The story appears on

Page B2

November 24, 2020

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Feature » Education

The importance of celebrating local context

Here at Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi, we believe strongly in the value of celebrating our local context, as evidenced by our wide range of cultural celebrations throughout the year.

Since the opening of the first Dulwich College International School in Shanghai in 2003, the family of schools has continued to develop in China and other parts of Asia, generating a large body of talented citizens who go on to further education across the globe.

Dulwich College shares a vision of helping our students “Graduate Worldwise,” with a strong element of this grounded in appreciating the culture of our host country, China.

Through celebrations such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese Lunar New Year, the Lantern Festival, as well as residential trips, excursions and tours, we provide students with opportunities to understand Chinese traditional culture and customs, laying a solid foundation for their “international mindedness.”

Why do we do this?

China is one of the four ancient civilizations in the world, alongside Mesopotamia, Egypt and India, with a splendid history and culture of more than 5,000 years. This rich history provides many lessons worthy of our appreciation. China is geographically significant, vast and varied, with abundant resources. That geographical vastness has led to ethnic variety, with 56 nationalities, distinct in their customs and traditions.

In Dulwich College the teachers work alongside the students to explore these unique characteristics.

From Year 3 students performing Peking Opera, to the powerful bamboo dance of Year 5 students; from Year 2 students using their cute voices to interpret the Sanzi Jing, “Three Character Classic,” to Year 9 students beautifully reciting “When will the moon be?” — Dulwich College has always believed a deeper understanding of China should be one of the fundamental lenses through which students can view and understand the world.

Many of our students are ethnically Chinese, despite coming from other parts of the world. We understand for them that Mandarin is their mother tongue, and the local context for them is their mother culture.

For these students, celebrating Chinese history and culture takes on special significance, as it nourishes their sense of self and ensures that regardless of where their learning journey will take them, they are confident and knowledgeable about their roots. This positive sense of identity then supports them to explore other languages and cultures.

For students whose native language is not Chinese, understanding the local context is equally powerful. As German philosopher Humboldt stated, “every language contains a unique worldview.” For these students, learning Mandarin and understanding Chinese culture, customs and history will open a window for the students, which will help them know the world better.

How do we do it?

Close contact with the local community is integrated into our curriculum. Shanghai is one of the most developed economic and educational centers in China, and there are numerous museums for students to explore. The botanical gardens, zoos and farms are excellent places for students to understand local ecology and experience authentic Shanghai. We always try to make full use of our geographical advantage to provide students with a rich curriculum that integrates local context.

The annual Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival celebrations are highlights of the Dulwich College calendar. In addition to experiencing traditional cultural activities, such as making lanterns, mooncakes, dumplings, guessing lantern riddles, Chinese dances and so on, we also invite the community to contribute to the richness of our Chinese celebrations. In the past, parents have gathered to showcase their Chinese cooking skills and presented a feast for teachers and students during the Spring Festival.

Our local context also provides an opportunity for reflection. At the annual Eco Camp, students from our Dulwich College family of schools learned about pH levels, then tested the water quality of the river at the entrance of the school, finding it to be at a “healthy” rating.

Year 11 students studied ancient Chinese clothing, food, housing and transportation, then compared these with modern-day equivalents and reflected on current social issues. In addition, Dulwich College students have established contact with a local school of migrant children and donated gift bags to support them. They helped to sell handicrafts made by the Hearts and Hands organization in Sichuan Province so the disabled and disadvantaged could continue their work.

We hope that by embedding local context into our curriculum our students will be able to understand the many facets of China, encouraging them to become sympathetic learners who make a difference.

Whether viewing China through the lens of understanding their native culture or learning Mandarin as a second language and understanding the culture of their host country, we firmly believe celebrating, understanding and reflecting on the local context will help our students to “Graduate Worldwise.”




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend