Dandelion likes to emphasize extracurricular activities a lot more than most schools in China. All the students take music, art and PE classes. After school ends at 5PM, students are required to participate in at least one of the myriad clubs.
Many of the students are leaving Dandelion this year to go to school back in their hometowns due to tightening restrictions in China's public school system. For example, now many high schools require new entrants to have attended at least one of year of school in the same province (read: not Beijing). Other schools are often much more stressful and rigorous than Dandelion. My students who are leaving often worry that they won't be able to catch up to all the students who've already had a year under their belts at the schools in their hometowns.. One of the teachers here mentioned how by their age, most students no longer have classes like PE and music. At most middle schools, students study hard late into the night and try to cram in much more information than students at Dandelion.
I wish I could post a video from their music final exam (they had to sing a song and a series of notes), but I don't want my students to hate me. As a compromise, here are pictures from their PE final. They had to memorize some basic taichi steps in order to pass.
I was planning to post this much earlier but then English Summer Camp happened. Pro-tip for future Duke Engage volunteers: your time on earth during the 240 hours of summer camp will belong to your students, not yourself.
Many of the students are leaving Dandelion this year to go to school back in their hometowns due to tightening restrictions in China's public school system. For example, now many high schools require new entrants to have attended at least one of year of school in the same province (read: not Beijing). Other schools are often much more stressful and rigorous than Dandelion. My students who are leaving often worry that they won't be able to catch up to all the students who've already had a year under their belts at the schools in their hometowns.. One of the teachers here mentioned how by their age, most students no longer have classes like PE and music. At most middle schools, students study hard late into the night and try to cram in much more information than students at Dandelion.
I wish I could post a video from their music final exam (they had to sing a song and a series of notes), but I don't want my students to hate me. As a compromise, here are pictures from their PE final. They had to memorize some basic taichi steps in order to pass.
I was planning to post this much earlier but then English Summer Camp happened. Pro-tip for future Duke Engage volunteers: your time on earth during the 240 hours of summer camp will belong to your students, not yourself.