By Jay Chilton
MiddleGround News
Superintendent Joy Hofmeister recently traveled with a delegation of seven other state superintendents from the U.S. to visit Shanghai, China in May 12-14 for the China State/Provincial Education Leaders Dialogue. Hofmeister met with Chinese officials to discuss opportunities for a mutual exchange of ideas in education and culture.
Communications director Phil Bacharach said Hofmeister went on the trip to learn more about China and the way their education system works.
Topics discussed included professional development, rural schools, technology, testing, evaluation of teachers and more. The U.S. delegation visited local schools in Shanghai to learn more about China’s educational system in practice.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) praised the dialogue on their website.
The report read, in part, “The third in a series of dialogues between American State and Chinese Provincial education leaders convened from 12-14 May 2015 in Shanghai, China to discuss the shared priorities of teacher professional development and student assessment. With the support of the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), Shanghai Normal University, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the Council of Chief State Schools Officers, and the Asia Society, leaders from seventeen provinces and eight states met to build on the successes of previous dialogues held in Boston and Beijing.”
Ed Homeroom, the official blog of the U.S. Department of Education, wrote about the challenges and successes of the trip in an article which can be found here.
However, some conservative education advocates have criticized the trip, claiming it to be an effort on the part of CCSSO, the Council of Chief State School Officers, to lobby U.S. state education chiefs, including Hofmeister, in favor of implementation of Common Core standards. One such institute, Wyoming Freedom in Education, published a story by Michelle Sabrosky claiming a communist influence and an extensive conflict of interest on the part of CCSSO. The report can be found here.
Costs for the trip were covered by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Left-wing education advocate and Common Core supporter, Leaning Forward, published an article praising the Chinese government’s authoritarian approach to common education. Stephanie Hirsh, executive director for Leaning Forward, was part of the delegation to Shanghai and wrote about the experience in a blog post from May 28. In her article, she listed four lessons the U.S. can learn from China in the area of education.
She wrote, “1. China respects its teachers. 2. China views job-embedded professional learning as essential to improving teaching. It is nonnegotiable. 3. Chinese parents are strong advocates for teacher professional development. 4. China supports its priorities with the investments required to address them.”
Her entire post can be found here.
The U.S. Delegation traveling to Shanghai included:
- Jillian Balow, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Washington
- Michael Hanley, Commissioner of Education & Early Development, Alaska
- Joy Hofmeister, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Oklahoma
- Denise Juneau, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Montana
- Michael Martirano, State Superintendent, West Virginia
- Brad Neuenswander, Kansas Interim Commissioner of Education
- Carey Wright, State Superintendent of Education for Mississippi
- Deb Delisle, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
- Maureen McLaughlin, Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Director of International Affairs, U.S. Department of Education
- Vivien Stewart, Senior Advisor, Asia Society
- Jeff Wang, Director, Education and China Learning Initiatives, Asia Society
- Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director, Learning Forward
- Brian Gong, President of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment
- Scott Marion, Vice President, National Center for the Improvement in Educational Assessment
- Chris Minnich, Executive Director, CCSSO
- Margaret Millar, Director of Member Services and Outreach, CCSSO
She should feel very much at home in the Peoples Republic of China.
These folks have WAY TOO MUCH MONEY!!!!!!