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Learning and Teaching in Practice
Please note that the Summer Volunteer Program will not take place during Summer 2009 as RCEF is shifting resources to a Summer Teacher Training . To read why, go to our Frequently Asked Questions.
Taking primary school students on a field trip through their community, dancing yangge
(a rural ritual celebrating harvest) around a bonfire with the
villagers, holding a discussion with middle school students about self-esteem and the rural-urban divide, and going on home visits to
understand the local way of life. These are some of the daily activities of an
RCEF volunteer during the Summer Volunteer Program, which ran in the summers from 2005 through 2008.
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| Volunteer Program 2006 volunteer Nancy King teaching a Health class on the harmful effects of smoking and drinking.
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RCEF's annual 3-week Summer Volunteer Program brought together
international volunteers and volunteers from mainland China to teach in
rural schools, participate in community building, and directly
experience the realities of rural China today.
In contrast to regular, exam-oriented classes, volunteers introduced ideas and activities to the rural children that stimulated their active participation, teamwork, creativity, critical-thinking skills, love of learning, and sense of community. Teaching in the villages acquainted our volunteers with the practices and challenges of rural education, while also piloting the use of student-centered teaching methods in rural China.
Curriculum included Community Research, Theater, Art, Health Education, Hands-on Science, Speaking Skills, and Philosophy (sometimes also English and Math). Rural Chinese children are not exposed to most of these subjects at school, where the curriculum is traditionally rigid, high-pressure, and test-centered. The courses taught in RCEF's Summer Volunteer Program were interconnected by themes that challenge the students to take notice of issues in their communities and think about their roles in society at large.
Some of our teaching philosophy, classes, and experiences are recorded in the RCEF Handbook for Short-Term Volunteer Teaching in Rural China, which can be downloaded for free by clicking here .
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