Seventeen delegates from six Arkansas school districts attended the Chinese Bridge for American Schools organized by Confucius Institute at the University of Central Arkansas from Dec. 2-10.
The trip, funded by Confucius Institute Headquarters, the Office of Chinese Language Council International, is one of two annual trips for U.S. school administrators and educators to visit China in a meeting known as the “Bridge to China.”
“Bridge to China” introduces US educators to the Chinese language and cultural resources that are available through the Confucius Institute. The six districts represented by the delegation were: Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, Batesville, Beebe, Pulaski County Special School District, Lincoln and Wynne.
The delegates from Arkansas spent one week in China learning about the program, the people and culture of China. They visited k-12 schools in Henan province where they conferred with local teachers and interacted with the students. Delegates were able to observe English classes and were surprised to learn that formal English instruction begins in the 3rd grade, although many children are already proficient by that time due to lessons at home.
Each of the Arkansas educators who attended reported a profound sense of new understanding of China, its people, and the importance of learning the language. Cindy Kinard, assistant principal of Wynne Primary School, was struck by “how much we are alike,” and “how much the students are like ours.” However, she and the others agreed that Arkansas must increase and accelerate the process which will make Chinese language courses accessible to the students.
W. David Slaymaker, principal of the Office of Distance Education at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts added, “Seeing the country and the pace of economic growth in China, I gained significant insight into the need for the friendship and positive relationship between China and the U.S. to be an enduring one. In an economic sense, our two countries are closely linked, and we must understand each other’s languages and cultures to maintain that relationship.”