Chinese "International" School* vs. Holistic and Progressive Education: The promise and the reality1/20/2019 I thought I had been hired to teach at an IB International School; however, the school parades its promise without substance to back it up. IB inquiry-based learning doesn't happen in real life in the classroom and antiquated methods of education and behavioral methods are utilized. This is the drone-model of education where the output are drones and the teachers are expected to behave likewise. Turns out, a true international school in China requires its students to be foreign passport holders with the plan of attending an English-speaking school overseas that follows British or American curricula. Also, the staff is international and the student body is primarily foreign. In a true international school, ELL (English Language Learners) are in a separate class until their skills are on par with the age- or developmentally appropriate class level, or they are only accepted for admission after meeting EL skill requirements. ELL is not the main content area of the classroom or school. These reasons and those following elucidate why I am so unhappy and unfulfilled at my current school; I am not using any of the skills or knowledge I worked so hard to attain! The left column lists what I deal with on a daily basis. On the right are my requirements for my next school!
* Let me make it clear that I love living in China, the culture, and the people. It is the education model of this particular school, which is actually a Chinese-owned corporation that runs 20+ private schools in the city, that I find distasteful and backwards. Unfortunately, the education system here is similar to American's poor education system - memorize and regurgitate, but don't actually learn to think or be a better human.
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