Thirty Educators from China Study Best Practices in Education at College of Mount Saint Vincent
6/18/2008
Little Manhattan Meets Manhattan
Riverdale, NY – On Wednesday, May 28, thirty educators from Shenzhen, China arrived in New York City at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. For the next eight weeks they will participate in the Shenzhen Teacher Training Program, a series of courses specially designed by the College for the visitors through the new Center for International Teacher Training. The teachers will study the concepts, practices, institutions, policies, and learning strategies embedded within the educational systems of the United States, and of New York City in particular.
This is a pilot program for the College. The curriculum will include 3 graduate education courses, English language instruction, and approximately 20 school visits throughout New York City to elementary, middle and high schools. There will be cultural events such as trips to the opera. This special program is being offered through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies or SCPS, as well as the Urban and Multi-Education Program. Students will receive 9 non-degree credits of graduate coursework at its close.
Said Dr. Edward Meyer, Dean of SCPS, “The University of Mount Saint Vincent has long been a provider of professional training and educational credentialing for its graduates entering the teaching profession in schools throughout the New York metropolitan area. Through global partnerships, like this one between the College and the City of Shenzhen, China, we can establish professional and educational alliances worldwide.”
The educators are sponsored by the Shenzhen Education Bureau, a government agency in Shenzhen, China. They are elementary, middle and high school teachers as well as school principals. They were chosen for their talent and excellence in teaching. Most have participated in elite teacher competitions which are known throughout China. They were chosen through a rigorous selection process of interviews and a scrupulous assessment of their teaching abilities.
Their goal is for these educators to learn best practices in teaching from the University of Mount Saint Vincent and put those concepts into practice back in China.
Shenzhen, China is remarkable in that 10 years ago it had a relatively small population of 20,000. The thriving city now has over 7 million residents and growing. Located across the Shenzhen River from Hong Kong, is considered the fastest growing city in the world. Because of its new reputation as a thriving metropolis, Shenzhen has been dubbed Little Manhattan.
This is not the first group of Chinese educators from Shenzhen to study in the U.S. This group of participants represents the eleventh program in the United States sponsored by the Shenzhen government’s Education Bureau. The program has been making its way east from schools as far away as Minnesota and Montana, but this is the first time that a group of Shenzhen educators have reached their goal of landing in New York City.