November, 2000
Volume 4, Issue 4

Among the many interesting places we visited was a pre-school for 3 to 6 year olds in Shanghai. It was truly a showplace. The children were absolutely adorable as they went about their daily tasks, oblivious to our presence. We learned that the school was founded in 1954 by Chiang Ki Shek’s second wife and has been maintained at a high standard ever since.

In the geography class the little ones were seated around the room in a circle and were very attentive. In the center of the room was a short, round table with a large world globe in the middle, and on the wall was a very large map of China. Undoubtedly the teacher was explaining, in Chinese, that China is a very large country and an important part of the world community.

The dining room had a large, low table with platters displaying various finger foods. The children wandered around at will snacking on what appealed to them. Interestingly, in front of each plate was the name of the location represented by the food. The veggies went begging, but one platter had only a couple of morsels left on the plate. It was labeled ITALY and the food?—pizza from Pizza Hut. Another platter was totally empty. It was labeled USA and the food?—probably french-fries from McDonald’s, or maybe morsels of chicken from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Both restaurants are favorite watering holes on the weekend for Chinese children. Does this sound familiar or what?

We had a short concert in the theater room—piano, violin, zither, and an unusual viol that was taller than the little girl who played it. The children all played skillfully and were quite intent and serious and enjoyed showing off their talents.

The children in the art class were very busy coloring “within the lines”—at least most of them were within the lines. One very little boy was very intent and quite artistic. He colored not only within the lines but varied his colors in a rainbow pattern.

We visited another room where there was taped music and children singing and dancing in costumes they had selected. Some of the music was western type—Happy Birthday and Ring-Around-the-Rosy—and they especially enjoyed the “all fall down” with much giggling. We were told that the children were learning a little English. (We found that in China many of the primary school children attend English language schools and like to practice their new language skills on foreign visitors.)

The visit to the school was a very delightful experience that I will never forget!