While many local parents in Shanghai are busy choosing elite primary schools for their kids, some foreign parents are turning their eyes to ordinary public schools such as Nandanlu Elementary School in Xuhui District.

 

"Currently we have 26 foreign students from nine countries including Canada, France, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US," said Shen Jinglu, headmaster of Nandanlu Elementary School.

 

"In the hope that their kids pick up the Chinese language and make friends with Chinese children, expatriate parents pay more attention to their kids' involvement in this new cultural environment for them."

 

American mother Tracy Cannell is one such pioneering parent. Moving to China three years ago, she sent her three kids to Nandanlu Elementary School.

 

Now Ge Zhou and Ge Jieming, the two brothers are in grade three and their sister is continuing at Tianlin No. 3 Middle School, another public school in the district.

 

"I asked the school to arrange for the brothers to be in different classes so as to force them to make new friends and speak no English," Cannell said. "There is no better way to learn Chinese culture than through making friends with local peers. Under my influence, neighbor Shonda Leonard, has also sent her daughter to the same elementary school."

 

Formerly a high school teacher herself, Cannell has her own way of judging whether a school is suitable for a kid or not. "Some schools are far away from where the kids live and some require a test before enrollment. The young should not have to face such pressures."

 

However, this doesn't mean that the foreign parents are less strict than the Chinese parents. "They never miss any parents' meetings, and some even bring their interpreters along," headmaster Shen said. "Study habits and good manners are high on their evaluation of what makes an excellent student rather than scores."

 

These children do seem to have an interesting and rewarding experience at school with their Chinese contemporaries. Take Ge Jieming and Ge Zhou for example. They have become young pioneers with red scarves like their Chinese peers, they participate in school events such as tug-of-war matches and the ceremony for the school's anniversary, among others.

 

"All of my classmates are nice to me and my deskmate in particular," said Ge Jieming, the elder brother. "My deskmate is an Australian-born-Chinese who can speak both English and Mandarin. During the early days when I came to Shanghai, I knew very little Chinese and he became a bridge connecting me with other friends."

 

Open, confident and willing to make friends, the foreign kids also set a global seed in the local pupils' hearts.

 

Headmaster Shen said that the flavor of Christmas, Halloween and cherry blossom was more fun now with the introduction of the foreign kids.

 

To teach is to learn. While the teachers make special learning plans for the foreign kids to catch up with the Mandarin of the local students, they themselves have also learned some foreign customs through communicating with kids and parents alike.

 

"South Korean mums come to the school and teach us how to make sushi," Xu Jing, a class teacher at Nandanlu Elementary School. "To us teachers, we make the same demands of the foreign kids study-wise. Meanwhile, we must watch out for them a little in daily life too."

 

The two brothers are eager to continue their studies at public middle schools in Shanghai. "We like learning about the Chinese language and the country's rich culture with our Chinese classmates and we now also have many good Chinese friends."

 

(Shanghai Daily May 16, 2007)