A Strategic Plan for Education in China
By Peter C. C. Wang*1
***Editor's note: Opinions expressed by this author, Dr. Peter Wang, are freely and absolutely his own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of ownership and management of this Institute.Dear Tony:
It was a nice discussion with you over the phone. Sorry I was negligent in sending you the update.*2 Here it is. Thanks for your keen interest shown in what I was doing. Best regards to you and Judy.
Peter
Dr. Peter C.C. Wang
P. O. Box 234
Pebble Beach, CA 93953
Phone: 831-624-1694
E-mail: Petercwang@aol.com
A Strategic Plan for Education in China
By Peter C.C. Wang Ph.D.
Chairman and CEO Wang Center, Inc.
A California Nonprofit Corporation
July 4, 2004
China's population now exceeds 1.3 billion people and is expected to reach 2 billion by 2050. Just over half of the total current Chinese population is under the age of 24. One of the greatest challenges confronting China, and her relationship with the United States, is the education of her young people. Building schools and providing teachers for several hundred millions of students will cost staggering sums of money and will be an enormous and complex undertaking. The challenges are great but so are the opportunities!*3
My vision is that the international community can play a pivotal role in developing educators, the educational system and educational content that can change the world and to illustrate to Chinese authorities the great wisdom on international cooperation in promoting mutual prosperity, knowledge and peace.*4
The role I envision for the Wang Center INC is to facilitate cooperative initiatives to expose Chinese educators to the best international education practices, and demonstrate how extensive use of technology and distributed learning techniques are the logical, most efficient and cost effective way in which to address the current educational deficit and to involve educators, young people and other stakeholders in the United States and China in the development of relevant courseware. Given that the cost of Instant Messaging (IM) complete computers is dropping dramatically combined with the rapid expansion of open-source software, cost may no longer be a severely limiting factor in the wider use of information technology in education in underserved areas of the world.
What is urgently needed, however, is the development of high quality and relevant courseware, which includes educational software, audio and video programs. These programs must be distributed across the vast expanse of the entire country, from the great cities of Beijing, Shanghai to the smallest villages in the Gobi Desert. A comprehensive library of courseware programs that teach agriculture business related mathematics, languages, sciences, history and arts should complement and enhance the conventional school experience, as well as furnish a core curriculum for self-study and adult education. In order to take advantage of low-cost teleconferencing notebook computers and leverage the full potential of available technology we must develop courseware and training programs. An essential companion goal is training advanced IT professionals as human resources for this new pedagogical shift in education.
The world desperately needs innovative development of this kind. For many poor regions throughout the world, this offers unique opportunity to reduce the economic divide, which is the main reason why we live in such a confused world. We have an opportunity to redefine future education in the world through courseware development of content, which would be distributed through digital means by spreading basic useful, peaceful and safe knowledge to a great number of people. In turn, such knowledge would offer substantial hope to young people everywhere on earth. With digital network tools plus the latest teleconference desk top computers to distribute carefully developed courseware as content we can empower teachers to educate hundreds of millions of people including K-12 students in rural and remote areas of China. We would need to prepare large numbers of highly proficient IT professionals who will serve to support the education need. These professionals would make it possible to complete the IM environment for high school teachers including the maintenance, testing, management and integration of all educational content developed and other essential software need on all notebook computers used as teleconferencing systems.
To promote education in China is a gigantic task but the potential results are well worth the effort. The opportunity is open now and if people of vision and goodwill act I am confident that collectively we can have a significant impact on the future of China, the United States and the world! Time has finally arrived.
MISSION STATEMENTS:
The Wang Center INC supports educational projects in China to reduce the gap between the haves and have-nots with the following emphases:
Positively impact lives of over 900 million people in rural areas through distance learning and work-study programs.
Benefit people in remote and inaccessible locations in China.
Provide students in the United States and Asia with opportunities to participate in programs and activities that can change the world.
Promote mutually beneficial trade including the important small business sector.
Teach practical skills that people can use everyday.
Educate students with skills and knowledge that would help them to enter higher levels of educational opportunities in China.
Promote close collaborations and partnerships between China and United States in agriculture related business training through work-study programs located in Hartnell College, Monterey County, California.
BUSINESS PLAN:
To be presented after consultations with China and major sponsors from Foundations and Corporations with business interest in China.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS:
In Beijing, China or Carmel Valley, Pebble Beach, California USA
CORPORATE STRUCTURES:
The Wang Center INC has been incorporated in the State of California as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The structure, operation, and focus of the center shall be consistent with the terms of this and any other subsequent agreement(s) and shall, among other things, include the following:
1. Governing Board. The governing board of the center shall consist of a board of directors that includes Peter C.C. Wang, the Founder of the Center plus two other directors. In addition to its annual meeting, the governing board shall meet at least semi-annually to review Center's operation and to advise the Founding Director.
2. Operation would generate work-study scholarships awarded annually by the Wang Center Inc board of directors and advisors.
ORGANIZATIONS AND PURPOSE:
Empower teachers with newest high technology as tools to give every child a chance to share the educational benefits of the digital age and make globalization work for the benefit of every child in every village.
Establishing training center in Beijing to train high-level IT professionals aiding the development and management of courseware as content.
Establishing work-study centers in Monterey County devoted to agriculture business and management training for Chinese farming organizations and American agriculture business that are interested in extending their business in China.
