Arts Training

CAI volunteers have taught music, dance, photography, visual arts and drama at 18 schools in Beijing and Shanghai, affecting over 600 children. Classes are typically held for three to four hours each week after school or during the weekends. We also have also impacted over 120 students during our summer enrichment camps held in 2006 and 2007. Although our summer camp was cancelled in 2009 due to H1N1 regulations, we hope to continue this program next year. 

Creative arts help develop essential communication skills, as the children learn to express themselves through their creations. Studies show that arts also raise self-confidence and build effective problem-solving skills. The arts instill values, both personal and social, and is a medium of expression of one's reflection on society. Art education can give children a voice, and potentially a voice for change.

There are approximately 260 migrant schools in Beijing and a comparable number in Shanghai. However, art education in these schools largely fails to teach creativity and imagination. One reason may be that art is usually taught by teachers whose training is in other courses, e.g., math, language, and science. These teachers assume the extra duty of teaching art without additional training. Many schools with fewer resources do not offer art classes at all. 

CAI's first art program began in the summer of 2006 and consisted of a two-week summer camp at migrant schools in Beijing. Volunteers taught music, dance, photography, sculpting, drawing, painting, and arts and crafts classes. This program benefited 60 primary school students and involved approximately 30 local and international volunteers. 

In 2008, CAI was selected to participate in the United Nations Environment Program’s annual art competition with the theme of “Global Climate Change.” In addition to our regular art curriculum, our program focused on raising awareness amongst the students about the environment and current challenges relating to climate change.  

In the spring of 2009, CAI operated its arts program at three migrant schools in Beijing’s Chaoyang District – Dongba Shiyan School, Yimin School and Miao Miao School, with a total of 145 students and 17 volunteers participating. The students who participated were from fourth to sixth grades, ranging from ages nine to 13. CAI volunteer teachers also taught photography to 25 students at Lu Bo School and music to a total of 120 students at Miao Miao School and Xingzhi Shiyan School. 

Our arts programs consist of six parts:

1. Instruction in the basics – Volunteers instruct students on artistic techniques and the correct ways to use various tools and materials. Students in the music program learn to read music and play simple tunes and rhythms. 

2. Creative expression exercises – Students create works of art based on a variety of prompts given by volunteers (for example, describe and draw a recent dream). The aim is to help students become comfortable with expressing themselves through different mediums.

3. Games – Students play games that build teamwork, trust, confidence and communication ability (for example, icebreaker games, charades, human knot, trust falls).

4. Student portfolios and journals – After each activity, the children score themselves and write a journal entry about their feelings and accomplishments. At the same time, the volunteers give individual feedback to each student. Each student keeps a portfolio with their artwork, journal entries and self-evaluation forms, which serve as a record of his or her personal development.

5. Student exhibitions and performances – Volunteers help students prepare their best pieces for exhibitions and competitions. These events serve to further motivate and engage the students. Emphasis is on self-improvement and positive reinforcement, not competition.

6. Visiting artists - Our programs have also featured workshops with guest artists and musicians, including SambAsia (Brazilian/Japanese/Korean fusion percussion and dance group), Tasmin Little (British violinist) and Michele Koltz (Luxembourgian painter). These special visits have provided unique opportunities for the students to work with experts. The visiting artists serve as role models that inspire and engage the children.

The annual program cost for our Arts and Sports Program is around USD5,000. Our intent is to further develop our programs at existing partner schools as well as begin programming at two or three additional schools. 

Sponsors and partners include: Royal Bank of Scotland, Shaonianertong Magazine and Nestle.

Sports Training

CAI volunteers have taught basketball and football at schools in Beijing and Shanghai. Classes are typically held for three to four hours each week after school or during the weekends.

Team sports teach integrity, loyalty and morals. Simultaneously, it fosters leadership, negotiation and communication skills and boosts self-confidence and self-image. It also aids in children’s mental, emotional and physical development. Children learn the importance of teamwork and develop courage to face impact and conflict. Sports has been a proven tool for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors and positive character development.

In the fall of 2008, CAI introduced its girls’ basketball program at four migrant schools in Beijing’s Chaoyang district – Dongba Xinli School, Dongba Shiyan School, Lantian Shiyan School and Yimin School.  Over 100 hundred migrant girls from grades five to six participated.  The program ran for eight weeks with each session lasting four to five hours. This basketball program continues through this year with the same group of children. 

In the fall of 2009, with the support of Nike, we conducted a basketball program for migrant girls in fifth and sixth grades in ten schools in Shanghai. By focusing on teaching basketball exclusively to girls, CAI seeks to reduce gender inequality that is more acutely felt by the underprivileged. The program has so far been very successful, and there is strong demand from schools and students. We plan to expand our girls’ basketball program to other schools.

During the 2009-2010 school year, we aim to pilot a football project partnering with Club Football, China’s largest grassroots soccer network. This pilot project will cater to more than 700 kids at four migrant schools. Courses will be led by qualified coaches (English FA, UEFA) and assisted by local and volunteer coaches. In addition to building passion for the game and improving on-the-pitch ability, the primary goal of classes will be to develop critical life skills such as leadership, teamwork and self-confidence. Our fundraising target is RMB 1M. 

Our sports programs consist of five parts:

1. Instruction in basics of the sport– Students are taught basic technical skills, such as dribbling, passing and shooting, as well as the rules of the game.

2. Games – Students play games that build teamwork, trust, confidence and communication ability while also practicing their basketball technique.

3. Discussion time and journals – Students and volunteers come together at the end of the day to reflect on the day’s activities and record their thoughts in journals. The journals serve as a record of the students’ personal development and is used in evaluating the impact of the program.

4. Inter-school competition – At the end of the school year, CAI organizes an inter-school tournament to celebrate the students’ progress and give them a chance to demonstrate their newly acquired skills. 

5. Visiting athletes – CAI draws upon its connections to bring in guest athletes to work with the students. We recently hosted a US Division I basketball team, which visited the Dongba Shiyan School. 

The annual program cost for our Arts and Sports Program is around USD5,000. Our intent is to further develop our programs at existing partner schools as well as begin programming at two or three additional schools. 

Sponsors and partners include: Nike, Nestle and Club Football.

Teacher Training

Through our teacher training programs we seek to build capacity in rural schools, thereby maximizing the impact on children in rural areas. In October 2008 we completed a very successful teacher training course for 22 physical education teachers in Chong Qing, impacting about 2,500 rural children. In August 2009 we will conduct another teacher training program in Ningxia. Our programs in Beijing’s migrant schools allow us to research and develop further improvements for our teacher training program.

 Promise School

We are working towards a bilingual academy for highly gifted rural students. Our focus will be middle to high school students with exceptional leadership potential and those gifted in music. The Promise School will give talented rural children a chance to become China's future business leaders and talented artists while also teaching them a sense of social responsibility. The Promise School will prepare these children for top international and Chinese universities.