Chinese Elementary Schools

Chinese Elementary Schools
Rural China
April 2012

I thought my days in a Catholic, urban elementary school were tough. We were bare-bones with tough, no nonsense teachers.  But my experience pales next to schools in China. When the principal of this school found out I was in town, he ran home and put on his military uniform to greet me.  There are no books, very little paper and a blackboard that is dysfunctional.  There is no heat and poor ventilation. So it is cold in the winter and hot in the summer.  The students sit on these uncomfortable benches for hours at a time.  They go home for lunch and come back until late afternoon.  In the winter they go home when the sun goes down.

Up until about 10 years ago, mandatory education stopped after the fifth grade.  Now, every child must go to school until the completion of 8th grade. Within this graduating class, one or two will go on to high school.  The rest will stay locally and work on the farms.

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