Education has always been a part of my family business. My grandfather, Sir Y.K. Pao, has always shown great interest in the development of China’s education. He funded the libraries of both Ningbo University and Jiao Tong University and established the Sino-British Friendship Scholarship Programme. Establishing the non-profit YK Pao School is not only our way of carrying on Sir Y.K. Pao’s enthusiasm and support of education, but also to give back to the community at the grass-roots level. I often tell my friends that we are the founders of Pao School, but the school doesn’t just belong to us. It belongs to everyone. It belongs to the community. This is the dream that we started, and we hope you will join us in helping Pao School become a world-class school for tomorrow’s China.
——Philip Sohmen
Pao School Co-founderand Deputy Chairman
The YK Pao School Foundation was established in 2010 to provide a platform for supporters and become the driving force behind the school's continual development. Since the establishment of the Foundation, the founders’ family, foundation members, parents and supporters of the school have made generous donations, funding projects in strategic areas including campus development, scholarships and financial aid, teaching talent, bilingual teaching, whole-person education, and Information Technology, bring positive impact upon the entire Pao community.
Through the donations raised by the annual fund project, the Foundation provides teachers with overseas training and exchange opportunities every year since 2013.In addition to overseas exchange programs, the Foundation also provides a variety of programs, including scholarship, Chinese culture, and the Professional Learning Center.
With the help from the Foundation, 3 more Pao School teachers have enjoyed exchanging and interaction with overseas schools during the summer holiday in 2018.
Chinese Teacher, Annie Zhu did an exchange program at Francis Parker School in San Diego;
Math Teacher, Vicky Yi did an exchange program at St. George's School in Rhode Island;
Humanity Teacher, Maple Liang did an exchange program at Charterhouse College in the UK.
Vicky Yi
Joined Pao School in 2012 as a Math teacher
In this article, High School Math teacher Vicky Yi shares her thoughts and feelings upon her visit to St. George’s School in Rhode Island, USA.
Application
Because I teach “Shanghai +” and IGCSE courses, I look for opportunities to boost my exposure to the best international teaching practices. More exposure to leading pedagogies can help us at Pao School deliver more comprehensive education, improving our students' international outlook, innovation ability and hands-on skills as well as their performance in IGCSE and IB courses. With that in mind, I chose the longest teacher exchange program offered in the 2018-19 academic year as I wanted to do more than sit in on a few classes; rather, I wanted to have a thorough understanding of the school's overall approach to education. Fortunately, I received a positive response from the school within a few days of applying to the program.
Impression ofSt. Georges School
Campus
Saint George's School has an idyllic campus, which left a deep impression on me. It's a sprawling campus with no walls that extends all the way to the ocean. It's so close to the sea that students can stop by the beach when they have spare time to enjoy the sun, sea breeze and surf.St. George's has a rich history, which is reflected in the academic atmosphere of the campus. Everywhere on campus, you can see teachers and students moving hurriedly. You can also see lots of students and parents visiting the campus every day. One thing that immediately stands out is the friendliness of everyone: They all give a warm smile to foreign guests. I received a friendly reception everywhere I went on campus: the classes I sat in on, during faculty meetings I attended, during assembly time and tutoring sessions.
Curriculum
St. George focuses on personalizing students' educational experiences, providing each student with a personalized curriculum. Students are placed at different levels in courses based on their individual learning background. Students in different grades may study in the same level Math class together.The curriculum at St. George's School ties in closely with real-world events. For instance, in the Global Study course, students explore the culture, politics, and climates of different societies. In some courses, students and teachers sail together on the same boats and learn about life in different places.
St. George's School offers students plentiful opportunities to showcase, explore, and research. Each course is designed to activate students' enthusiasm for their studies, and the school offers many electives. At St. George's, whether you're in the school library or dining hall, you always can find confident students and teachers who are patient listeners.St. George's curriculum includes quite a few practical activities to enrich students' learning. For instance, the mathematics program of study includes many real-life examples of how math is used, teaching students how to apply theoritical knowledge in a practical context.
Featured Class
In a similar vein to Pao School, St. George's requires students to do presentations. When you watch St. George's students present, you can see how enthusiastic they are about their learning, whether from the high quality of the presentations or the attentive and courteous audience. I was especially impressed by St. George's students' presentations for their Global Study course. The presentations were based on discussions the students had within their respective study groups for the course, with content covering government policy, history, demographics, capital and climate. From the presentations it was clear that the students were well versed in the subject matter; they came across as knowledgeable and confident. They also handled questions from the audience well, including when differences of opinion arose.
Math Class
I sat in on about 20 different classes at St. George’s School. One of the classes - the one which I attended the most - was Math class led by an experienced teacher with a highly advanced pedagogy. He focused on his teaching on both the intriguing and practical elements of math, while offering students a chance to discover the aspects of math that interest them to the most - similar to how we teach the subject at Pao School. At St. George’s School, you can see the students' math-related work everywhere in the classroom and there are plenty of math-related activities in which students can participate.
This ten-day exchange program seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, yet I learned a great deal both from my general experience sitting in classes and my study of specific teaching methods used at St. George's. All of it will be useful to me in my own classes at Pao School.
Pao School hopes that all of its teachers can be life-long learners. Teaching is a career highly relevant to our everyday lives; our educational experiences in childhood have a formative effect on our future lives. We encourage all of our teachers to be open-minded, boost their self-awareness and inspire a passion for learning in students. YK Pao School’s Professional Learning Center was launched on our inaugural Global Education Forum in 2018. During the last year, it provided our teachers with opportunities for career development in the future that include training courses and certifications. The Professional Learning Center will take the quality of instruction at Pao School to a whole new level.As the core of the five-year plan of Pao School, the teachers’ development, including overseas study program, has received strong support from the Foundation.
