If this is Tuesday it must be Shanghai!!!

Our day started with a visit to Xi'angming High School. This is one of the top high schools in Shanghai. Students in China have to take exams to get into high school. Students at this school who have outstanding skills in the arts and in sports- basketball, table tennis and swimming, are invited for an interview and other students placed high on the high school exams. There are about 25% international students. Students in high school take many of the same classes as American students but different then S.A.T. scores for American students- these students must place high on exams at the end of high school before they can graduate and their acceptance in college is based on these exam scores. Many students from this school attend the top four colleges in China and many travel and attend college in the U.S.

Our group in front of a sign welcoming us to the school.

The high school is best know for it's sports program and it's arts program. Teachers only teach 2 to 3 sections of their content area classes (Swampscott Teachers don't get any ideas!!) but they are also expected to do research and publish their work. Although teachers only teach a two or three sections- there are 40 to 45 students in each class so they teach the same number of students in the end as Swampscott teachers. There is a very large, active and award winning Science and technology program at the school. This is an after-school and Saturday program for students.

Chinese Class at High School from Ralph Watson on Vimeo.

After leaving the school we went down to the river from called the Bunt- we were on the old Shanghai of the river looking across to new Shanghai. The tallest building currently has 101 floors and is the building in the back ground with the open square on the top of the building. The narrow building with the red ball half way up is a T.V. tower.