To the Editor:
In her column ("Evangelizing English," March 3), Susannah Kroeber '11 criticized the China Education Initiative, writing that "in faraway rural areas, teaching English is about as useful as teaching calculus in sixth grade." Her article questions the initiative's approach in tackling China's education gap through its English teaching fellowships.
As campus representatives for China Education Initiative, we would like to provide important background information on China's education system to help readers better understand why our American fellows teach English. In China, students take tests to qualify for both high school and college admittance. While similar in concept to our SATs, these tests are the only factors that determine acceptance to higher education. This entrance test is divided in three subjects — Chinese language, math and English. Therefore, whether or not English is "useful" for these rural students, they must be proficient in order to have a chance to continue their schooling.
However, in rural Chinese schools, most teachers are not trained in English and thus cannot adequately prepare their students for these exams. In fact, less than 5 percent of students in rural China go on to higher education, compared to 70 percent of their peers from China's major cities. The initiative's model tackles this problem by bringing proficient English speakers to teach these students, thereby helping them with their chances for high school admittance. Perhaps the Chinese system of testing English as part of a national exam has a cultural elitism bend. However, our teaching fellows are simply trying to get students to succeed on this national exam and have a chance for higher education.
Kroeber writes that "it is far more likely that the best we can do right now is help with basic education, even if that does not include English." In addition to teaching English, the program provides basic education in Chinese. Teaching teams are comprised of both American and Chinese graduates, and our Chinese fellows are responsible for teaching major subjects such as Chinese literature, history, biology and math, just to name a few. The American and Chinese fellows work closely with each other to determine effective teaching practices and to share ideas in the hopes of creating a cross-cultural network dedicated to ending educational inequity in China. China Education Initiative not only places fellows in under-resourced schools to teach English, but also provides teachers in all subject areas with the aim of providing all students with access to quality education.
We hope these additional facts will clarify any misconceptions about our organization. We believe in open dialogue and will be happy to speak to anyone who wishes to learn more about China Education Initiative.
Helen Feng '11
Jennifer Tan '11
