community.
Above: Mr. Pei, a curriculm teacher, talks to students about interview etiquette.
Listening to Stories from the Elders
After watching a movie about the Japanese invasion of China and the war that had such an impact on their own village, students engaged in vigorous discussion about the incidents and characters in the movie. They said they wanted to know more information. Some children said their grandpa or grandma had told them that Japanese soldiers used to occupy their village. Everyone was very curious about what life was like then. After a few classes of preparation, the students interviewed a 86-year-old man from the village where Dong Wu Xing School is located.
Only fifteen years old when the Japanese invaded their village, the elderly grandfather sat in our classroom and answered the children’s questions with bits and pieces of his memory. He talked about how his family fled, about the destruction of the village, the pain, the suffering. After the interview was over, he spontaneously recited an old rhyme which encompassed wartime history from 1937-1945.
Above: Students ask an elderly villager question about his wartime experiences.
Putting it into their own words
After the interview, with the guidance of the teachers, the students organized and summarized their notes. They used their own words to tell their friends and family what they had heard and practiced writing an interview report.
Making a Personal Plan
The next step will be to discuss with students what they already know about their village’s revolutionary history and what they still want to find out. How will they gather information? Where can they get help? We will help them to make their own plan for the next activity.
To read more about how the teachers helped students prepare for their interview, click here.
Donor Roll
We are grateful to all the supporters who donated to RCEF in October 2010! (A complete list of donors through the years is available here.)
RCEF co-founder Wei Ji Ma and RCEF volunteer Ting Zhou were married on October 2 in the New York Botanical Garden. Below is their thank-you note.
"We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our wedding RCEF fundraising campaign. In total, 37 people gave $4608.45 in both small and large donations, exceeding our $3000 goal. It means a lot to us that you were willing to support the cause through which we met and that is still closest to our hearts. The money will be used to pay for 1.5 full-time curriculum developers to work in two public schools in Yongji County, Shanxi Province, implementing innovative curriculum co-developed by RCEF. Of course, you will continue to receive updates of this and other programs through the Newsletter. Thank you again for standing with us to improve the chances of rural Chinese children.”
Bronze Sponsors ($100-$999)
Bruce Yen (Baltimore, MD)
David Chin*
Ivo Savonije*
Konrad Koerding (Chicago, IL)*
Lucas Parra*
Michelle Wang*
Nikita Guo (New York, NY)*
Oliver Bettin
Qian Xiao (Ann Arbor, MI)*
Sheng Yin (Burlingame, CA)
Susan Guo (Morganville, NJ)*
Yujing Zheng (Beijing, China)
Supporting Sponsors (under $99)
Bei Xiao (San Francisco, CA)*
Cyrus Erik Eierud (Houston, TX)*
Jikky Lam (The Netherlands)*
Yishin Khoo*
Xuejing Chen (New Haven, CT)*
Zhi Li (Stanford, CA)
* Donation made in honor of the wedding of Ting Zhou and Weiji Ma
The RCEF Newsletter is a publication about the educational initiatives supported by RCEF in rural China.
Contact Us
Donate
You can help rural Chinese students and teachers reach their potential! Donations are 100% tax-deductible in the U.S.
Checks payable to "Rural China Education Foundation" can be sent to:
PO Box 92424
Rochester, NY 14692-0424
Donations can also be made online!
See videos of RCEF's activities on our Youtube Channel!
Helping Schools in Gansu
Project teacher Ms. Zhang Li worked with fourth graders to plan a fundraising campaign for impoverished schools in Gansu Province.
Green Campus Project
Project teacher Ws. Wang Min describes the process of helping students carry out a campus landscaping project.
Water Investigation Project
This video shows how students went into the community to research water issues.
Sweet Potato Investigation
All the steps of this yearlong project on a local crops can be seen in this video.
Part 1: Egg Selling Experience
Students brought their eggs to market for the first time. See their salesmanship in action!
Part 2: Egg Selling Experience
A customer gives valuable advice to students on how to promote their eggs' advantages over other eggs.
Singing, Dancing Little Librarians
Students celebrate their roles as managers of the school library by creating their own song and dance.
Teacher Profile: Mr. Pei
Mr. Pei Weifeng, a Guan Ai 3rd grade teacher, leads his students through a science class.
Anti-Smoking Investigation
Students carried out a campaign to educate their neighbors in three villages about the harms of smoking
From our website:
Financial Aid for Rural High School Students
A new government policy works to close the gap in financial resources between urban and rural education.
Selling Eggs
A firsthand account of students' eye-opening lesson peddling their eggs at the city market.
The Little Boy on the Phone
Teachers give the shyest students a chance to build up their self confidence.
Exchange with an American Librarian
Students and teachers asked a visiting American librarian many questions about how school libraries in the U.S. work.
Past Newsletters
RCEF posts monthly and quarterly newsletters on our website.
Click here to read past issues