Cultural Exchanges Across Borders: American Teachers and Students Visit MacDuffie Campus

大众网2025-03-25 14:44

　　On March 13th, Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, the principal from Boston, USA, along with four student representatives, arrived at the MacDuffie Campus in Zhangdian District, Zibo City. They immersed themselves in classrooms, experiencing the teaching model that combines Chinese and Western elements. They actively participated in activities, providing cultural explanations for the parents in Zibo who were experiencing the campus open day. They also made friends from a foreign country and felt the friendliness and warmth of Zibo.

　　When the American teachers and students set foot on the land of the MacDuffie Campus in Zibo, this in - depth dialogue between Eastern and Western education had already kicked off. As they entered the campus and passed by the spacious and bright classrooms and the exquisitely decorated gardens dotted around, Mr. and Mrs. Griffin and the students couldn't help but exclaim from time to time, "This school is so new! It's so beautiful! You know, the school in the United States has a history of 135 years. This is a completely different experience." In just a few minutes, the "differences" between the two campuses in China and the United States were already so vividly highlighted.

　　In the following days, the American teachers and students jointly experienced the charming traditional Chinese cultures such as Chinese Pinyin, calligraphy, paper - cutting, shadow puppetry, and diabolo with the students of the Zibo campus. Here, Chinese classes are not only about language learning but also about handicrafts, calligraphy, logic, and visual analysis. When delving into historical contexts, they also become a kind of social studies class in a sense. American students learned to greet each other in Chinese in class and experienced the joy of writing the Chinese character "福" (fortune) by themselves.

　　In Emma's Chinese Traditional Culture class, students have opened the door to a dialogue with China's historical legacy. Through her lucid and profound explanations, students not only gained insights into China's time-honored history but also perceived the intrinsic vitality of Chinese culture during specialized experiential lessons. Amidst lively questioning and discussions, sparks of ideas emerged from the collision between Eastern and Western cultural perspectives. In art classrooms imbued with Oriental aesthetics, paper-cutting and fan tie-dyeing workshops offered American students a unique window into understanding Chinese traditional culture. Under the meticulous demonstration and guidance of Mr. White, profound cultural connotations and artisanal techniques were transmitted through a "learning-by-doing and doing-by-learning" process. Auspicious paper-cut designs gradually took shape on students' papers, while exquisitely crafted tie-dye fans came into being one after another. This was more than an artistic creation experience—it became a cultural dialogue transcending time and space, enabling American students to deeply appreciate the sophistication and wisdom embedded in Chinese traditional handicrafts.

　　Under the meticulous guidance of Ms. Cindy, American students enthusiastically explored traditional Chinese sports like Tai Chi, kongzhu (Chinese bamboo yo-yo), and table tennis. These young people from across the ocean, through learning each movement and gesture, gained insights into both the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultures. As interactions between students from both schools deepened, seeds of friendship unknowingly took root and began to sprout.

　　Education serves as a silent language, transcending mountains and seas to connect different civilizations. This exchange visit was not merely a renewal of past connections, but rather unveiled a new chapter in Sino-American campus cultural exchanges and curriculum collaboration between the two schools.