Source: The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1208/p01s04-woap.html
GUANGDONG, CHINA – On a recent Friday afternoon in this southern Chinese province, the fourth-graders at Bowen International School were sitting up straight, their arms neatly crossed in front of them, belting out 13th-century Chinese poems on the virtues of being polite, respecting their parents, and working hard in school.
"To behave as a younger brother towards elders, is one of the first things to know," the children chanted with drill-like intensity. Deborah Chan, an administrator at the school, noted that while the students probably don't grasp the full meaning of the texts, which are written in archaic characters, she hopes the lessons will stay with them.
"Now the government ... pays attention to ancient Chinese culture," Ms. Chan observes. "Ancient Chinese culture is seen to have advantages in teaching students very moral things."
But as the government asks schools like Bowen to focus more on classic Chinese literature and art - including the teachings of Confucius, who emphasized traditional values and respect for elders - recent national curriculum reforms also call for more creativity and critical thinking in the classrooms, including some approaches to teaching and learning more traditionally found in the United States and Europe.