Educators From China Visit to Exchange Ideas
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The mayor of Guangzhou, China, sent Yun Sen Chen to America with a mission: Seek out ways to improve the training of school administrators at home.
Yun, president of Guangzhou Normal University, is leading a delegation of 39 secondary school principals on a two-week U.S. tour. He sees the visit as “an opportunity to promote mutual understanding and mutual learning between educators in the U.S. and in China.”
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 21, 1997 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday June 21, 1997 Ventura County Edition Metro Part B Page 5 Zones Desk 1 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
Wrong name--A story Friday incorrectly reported the name of the president of Guangzhou National University. Chen Yun Sen was the leader of a delegation of school principals from China who visited Oxnard and Ventura.
Both countries, he said, have much to learn from each other.
The group, which is being hosted by representatives from Cal State Northridge, toured the Oxnard Elementary School District and Ventura College on Thursday. They met with school officials to discuss funding, instruction and personnel.
“We found that we are facing many of the same issues,” said Bernard Korenstein, superintendent of the Oxnard district. He cited overcrowded classrooms and the desire to further develop language and arts programs as examples of common interests.
Korenstein added that the Chinese delegates offered an interesting approach to the problem of funding: Guangzhou schools operate businesses to raise money for education.
Yun also said Guangzhou schools pay administrators 10% lower salaries than teachers. U.S. schools pay administrators up to 20% above teaching salaries. Chinese schools also hire fewer administrators.
After their meeting with the school district officials, the delegates visited Frank Intermediate School, an Oxnard middle school that boasts the most advanced educational technology in the district. Then they toured Ventura College, whose vocational and technical training programs the Chinese university aims to emulate.
“We anticipate that as we move into the 21st century, there will be an increasing need for programs like this,” said Yun.
The visit is part of a collaborative effort between the Chinese university and two CSUN programs: the Center for Partnerships for Educational Reform, directed by Elliot Mininberg, and the China Institute, led by Justine Su.
Mininberg and Su helped to initiate the program during their visit to China last fall, and hope to develop it into a biannual exchange.
The Guangzhou Normal University is one of 20 Chinese schools offering collaborative programs with CSUN.
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