POTENTIAL STRATEGIC PARTNERS Contacted from 2003:
Deputy Premier, China
Ministry of Education, China
Ministry of Information Industries, China
The sole investment arm of the Ministry of Information Industry, Beijing
Ministry of Agriculture, China
Beijing University High School?™s e-learning program enrolled 1500+ High
Schools all over the country, China
Beijing Normal University, Beijing
China Education Electronics Corporation, Beijing
Sichuan University in Chengdu, China
Pacific Lutheran University, Washington
Hartnell College, California
Wayne State University, Michigan
Lee Foundation, Hong Kong
Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft
PROPOSED MANAGEMENT:
Dr. Peter C.C. Wang, Founding Director, Chairman and CEO
Dr. Grace L. Wang, Treasurer and Director
Dr. Peng Liu, President and Director
Dr. Tosiyasu Kunii, Director
PROPOSED CORPORATE ADVISORS:
Dr. Loren Anderson
Board Member and Past Chair, National Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities: Board Member American
Leadership Forum; Board Member: Washington Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities
President, Pacific Lutheran University
Dr. William H. Foege
Senior Advisor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
Senior Advisor, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
Member, American College of Epidemiology,
Member, American Medical Association,
Board Member, Rockefeller Foundation; The Casey Foundation
Board of Regents, Pacific Lutheran University
Mr. Yunxiang Wang
Ambassador, Consul General of The People?™s Republic of China in San Francisco (1999-2004)
Wang Center Advisor for International Programs at Pacific Lutheran University
Mr. Sidney Rittenberg
Recipient of the first Peace Maker Award in 2003 from the Wang
Center for International Programs, Consultant to many Fortune 500
corporations with business interest in China
Mr. Richard N. Hildahl
International Development Projects on behalf of the World Bank and
several multi-lateral organizations
Board of Regents, Pacific Lutheran University
Dr. Robert Thomas
Dean, College of Sciences and Dean, College of Liberal Arts
Wayne State University
Thesis advisor to over twenty Chinese Ph.D. Students in physics
Dr. Janet Rasmussen
Executive Director, Wang Center for International Programs,
Elected Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Harvard University Ph.D. in Germanic Language and Literatures
FOUNDER?™S VISION AND SCOPE:
In addition to the great and worthy goals of this initiative discussed above, it would be my motivation to provide additional scholarships at the Wang Center of Pacific Lutheran University and elsewhere for highly qualified and motivated students who show commitment to lifetime service in international business and Sino/US relations. Furthermore I hope to encourage and inspire others to join the cause of using technology effectively to promote education and literacy in areas of the world with an education deficit.
I firmly believe that the great companies of this century will be those who prove with their actions they can be profitable and increase social value-companies that both do well and do good. At a personal level, I believe we should and must embrace with the same goals.
My preference is to have the Deputy Premier of the State Council, in coordination with leading industrial, agricultural technology companies in the United States, in charge of this project to insure its future success and financial support. At that time the proposed management would be reorganized and shall be dedicated to raise funds for work-study programs and long term planning.
Our business model can be extended to cover all parts of the globe and is not limited to China.
HARTNELL COLLEGE?™S ROLE & RELATIONSHIPS
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY?™S ROLE & RELATIONSHIPS
PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY?™S ROLE & RELATIONSHIPS:
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) anticipates involvement in this significant project of teacher training and educational development, arising from the university?™s commitment and distinctive strength in teacher education and global education, including Chinese Studies. PLU?™s primary partner in China is Sichuan University in Chengdu. A cooperative arrangement between PLU?™s Wang Center for International Programs and the Wang Center INC can support the delivery of requisite training for teacher educators, teachers, and technology professionals.
In the first instance, we offer the following potential areas for partnership with the Chinese educational system:
delivering course content to Chinese learners in one or more disciplines in which we are particularly strong, such as education, English, global studies, and math.
employing and teaching a variety of synchronous and asynchronous learning methodologies and technologies, including such web-based resources a streaming audio and video.
supporting the use of these resources and technologies with live technologists and library professionals using chat and co-browsing technologies for real-time satisfaction of information access and technology needs.
PLU is currently involved with projects of teacher training in rural Namibia in southern Africa, the delivery of real-time communication with a mobile Arctic expedition, and
training for teachers of immigrant children and economically disadvantaged populations in rural Washington State. This work is taking place under the rubric of the university?™s vision to provide education for a just, healthy, sustainable, and peaceful world.*5
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: PLEASE CONTACT
Dr. Peter C.C. Wang Dr. Janet Rasmussen
Wang Center Incorporated Wang Center for International Programs
PO Box 234 Pacific Lutheran University
Pebble Beach, CA 93953-0234 Tacoma, WA 98447-0003
Tel: 831-624-1694 Tel: 253-535-7577
Fax: 831-625-3702 Fax: 253-535-8752
E-mail: Petercwang@aol.com E-mail: wangctr@plu.edu
WEBSITE:
Please check us out about current Wang Center activities at our website: www.plu.edu click on Global Education and then click on Wang Center.
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References
*1. Dr. Peter C. C. Wang is the Chairman of Wang Center Inc. and a Regent of Pacific Lutheran University.
*2. Wang, Peter C. C.. 'Overview: A Strategic Plan for Wang Center INC.,' "An e-mail to Dr. and Mrs. Tony Lei by Dr. Peter C. C. Wang," (June 4, 2004), Pebble Beach, CA: Wang Center, Inc.
*3. Ibid.
*4. Wang, Peter C. C.. 'A Strategic Plan for Education in China,' "An e-mail to Dr. and Mrs. Tony Lei by Dr. Peter C. C. Wang," (July 10, 2004), Pebble Beach, CA: Wang Center, Inc.
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