What is "school culture"? It's what makes your school feel special and unique. It's the feeling you get when you walk into the building, and the stories those four walls could tell if only they could talk. School culture includes things like celebrations, shared sayings or stories, how you are rewarded for your efforts, behaviors, and rituals.
Every school has its own culture. If we look at a larger picture of schools in each country, we could say that each country has its own special school culture. China has her own unique school culture, too.
Because I haven't met Katie yet, I can't tell you for sure exactly what her school culture is like. I can, however, tell you some differences that might be in Chinese schools compared to here. Some of these things may seem a bit weird to you because they are different from what you experience in your school. Keep in mind that "our ways" here in the United States seem every bit as strange to someone from another place.
These are also "generalizations", meaning that they likely don't happen in every single school in China. They are common practices in some areas, though.
Here you go...
*When a teacher enters the room, the students stand in respect.
*When a child answers a question, he or she stands first before speaking.
*It is often considered disrespectful to a teacher to say that you don't understand something. Saying this in China is interpreted to mean that you are telling the teacher that she is not doing a good job of explaining the lesson. It is far better to say, "Yes, I understand," and remain confused than to admit that you don't "get it". When a child has difficulty getting a lesson, most often it is considered to be the fault of the child, not the teacher.
*Teachers are held in very high regard. On National Teachers Day, educators are presented with flowers by their students. In some schools, students bow to their teachers on the way into the building.
*School schedules run similar to ours throughout the year, only with less days off. Chinese New Year is the big holiday in January or February, with school children getting several days off in a row.
*Some children celebrate a (secular) Christmas, but with much less fanfare than here in the United States.
*Children have to study hard to get into good high schools. They don't necessarily go to the high school that is closest to their home. The harder they study, the better their chances of going to a good school or on to college. Parents also have to pay for high school (orphanage children usually go on donations). When it's time to sign kids up for high schools, parents will stand in line for days (yes, DAYS) to get their child into a good program. Because of this, school is generally taken very seriously. (There are good things and bad things about this level of stress on the kids, as you can imagine.)
*Here in the United States, we often tell kids what a good job they are doing, and focus on their successes. Often teachers are more critical in China, pointing out to the children what they can do better.
*In China, emphasis is on the good of the society as a whole, and not individuals. People are not as concerned with individual rights; it is more about what is best for the group.
*Noodles or rice are common and served at almost every meal. Children who eat at school usually travel there with their own chopsticks or spoon. Soups are most commonly served, especially at dinnertime for the older kids. Milk is served at room temperature or warm, not cold like we drink it here.
*School instruction is generally quite traditional, with the teacher in the room lecturing to a class of 40-50 kids. This is changing in some areas, however.
*Kids usually don't switch classes! The TEACHERS move from class to class while the students stay in the same room all day. Often kids in older grades are seated at a double desk with a learning partner. They may keep the same partner for years, and (hopefully) they become good friends.
*Sometimes math is taught in a different sequence in China. Kids learn addition, multiplication, and division before they learn subtraction. Emphasis is more on rote learning than critical thinking and creativity with some subjects.
*Children do take English lessons; often they start in 7th grade.
*Children learn both Mandarin and pinyin at the same time. Pinyin (also called Simplified Chinese) is phonetic and is often taught alongside traditional Mandarin to help kids learn the language. Here is a good explanation of pinyin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin
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