My name is Terrence Xiao, I am a three year Upper from Beijing, China. This is my third year volunteering with ACCO, and second year leading the older kids group. I was born in Hong Kong but have lived in Beijing for my entire life, both of my parents are from Zhe Jiang province. I attended an International School during my time in Beijing, and thus grew up straddling an interesting fence; On one hand, I was given a traditional Chinese upbringing by my parents, and was deeply immersed in Chinese culture - I spoke mandarin at home, ate rice with every meal, and vivaciously studied The Analects, by Confucius. On the other hand, my educational and social background, because of my school, were heavily influenced by Western ideals - A majority of my friends spoke English, my classes were based on an international curriculum, and Mandarin was treated as a foreign language class. It became hard for me to reconcile my identity, and so I often found myself neglecting or disregarding my culture as a part of my person. Coming to Andover and being exposed to the diverse and immersive environment here has taught me to appreciate and cherish my cultural heritage. Though my grasp of the Chinese language has fallen off and my 'authentic' beijing accent has (much to the dismay of my parents) receded, I try to reach out and reconnect with my culture whenever possible.
Last year in ACCO, the Older Kids group focused on a multitude of subjects, ranging from improving basic language skills to studying traditional idioms and folk tales. The focus of this year is to establish a stronger demographic understanding of China. Each session will include a lesson in geography, culture, and history, manifested in storytelling, presentations, studying and discussing historical events and figures, and other activities. In addition, homework will be assigned every session, usually encouraging the discussion of a certain topic covered in class with the kid's parents.
