Thursday, June 23, 2016


June 23

In the last 2 days we have visited two top foreign language schools in the Suzhou area of Jingsu province. Here is a evening shot from near our restaurant.


We ended the night in downtown historic Suzhou for a wonderful meal. I am learning to eat boldly! This dish is one of the more desired in the area.
One of the goals of the Culture Matters Inc. Tour I am on is to gain an understanding of the educational landscape of the Chinese schools. In the last 2 days, I have gained a clear perspective of the Chinese private schools. Their end goal is sharply clear: Chinese students want to attend elite US colleges and universities.

If the goal of Unity is to recruit private students who are seeking elite programs, then we will face serious obstacles as a Christian school.

  1. The Chinese parents of these private academies are leery of their children becoming brainwashed into the Christian faith. For the most part the Chinese are nominally Buddhist, but live mostly a non-religious life. A Christian school is scary to them.
  2. In general, the Chinese are interested in the best prestigious American universities. Therefore they want prestigious American high schools They want the name brand top 50 Universities in the US ( Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Columbia). Dordt, Trinity, Calvin and Wheaton are not on their radars.
  3. As a Christian school, we need to be clear and unashamed on our mission and vision. We need not cater to students who are simply seeking an elite education.

At Unity, I believe we offer the best of academic quality and a sharp reformed biblical perspective.

It is becoming clear to me that our focus moving forward needs to be on the Hidden Christian Schools of China. These schools provide a better opportunity for us. Christian schools in China align with our biblical worldview. The Christian schools in China also face the discrimination of not being able to take the placement exam for universities and colleges in China. We can be a blessing to them and these students can be a spiritual and cultural blessing to us.

The obstacle in serving the Chinese Christian schools and their families is money. The school families cannot afford the cost of travel and tuition, and yet they desire to attend American Christian schools. We want to be a Kingdom partner with these schools, learning together in our cultural differences and similarities.

We have tremendous opportunities to grow our school enrollment in China through Chinese Christian schools. Where might God lead us in these partnerships?

Wayne

2 comments:

  1. Came expecting a hockey blog. Left disappointed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wayne,
    attached in a link is a youtube video that I believe portrays daily life at Unity as it has been described to me by multiple students. It is an educational piece by a renowned artist, that paints an excellent anecdotal picture.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm_t3g4RhpY
    Thank you,
    01000011

    ReplyDelete