Children and child care in China: some observations

Children Today, May-June, 1989 by Emily Sedgwick Galvin

Children and Child Care in China: Some Observations

In June 1987, I had an opportunity to visit the People's Republic of China when the Shaanxi Institute of Mechanical Engineering in Xian invited my husband--a professor in the Business School at Northern Illinois University--to lecture on Inventory Management. During our 2-week stay in Xian, we lived in the "Guesthouse" of the Shaanxi Institute. Located directly across from our residence was the day care center for children of students of the Institute. Attempting to gain some insight into the remarkably gentle, considerate and polite behavior of the Chinese people, I asked to visit the day care facility.

Built in 1983, the school is constructed on two levels and has a large outdoor area. The director of the school explained that the children are divided by age into nine classes, with 20 children in a class. However, 30 children per class appeared to be more accurate, although 20 may be the average size since classes with younger children are smaller, and in the nursery, there is one teacher for every two babies. Graduation from this school occurs at age six. The cost is 13 to 15 yuan per month; the yuan is divisible into 100 fen and exchangeable for roughly 30 U.S. cents.

In ancient times, the Bell Tower, built in 1384, served as an alarm clock for Xian, the capital of China during the Han and Tang Dynasties. Even today alarm clocks are not needed by the students of Shaanxi Institute. Beginning at 6:30 a.m., music is played over a very loud speaker. Parents bring their child to the school at 8:00 a.m. Classes are quickly assembled and exercises are performed until 8:30 a.m. Music plays, again over a loud speaker, but it is exclusive to the school area.

The school is notably clean. Xian is subject to loess, the fine yellow dust full of nutrients which constantly blows in from Inner Mongolia. It provides for excellent agriculture, and Xian consequently has enjoyed a good economy since the beginning of civilization. However, loess makes good housekeeping almost impossible, and it is suspected that a laissez-faire attitude toward loess--if not, in fact, a lax attitude toward cleanliness in general--reigns.

The Chinese we observed are very exercise conscious. Adults and children do calisthenics in groups early in the morning. The children at the center certainly seem to enjoy the exercises, and they look remarkably accomplished. While some of the movements involve gross motor skills such as clapping, stretching up and touching toes set to marching music, many are delicate, graceful hand movements reminiscent of interpretive dance.

When the exercises are completed, classes begin in the separate classrooms. Each of the large classrooms is identical, with one wall of windows, scaled-down tables and chairs, a few shelves with toys, a lavatory connected to a sleeproom (where a neatly folded blanket rests on each small bed), and a sickroom. The stairs leading up to the four classrooms on the upper level are very difficult for adults to climb, since they were sized for very short legs. The kitchen and nursery--a large room and two small sleeping rooms--are housed in a separate wing with convenient and direct access to the street. Although the equipment is minimal, the children receive more than adequate attention. Mother helpers--who hold and help feed the babies and toddlers--are used for 2-hour periods.

By American standards, the children's behavior in each of the classrooms is exemplary. Since much of the learning is done through song, preschool teachers must be proficient dancers and be able to play the "electric piano" and sing. Typically, the teachers sing a question and the children sing the answer in unison. The children sing loudly, often clap to the music and seem totally unselfconscious. Often one child is chosen to lead the others both in the exercise time and in song in the classroom. Each chosen child performs without hesitation or shyness. Rote learning presumably accounts for the precision with which all the children participate.

The interpreter explained that one of the songs, which was being sung by the upcoming graduating class, was about growing up and moving to another school. The song was as upbeat and happy as the children singing it. Another class, this one of 3-year-olds, was clapping and shaking hands to the tune of "Edelweiss."

In contrast to American preschools, where children may be engaged in different activities with one or two other youngsters, everything in the Chinese school is done as a group. As we observed a class of 4-year-olds painting with water colors, each child painted the same picture with the same colors.

Throughout the morning, children are given frequent little breaks from their highly structured routine. For example, after 10 minutes of song, the teacher instructs the children to lay their heads down on the table or line up for a glass of water. Each teacher keeps her pupils within tight restraints and busy at a specific task all the time.