Solo ceremony for BCIS graduate

"Education is not filling a bucket, it is lighting a fire," said Upper School Principal of the Beijing City International School (BCIS) Frank Davis, quoting the 20th century Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. Davis' words came as he presided over a very special graduation ceremony - special in that it featured only one student on June 6.

Jiang Ruoyi (or "Ray" to her English-speaking friends) is the first Grade 12 student to graduate from the BCIS. After three years at the school, she is now moving on to study photography at the University of New York.

During the ceremony, Davis recalled Ray's first interview at BCIS when, somewhat shyly, she spoke of her visit to the US and her ambition to one day be a professional golfer.

He said: "Now she speaks with knowledge, passion and confidence - attributes she showed recently while engaging with a visiting art examiner. She has also performed in a rock band, single-handedly hosted a school assembly, become a senior student at the Student's Council and helped a group of parents, teachers and administrators and students craft the school's Mission Statement."

Davis said, as a witness to her remarkable growth, he was particularly delighted to be present at the graduation ceremony.

Despite the challenges in providing regular classes for just one student, Davis said the BCIS had done its utmost to accommodate Ray's particular needs. During her time at the school, she was taught individually by some seven different teachers. In total, her teachers had more than 100 years of educational experience between them and had worked with students in 20 different countries.

Davis quipped: "Typically, when Ray walked into a classroom, she lowered the average age by 14 years."

Ray, who once felt hopeless in study during her previous years in Beijing and the US, discovered her passion for art at BCIS.

Speaking at her own graduation, she was at pains to express her gratitude to her teachers:

"I never thought that I could study art during my time at university. It was BCIS that inspired me to. Through BCIS, I discovered my passion for art. It was here that I learnt that an artist has a social responsibility and should always strive to show and share their vision. Throughout my time here, I was exposed to a curriculum designed to stretch, challenge and provoke."

Over the past few years, the school was unstinting in its efforts to help her complete study of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. They designed seven courses: Chinese (literature), English, Geography, Mathematics, Biology, Art and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) specifically with Ray in mind.

Ray was impressed by the teaching methodology of her Art and TOK studies, believing them to represent the very essence of the IB curriculum.

Throughout her art classes she was moved and impressed by her teacher, Richard Todd, who taught her how to think both creatively and artistically, rather than simply "drawing" an item or subject.

Todd sees "an art classroom" as very much "a philosophy classroom". During their classes together, he was keen to inspire her as to how to answer and respond to various challenges. To this end he gave her a series of assignments, each of them requiring considerable investigation and research.

Away from her academic needs, the school helped Ray overcome her initial loneliness. She was provided with frequent opportunities to go outside the classroom and, regardless of traditional age barriers, mingle with the school's other students.

Ray's mother, Jiang Xueyuan, told China Daily that she has made a great endeavor to find a perfect school for Ray and she was very delighted to see her choice proved to be a success.

More and more mothers are following Jiang's example and looking to move their children to BCIS in order to study its IB program.

In light of this, the school has now launched a Grade 10-11 scholarship for both existing and prospective students inside and outside the school. Around 60 students applied for the course in May, with seven winning scholarships. A second round of applications is due in August when the school is confident that still more students will want to enroll at its Beijing campus.

(China Daily 06/15/2009 page1)