Dancing in Haimen + Other Matters

We had a talk with one of the teachers in the morning, who gave us a brief history of the school. This school was founded 18 years ago, and since then has become the "Model School of the Province" - an accolade conferred on the best school in the area. So how did it become such a good school in such a short time? We put this question to the teacher, and the answer she gave - It's all in the leadership.

The principal and founder of this school, from all I hear of him, truly is amazing. He leads by example; he's the earliest to arrive and the last to leave. He's always in the school and constantly reads up about how to improve the school, using his holidays and all his free time to do so. He chooses teachers based on their abilities rather than taking bribes. He's pioneered alot of stuff in this school, such as having counsellors conducting classes on how to improve mental wellbeing once a week.

He also finds ways for the school to hold exchanges with other schools in other countries, which would be a pretty innovative thing for a school in such a small town (when the school started, it was just a village school). He believes in learning and picking up the best from other places. Teachers are encouraged to develop their potential fully. Although the stress of teaching in this school is great, the rewards are great and good teachers are given the chance to go overseas and visit other schools.

I was thinking - what does this school have that makes it diferent from schools in Singapore? Because schools in Singapore have the structures and systems in place, even the rewards and facilities and opportunities and sometimes even more. But I realised that Singaporean schools follow a structure without really knowing the purpose behind the structure, or without the passion that drives the structure. The teachers in this school were very passionate and driven, and they all respected and followed the example of their leader. The teachers in Singapore sometimes seem to treat their jobs like a bitter, stressful pill, and amidst all the extra work they have to do, seem to have lost sight of why they were teaching in the first place, which was to enable students to be the best they could be. Instead, it became about getting rewards, or just trying to get through the job with a minimum of suffering.

So leadership is very important, and if only I could catch a little of the passion of such a great leader. We've not really talked to him properly yet, but he'll be bringing us to the village schools soon. I'm looking forward to it, and also slightly in awe that we are soon going to meet him and get to know him.

We also talked to the discipline department about how discipline was maintained in the school. It was amazing finding out that, in a way, Singapore is even more "Asian" than them with regards to discipline. They advocate counselling and are not allowed to cane or hit, whereas for serious offences in Singapore, the principal or discipline master has the right to cane the child. Children here cannot be expelled on the basis of giving them their right to attend school, whereas in Singapore expulsion is definitely a possibility for impossible cases.

After that we went to Nantong, and at night we were brought to a park near the school with people waltzing in the dim lamplight to Chinese music played over the loudspeakers. There was a circle in the middle of the park surrounded by lamps and water, and from there you could see the stars and the fireworks and the dozens of happily swirling couples. My attachment mate and I danced a little, but we giggled more than we danced and I ended up tripping over my slippers many times, reducing us to having to laugh and just stand to one sight watching the couples and breathing in the magic and conviviality of it all.

Long, early day tomorrow. Zzzzzz..