October 26, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Warm welcome to Mt. Airy school for Chinese mom, son
by DEBBIE LERMAN

Chinese student Qui Yang (age 12) and his mother, Linda, at the Project Learn School in Mt. Airy. (Photo by Debbie Lerman)

For the past two months, Qui Yang (pronounced “Choo Ying”), a 12-year-old from the city of Guangzhou in China’s southern Guangdong province, has been studying at the Project Learn School in Mt. Airy.

He came with his mother, Qin Shan, who goes by the English name Linda and who is working on a research project at Temple University on “information openness of the federal government in the United States.” Linda is an associate professor of International Relations, specializing in American Studies, at Jinan University in Guangzhou.

Linda and Qui Yang have enjoyed their two months in Philadelphia tremendously, she said in an interview recently, thanks to the friendliness of the people and the warm welcome they’ve received at Temple and at the Project Learn School.

“People are very nice here and offer me their help as much as possible,” Linda said, “and this has impressed and moved me a great deal.”

At Temple, Linda enjoys her own office and computer and access to the “excellent library system.” At Project Learn, Qui Yang enjoys the small class size (18 students compared to 30-plus at his school in China), the lighter homework load, and especially, in his own words, the “many, many friends” he has made.

Linda is also impressed with the emphasis on individual expression and creativity she has seen in American education in general and at Project Learn in particular. “In China a good education is going to a good school, getting high scores on tests and going to a good university,” she said. “By the time students are done with their education, it’s hard for them to express their own opinions. But I think good education is developing and discovering individual abilities.”

Linda was surprised and pleased when Qui Yang’s teacher at Project Learn told her that her son was a talented cook, and when Qui Yang joined the Project Learn soccer team, although he had never played on a team before.

“In China we emphasize winning more than opportunity, and collective interests often take precedence over individuals,” Linda said. So she was especially struck by the fact that the Project Learn soccer team includes boys and girls ages eight to 12 who often face teams of junior high boys from other schools.

“I was so amazed at how everyone has a chance to participate,” Linda said, “and at how the children get praise from parents and teachers for participating, not just for winning. My son is learning that everyone is equal, regardless of age and gender. I called my husband in China to tell him about the games that I watched, I was so moved by them.”

Linda and Qui Yang will return to Guangzhou at the end of October. “If we can, we will try to send Qui Yang to college in the United States when the time comes,” Linda said. In the meantime, they will take home the new experiences, discoveries and friendships they made in Philadelphia.