I took this picture of a dragon fly just outside of the Foreign Experts Building on our last day in China. It makes a nice metaphor for reflections on a journey.
Each of us will be adding our unique reflections: Anja's Analysis, Rachel's Reflections, Letter L[Laurelyn], and Cathy's Comments.
Reflecting back to my early days as a new mother, I am remembering all the toys that my toddler daughter wanted out of that McDonalds happy meal she begged me to purchase!
Where were all those amazing toys made? In China!
China is a country with huge expertise in making some of the world's best toys. Yet, physical activity and exercise is also a big part of having fun.
And, no one would argue that children NEED to play! Play is such a natural and important part of childhood. While getting impressive scores on final examinations is truly important in China, being physically fit and active is something that will follow students for a lifetime.
Playground areas should be expansive ~ grassy fields with space to have fun. In my humble opinion, the play area should be at least as important as the mathematics classroom!
To the extent that our UW-Eau Claire intervention with middle school Chinese youth addressed the importance of outdoor fun and play [balanced with sensible eating] it was a success.
Certainly, more follow-up and continuation of the work we have started is desirable. Stay tuned for additional thoughts and reflections from our research team!
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