Special Courses Offer Knowledge of World

The cultivation of the ability to understand the outside world is a key issue in primary and secondary education. In recent years， the Number 2 Middle School of Quzhou has taken effective measures to promote exchanges with foreign schools and enable our students to understand the outside world.

Our purpose is to turn our students into Chinese citizens with patriotism and internationalism， with a global vision and communication skills. The approach the school adopts is to fully utilize local resources and design courses based on textbooks and regional characteristics.

Quzhou is a national city of history and culture where Confucius Temple and Family Residence stand and Weiqi， a Chinese chess， originated. In the 1990s the school started to tap into the rich legacy of the Confucianism in Quzhou. With active participation of school faculty， students and alumni， the school designed a few courses in Confucius and his descendents’ legacy in Quzhou. We have a statue of Confucius on the campus; roads and buildings in the school are named after stories and best known quotations of The Analects of Confucius; a wall displays the best quotable quotes of the great educator; a school website offers insight and background information into the activities of Confucian descendents who came to the south when the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) fell and the Southern Song Dynasty (11217-1279) came into being with Hangzhou as its capital; we often conduct discussions on these scholars.

Thanks to the emphasis on Confucianism and with a close tie with the Confucius Temple and Family Residence in Quzhou， the school has become a window on Quzhou in the city’s effort to promote and strengthen cultural exchanges with the outside world. Over the past 15 years， the school has received more than 80 delegations of foreign friends and education professionals.

Internationalizing education is not just greeting foreign visitors and seeing them off. Education on the world evokes profound cultural connotations. To enable students to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the world is a key part of our pursuit. When Quzhou and Red Wing， a city in Minnesota， USA， became twin cities in 1994， one high-priority exchange program between the sister cities was to send teachers to each other’s schools. Our school was appointed to send a teacher to Red Wing， which officially raised the curtain of international exchange programs in the school. We began to design and offer courses to promote the knowledge of the world.

The school has matured over a decade in its international programs. In 2007， our school was designated by the Ministry of Education as one of the three schools in Zhejiang as a national base for promoting Chinese language teaching at middle school and primary school level. In the same year， our school was certified by Zhejiang International Exchange Center as a training base for overseas students.

Over the past few years， we have had three or four foreign teachers from countries such as America， UK， Canada and Australia. Their presence in the school not only boosts our teaching quality and research level but also enables our teachers and students to better understand the outside world， gain an international vision， and help form a positive attitude among students. While we have foreign teachers in the school， we also send out our teachers and students. Our teachers sent abroad are always causing a sensation where they teach. They are able to open up the topic of a China undergoing tremendous changes. These exchange programs also bring back valuable concepts and textbooks， which help us back home in Quzhou.

Moreover， hundreds of our students have taken part in overseas summer schools in UK， Australia， Canada and Japan in recent years. These visits have enabled our students to act as ambassadors of Chinese culture and help build open minds and boost their capabilities.

In recent years， Confucius Academies in foreign countries and regions have become a key platform for our school to further participate in international education. This platform opens a door to communications in Chinese. Nowadays， we receive about 100 foreign students a year for a short visit to our school. Our teachers and students help them learn the Chinese language and sample the local lifestyle and culture of Quzhou. We also hold a course on Confucius for foreign teachers working at our school. Chinese teachers teach them speak Chinese and introduce them to Chinese culture. Meanwhile， we send teachers of English at our school to Confucius Academy overseas.

Over the past ten plus years， our school has done well in conducting education programs for better understanding of the world. The school is proud of its reputation as a pioneer of promoting international cultural exchanges. The school has been honored for its work in this field.□