A different class of teaching

The revival and honoring of an ancient form of debate is bringing change to the classrooms, as Yang Yang reports from Hainan Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province.

At 5:20 on a freezing December afternoon, 80 grade-two students gathered in the open air in front of a school building. They split into two groups: students on one side sat on the ground, while the others stood facing them. The groups then split up into small debating teams, with one student standing and a couple of their peers sitting on the ground. When the standing student asked a series of questions, those sitting on the ground attempted to provide answers as concisely as possible.

As the debates continued, the students, who spoke rapidly in cadenced Tibetan, grew increasingly excited. The questioners raised themselves on one leg and took a step forward, clapping their hands to warn their audiences that it was time to provide answers. The antics made some of the students laugh and their faces glowed red, as if unaffected by the cold. At the end of the hour-long session, as the shadows lengthened and the air grew cooler, the students returned to their classrooms.