Dist. 158 chief visits Far East on China-sponsored trip

More than 37 years ago, Richard Nixon made a historic and unexpected one-week trip to China, meeting with top Communist Party officials and visiting Beijing, Hangzhou and the Great Wall.

Late last month, Huntley Unit District 158 Superintendent and history buff John Burkey spent eight days in the People's Republic, visiting with government officials and touring Beijing, Hangzhou and the Great Wall.

The trip, sponsored by the Chinese government, gave Burkey insight into the country's educational system and strengthened his belief that the U.S. should forge closer ties with the East Asian giant.

"It reaffirmed a lot of my views I had about closer ties with China," Burkey said. "It only reaffirmed our decision to offer Chinese here."

District 158 is heading into its third year of offering a Chinese language curriculum at Huntley High School and district middle schools. Burkey says he'd like to offer Chinese at lower grade levels when the district has the resources.

He's the second District 158 administrator to visit a Chinese-speaking country in the past year. Mary Olson, the curriculum and instruction director, visited Taiwan on an educational trip last year.

On Burkey's whirlwind tour, Chinese educators stressed how English is now mandatory in Chinese public schools.

"The point is they're really trying to promote more Chinese language education in the United States," he said.

The District 158 chief, along with more than 300 school administrators from across the United States, met with Chinese counterparts in Beijing and the eastern city of Hangzhou, learning about differences between the two educational systems.

"One of the biggest questions I got was about student discipline," Burkey said. "When I asked them the same question, (they said) 'We called their parents.' That usually works over there. Over here, it tends to work - sometimes."

Burkey also noticed Chinese schools are much more test-oriented and have larger classes, with 40 to 50 students.

"The biggest thing that I have picked up is that our societies are very different," he said. "That is one of the biggest things that guides what our education is. It's not that there is necessarily a quick fix that the Americans can do or a quick fix that the Chinese can do."

A former history teacher, Burkey noted the changes China has undergone in the 20 years since the Tiananmen Square protests. He was struck by the relative openness of the economy and society - if not the political system.

"Capitalism is really flourishing there. There is construction everywhere," Burkey said, adding: "There were police all over Tiananmen Square."

Although he's gained a greater understanding of Chinese culture and education, he will not be leading a Chinese class anytime soon.

"I'm not fluent yet," Burkey said. "Learning Chinese was not part of the trip."