The road to China starts on Hillsboro Pike in Nashville for some high school students in Davidson County Public Schools. They are learning Chinese from Mei Ni, a teacher who traveled half-way around the world, leaving behind a university teaching job in China, to establish the Confucious Classroom at Hillsboro High School.
“I think it is a great honor,” says Mei Ni.
“It’s my aim to let them learn more about China, including Chinese culture, the way Chinese people live, and the way Chinese people think through language.”
The Hillsboro Confucious Classroom is the first in Davidson County Public Schools and one of only 12 classrooms in Tennessee funded by the Confucious Institute at the University of Memphis. Nashville public school officials believe language lessons like this can evolve into sophisticated opportunities in the global economy for some of these students. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world and China has the world’s second largest economy—behind the United States.
In summer 2011, a few Hillsboro High students and teachers visited China. Hillsboro already had a focus on international business and communication, so the Chinese class is becoming a popular language choice. Cortland Owens says he expected to take Spanish his freshman year, but opted instead for Chinese.
“I felt I’d have another opportunity to take Spanish in the future, so I chose Chinese while it was available now,” says Cortland Owens, who says he has an “A” and is doing well in the class. “At the time I took it I was not aware of how unique it was. But now that I am a part of it I’m really excited and want to do well.”
Those words—in any language– Dr. Hsiang-te Kung, who directs the Confucious Institute at University of Memphis and helped arrange grants to fund the program at Hillsboro High.
“Because of economic growth in china, they do have a lot of money and instead of using the money for something else, they think the cultural exchange, through language– the people understand each other,” explains Dr. Kung. “So instead of fighting, people can actually can communicate, can talk to each other and create a harmonious society. That’s really the purpose. That’s what I really believe in.”
Dr. Kung traveled to Nashville in early November to join Metro School officials for the dedication of the Confucious Classroom. He also visited the classroom and met with students—giving them his approval.
“I think Miss Mei Ni has done an outstanding, great job of teaching the students and students like her, and she works with them and they have learned a lot of Chinese language and also culture. They seem to really adapt and adopt well,” says Dr. Kung.
Dr. Kung is a native of China, and you could say he has a birthright to assess a classroom named after the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucious. Kung is a 75th generation descendant of Confucious.
“If we can all understand each other better, know each other better, and communicate with each other better with the language—then I think the work can be more harmonious,” says Kung. ”That’s really even 2,500 years ago what Confucious trying to say. He really thinks about a harmonious world.”
That is an ancient Chinese proverb that seems to still have meaning for a new generation of learners at Hillsboro High– like Jared Akers, who spoke during the dedication program for the Confucious Classroom.
“I hope to be part of a society that bridges the international gap through my future endeavors. I hope one day to be an influence to other young people and to help create opportunities like this. Again, thank you for being here and making Hillsboro part of this unique relationship. Xie xie (thank you).”