Confucius reenters China's schools to parry Western ways

This 19th century attempt to expose Chinese students to the West, while keeping them spiritually pure, ended in a failure of sorts, Wyatt says. Many of the young men shed their traditional values, played sports, married Western women, and converted to Christianity.

Now once again, "there is a concern about issues of spiritual pollution as China emerges as a superpower," says Wyatt.

Noticeably absent from many civics courses is the history of Chinese communism and Mao Zedong. Instead, the works of Confucius, who emphasized community harmony, are thought to help in producing more obedient and peaceful citizens.

Many parents enthusiastically support the return to core values in the classroom. Having come of age closer to the Cultural Revolution – when schools were shuttered and philosophers like Confucius were reviled as anti-egalitarian – they want their children to understand their cultural heritage.

One afternoon, Chan watches two third-grade girls from Bowen practice the gu zheng, a Chinese musical instrument with a 2,500-year history. The expensive instrument was considered elitist under Mao, but has recently resurged in popularity, accompanying the rise of classic music and morality in the classrooms.

"I like traditional Chinese music because you can learn how to be very concentrated and focused," Chan says, watching the girls wait patiently for a turn with the teacher.

In elite schools throughout the thriving port city of Ningbo, located a few hours drive south of Shanghai, the newest teaching methods emphasize interactive, hands-on activities – not the rote memorization which tends to dominate most Chinese classrooms.

At Wanli International Middle School, teacher Robert Yan proudly displays a hallway known as "English world." Here, sample passports, visas, and departure cards hang on the walls to educate students about world travel.

Students can leave notes for the principal expressing their concerns in boxes, a new effort to encourage them to speak their minds. In one classroom resembling a cafe, high schoolers chat informally in English with their teachers about movies and the weather. A sign at the entrance to the room advises the students: "Please leave your Chinese at the door."

"Some teachers cannot speak English, but can help students pass the exams," Mr. Yan says, referring to the university entrance exams. In many schools, the focus is still on memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules for the English portion of the exam, not practicing speaking.

Zhu Hao, a junior at one of Ningbo's top high schools, says he enjoys the more project-based teaching approaches, like a recent assignment to build a replica of a human cell using items found at home or in the market.

The new ways are "better than the teacher standing in front of the blackboard just talking," Hao says. "That's boring."

Page: 1 | 2