The New York Times recently ran an article on a Chinese government program to send teachers to the US to teach Chinese language and culture in schools across the country. The Chinese government seems to see the program as a way to spread a positive view of China in the world, much in the way the US government views its own programs to send volunteers abroad, like the Peace Corps and Fulbright scholarships — soft power at its best.
The US, in turn, is probably happy to get qualified teachers to meet the growing demand for Chinese classes, as well as a chance to introduce the American way of life to a group of young Chinese people, who will presumably return to their home country and tell their friends. The superintendent of the school district in which the teacher in the article had been placed was particularly blunt about the program’s goal:
Barry Beauchamp, the Lawton superintendent, said he was thrilled to have Ms. Zheng and two other Chinese instructors working in the district. But he said he believed that the guest teachers were learning the most from the cultural exchange.
“Part of them coming here is us indoctrinating them about our great country and our freedoms,” he said. “We’ve seen them go to church and to family reunions, country music concerts, rodeos. So it’s been interesting to see them soak up our culture.”
I’m not sure how indoctrinated these teachers will be after three years in rural Oklahoma, at least if indoctrination means coming to the conclusion that America is the best country in the world. Overall, I think it’s true that the volunteers are the ones who gain the most from these exchanges — I doubt that many volunteers come back from the experience having decided that their host country is far superior to their home county, but friendly exchange is on the whole is good for everyone involved. And I like the idea that China is sending out its own army of volunteers, to match those being sent out from the US, or setting out on their own from Western Europe — the more countries participating in these kinds of exchanges, the more it feels like a mutual exchange rather than cultural imperialism. 中国，加油！