China

===In 2012, according to (School Tool), 78 students born in China attended the ICSD. Currently,186 in the Ithaca City School District students speak Mandarin Chinese as a first or second language. This is the most common language spoken in our schools other than English, and there are more international families from China in our school district, than from any other country in the world.===



China is the world's most populated country, and one of the most diverse linguistically and culturally as well. There are many languages spoken within China, but Mandarin Chinese is the official Chinese language and is spoken by 70% of China's population. Mandarin languages have more native speakers (nearly a billion) than any other language in the world today.

China education system is the largest in the world. Traditional education is China faces both internal and external changes with the increasing influence of foreign ideas and values. In addition the one child policy in the People's republic of China is altering traditional family roles and child rearing practices. It is difficult to make generalizations about China's education system when it is so diverse and vast. The links below are only a small snapshot of Chinese culture and its educational system.

Resources
As a parent and an advocate of early childhood education, Washington State First Lady Mona Lee Locke recently embarked on a project close to her heart: encouraging a cross-cultural exchange on early education by leading a delegation of 60 U.S. teachers to China. KCTS-Seattle producer Susan Han and videographer Valerie Vozza document the 10-day visit in **Precious Children**, a one-hour presentation that reveals how this nation of 1.2 billion people is preparing its children for the future. This is the website of resources accompanying this documentary || Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. This link is to educational resources. || The Chinese Education Center is a website for study abroad in China. It is the largest China study abroad on-line community for students to share their experiences about education in China. The website offers updated and accurate resources about education in China || Journey into China and visit sites both ancient and modern. Classroom study cases include calligraphy brushes, ink, scrolls, silk embroidery, and replicas of tomb figures. The Museum visit presents a Chinese brush-painting workshop and a gallery hunt for bronzes, sculptures, and lacquerware. (Developed for Grade 3 with support from the East Asia Program at Cornell University.) ||
 * [[image:look-to-the-east.png link="@http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/"]] || ====__Precious Children: China at a Glance__====
 * [[image:asia-society.png link="@http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools"]] || ====__Asia Society: Preparing Asians and Americans for a Shared Future__====
 * [[image:educationa-in-china.png link="@http://www.chinaeducenter.com/en/cedu.php"]] || ====China Education Center====
 * [[image:johnson-museum-of-art-omni.png]] || ====OMNI Program at the Johnson Museum of Art: China Then and Now====