Chinese educators given a taste of Princeton High School

Exchange program brings principals and directors to town as part of a 23-day visit to the U.S.

By: Molly Petrilla
   Visiting Chinese educators ended their morning at Princeton High School on Thursday with a virtual trip back to their hometown.
   For their final stop in the school, Mandarin I teacher Shwu-Fen Lin prepared a special PowerPoint presentation on Qingdao, China. And at the end of the period, her students practiced their rudimentary language skills with their guests — who smiled and snapped photos.
   The visit was part of an exchange arranged by the University of Pennsylvania — the same program that sent Superintendent Judith Wilson to Qingdao for 16 days in July.
   According to Ms. Wilson, the exchange provides Chinese and American educators with the opportunity to tour each other’s school systems, while at the same time soaking up another country’s culture.
   Princeton High School was just one stop on the Qingdao principals’ and directors’ 23-day visit to the United States, which also included visits to Miami, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, as well as Niagara Falls, Ms. Wilson said.
   The 25-member group’s morning in Princeton began with a welcome breakfast, which featured introductions by Ms. Wilson and Princeton High School principal Gary Snyder.
   "It is our great pleasure … to share with you much of what happens at one of the country’s best high schools," Ms. Wilson said.
   Mr. Snyder added, "It is truly an honor to host you. We share a common bond of working with young people."
   After breakfast, the group proceeded to the band room, where the orchestra performed "O Magnum Mysterium" — after which one visitor asked through a translator "what feeling the piece is meant to evoke."
   Orchestra director Robert Loughran explained, "It’s about color and emotion. It’s a great piece for both practice and for performance."
   The visitors were next taken to the new Trego-Biancosino performing arts center, where they listened to the female a cappella group, the Cat’s Meow.
   "You just got a brief sampling of our students this morning," Mr. Snyder said after the performance. "This is why I’m the proudest high school principal in the entire country."
   Following these musical selections, the Chinese educators visited several classes throughout the school, including advanced architecture, chemistry and journalism.
   Next, the visitors sat down with a panel of the school’s department heads for brief presentations and a question-and-answer session.
   The heads of the math, science and special education departments — among others — spoke about the courses offered within their departments, as well as state-level requirements.
   English Department supervisor Barbara O’Breza had prepared a handout for the visitors that included copies of Chinese poems that world literature students read, and the supervisor of the social sciences department also explained that her classes often study Asian government and history.
   When they had the chance to ask questions through their interpreter, the Qingdao educators were most interested in the high school’s graduation rates — particularly as compared to other American high schools.
   When Ms. Wilson explained that more than 80 percent of PHS students go on to four-year colleges — one of the highest rates in the nation — she also noted, "You see great differences across our state and across our nation."
   Ms. Wilson added, "Every child should have a Princeton education."
   One guest was surprised to learn that diplomas are awarded only to students who pass all four years of high school, since dropouts in China can receive certificates that list the number of years they finished in school.
   The guests made their final stop in Ms. Lin’s Mandarin classroom, where they participated frequently in the lesson, raising their hands or chuckling as the students sang songs in Chinese.
   Following their visit to PHS, the group took a tour of the Princeton University campus before heading for Philadelphia at 4 p.m.
   Ms. Wilson said the educators have several more activities planned before they return China on Nov. 25.
   In the coming days, she said they will dine on a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner and an Italian meal, shop in the Franklin Mills Mall and — as families across the nation crowd round turkeys on Thursday — visit Atlantic City to eat in a Chinese buffet and gamble.