There will be no Christmas this year at Pingmin Primary School. Last night, Principal Zhang told me to cancel all our Christmas planned activities. So all the Christmas songs and performances I taught my students, we will no longer perform this Saturday, and the whole Christmas festival we had planned will just be wiped out. I will no longer be dressing up as Santa either, and Christmas 2010 will just be Saturday, December 25th.
Why? I’m not too sure either. Some government officials came this morning and spoke to us teachers for about 10 minutes. They are afraid Pingmin School is being and has the potential of being too influenced by Western values. Thus, no Christmas. Other changes are being made too. The Changjiang Civilian Education Foundation which is connected to the company that founded our school, Tecsun, will no longer be directly managing our school. Instead it will be controlled by the Government, like all the other schools in China. This means all the books for our Morality Class (品德课) that the foundation created itself, and all related Tecsun materials have been taken away. Strangely enough, they even took away a bible that we had in the library. They’ve been celebrating Christmas every year here and more and more Chinese schools are at least acknowledging it, if not downright having Christmas celebrations. And it’s not even about Christianity or religion because there was nothing religious involved with anything we have taught or planned for Christmas celebrations. Also, Morality class is a standard class in all of China, not just specialized to our school, so I’m not sure what they are afraid of.I am confused and sad. I was really looking forward to celebrating Christmas with the kids and the kids were excited to perform and see me dress up as Santa. Now all of a sudden, we won’t be celebrating together and I can’t even tell them why. They want me to be very vague if the students ask me why, but I can’t even tell them the real answer if I wanted to because this whole situation is so weird and confusing. What’s most confusing is how Principal Zhang and the rest of the teachers are handling it. They don’t seem to be affected at all. They’re smiling and very accepting, and just very 无所谓. Even Principal Zhang, who I have a lot of respect for, I feel like she is just shrugging it off. I believe I know her very well from these past few months. I know how genuine she is about this school, its vision, and its education. I know she does not have the typical Chinese mentality and understands the world outside of China and wants change. And she wants her students to know this too. But even she is unaffected. If I were her and this was my school that I helped build from the beginnings, I would be hurt and angry that someone is taking something I believe in and helped create, away from me. And even if I couldn’t change the situation, I would at least say something and try to argue. But Principal Zhang and the teachers didn’t say or do anything. They are robots that have to accept without even a whimper. They told me this is just how China is. I know they care but they also know that it’s worthless to stand up in China. They have given up even before they started. Today, I have experienced firsthand for the first time, the absence of freedom, and it hurts.
Today's Entry:
It’s 2 hours until Christmas Day. Changes have already started taking place today. A Tecsun related motto has been taken down from the dining area and been replaced by a Government motto. The school sign on the main entrance gate has also been changed. And power is slowly being succeeded to a second grade teacher affiliated with the Communist party.
I feel ashamed that yesterday I thought the teachers didn’t care about all the changes being made. Today, I spent a big chunk of the afternoon with Principal Zhang eating lunch and talking with her. She explained everything to me that’s happening and all the emotions she’s feeling. The Government is afraid of the founder of this school and his company and is afraid that some Western ideas and mentality will trickle down to our school and into our students. I have no idea whatsoever what they can possibly be afraid of. The founder is helping China and doing good. Through the two schools he has created, he has given those children that do not have a good chance to succeed a great education and opportunity. How can the Government see any harm in this? There is nothing “evil” in the education here. It is very similar to any other education at other Chinese schools. There is no Western values, religion, or anything else suspicious being imposed at all. Pingmin students have a good well-rounded education here and the Principal just wants them to become positive members of society, know the difference between right and wrong, be honest, have compassion, not take short cuts, and understand the value of hard work. How at all can this have a negative effect on the kids?
She also told me that right now she is starting to hand over her responsibilities to other teachers, as she will most likely be forced to resign from Pingmin Primary School after this semester. She started to cry. Her biggest fear and worry is not about her own safety and what might happen to her. Her biggest fear is that the kids will grow up and forget any of the moral foundation and critical thinking skills that Principal Zhang has taught them and paved the way for. She’s worried that all the hard work, the six years of education, and positive influences she had on the kids will slowly disappear. I tried to comfort her by telling her how great our students are now because they truly are. You have already influenced them in a positive way and when they grow up, they will in turn influence their peers and the next generation. After I told her this, she smiled briefly and said this is the true sign of success and the thing that would put her most at peace.
How could I have ever doubted that she didn’t care about this school? She loves this school and these students, and watching this succession of power and control go to the Government hurts her so much. She helped create Pingmin Primary School and now all of a sudden her baby is being taken away. She told me why these past days she has acted so nonchalant. A leader is suppose to be strong and shouldn’t let depressing news affect them, in case it would affect the students and teachers around her. Although it’s tearing her apart, she also doesn’t want to bring any other potential trouble to the teachers by causing more tension and riffs.
Other teachers are hurting too, but it’s hard to see because Chinese have to be strong on the outside. Like me, they’re angry, confused, and worried of what might happen. We all think it’s crazy that the Government could think we’re negatively influencing the kids because we know for a fact how obedient, how well-rounded, how happy our students are and how great of a school Pingmin is compared to other Chinese schools. Principal Zhang told me when Government officials were checking up on her, questioned if she loved China and loved the Communist Party. I couldn’t help but laugh. The teachers here love and care for China so much more than the Government does. While we are helping lift people up, they are pushing them back down. It’s so confusing why they are doing this. I always heard stories about the Government, but I never thought I would experience firsthand this kind of injustice.
After we talked, we decided to buy candy and muffins for the kids. Although we can’t celebrate Christmas here, we can at least make them happy and give them some tasty treats tonight. As Principal Zhang was handing the treats out to every class, she was careful not to wish anybody Merry Christmas or say anything related to this holiday. Instead, she told the students she is giving them treats for being such good kids and because they will continue to be good kids. I was also pleasantly surprised tonight. After handing out the treats, Principal Zhang and a few other teachers took me to my room, and to my surprise, they decorated my place with Christmas decorations, a Christmas tree with lights, and had Christmas music playing in the background. We celebrated Christmas Eve together in my room and ate the left-over snacks and treats. These people are so wonderful. They know how sad and disappointed I felt about not having a Christmas celebration here, so they decided cheer me up and come celebrate it with me here in my room. I don’t know how I could have ever doubted the sincerity of these teachers and Principal Zhang. They are one of a kind...as Pingmin Primary School once was.
No comments:
Post a Comment