Journalist Japhet Weeks has written an article about Shu Ren International School and the demand for Mandarin immersion education in the East Bay. From the article:
On a Friday afternoon in the Plum Garden classroom, Julian’s first grade teacher asked him to perform a simple task: bring a cardboard box full of paper scraps to the table. Instead, Julian grabbed a scrap of paper from the box. The teacher told him again that she wanted the box, but Julian still didn’t understand. So she took the box herself as she repeated the request, enunciating each word.
Julian’s “ah-hah!” moment consisted of a nod and a slightly embarrassed smile. He shuffled back to the table, picked up his scissors and began cutting again.
Julian, a student at the newly opened, private Shuren International School in Berkeley, had difficulty understanding his teacher, To Kai-yao, because she spoke to him in Mandarin. It was only his tenth day of class.
More American kids than ever are learning Mandarin, spurred on by the rapid ascension of China over the past three decades from a country mired in messy revolution to a global economic powerhouse.
…Shuren, which claims to be the only full-time Chinese-language immersion school in the East Bay– and hopes to one day offer a dual-immersion program – is counting on the appetite for Chinese-language education to keep growing.
…Anne-Marie Pierce, President of AMP & Associates, the educational consulting firm that helped launch Shuren, is optimistic about the school’s future. She says the school has a low enrollment now because Moore had difficulty finding a school site and got off to a late start. Shuren “has everything going for it,” she said. “The need and the demand for Chinese bilingual education is very high for good reasons — Chinese is one of the languages of the future.”
The article also features a very nice slideshow of the classrooms and students which includes an interview with Head of School Jie Moore talking about her vision for Shu Ren. Please read the full article here.
