Mandarin Immersion Parents Council

Peter Hessler’s book River Town came out in 2001. About his years in the late 1990s as a Peace Corps volunteer there, it’s a brilliant portrait of China as it emerged from isolation and was beginning an era of rapid change. He later reported from China and has written several books since, all worth reading. Now he’s published one that will be of special interest to parents whose children are in Mandarin immersion, if they’ve ever wondered “What would this all be like in China?” Your answer will come as you read Other Rivers: A Chinese Education, which came out in August. It covers the two years his twin daughters attended a large public school in Sichuan. I’ve always loved Hessler’s work because while he clearly has deep affection for China and the Chinese people, he isn’t shy about talking about its issues as well.

The exerpt linked to below appeared in The Guardian newspaper.

Our twins spent two years at primary school in Chengdu. Their lessons featured alarming cautionary tales and stories of Chinese superiority, but there was fun and irreverence, too

By Peter Hessler The Guardian

Near the end of third grade, my twin daughters, Ariel and Natasha, officially joined the Young Pioneers of China. This organisation is under the auspices of the Chinese Communist party, and members are between the ages of six and 14. In order to become a Young Pioneer at Chengdu Experimental primary school, the public institution my daughters attended in the south-western Chinese city, there was no application, no interview and no ceremony. Parents were not consulted or informed. The twins simply came home one afternoon wearing Young Pioneer pins on their right breasts. The pins featured a gold star, a red torch and the name of the organisation – Zhongguo Shaoxiandui – in gold Chinese characters. Ariel and Natasha told me and my wife, Leslie, that from now on they would be required to wear the pins on Mondays, when Chengdu Experimental held its weekly flag-raising ceremony, as well as on other special occasions.

Please read more here.