More than three hundred guest Chinese teachers have volunteered to work for up to three years in American schools, stemming from a partnership between an agency of China’s Ministry of Education and the College Board, the New York Times reported yesterday. The Chinese government subsidizes the salaries of these guest teachers. For example, the situation of Zheng Yue, a teacher in Lawton, OK, is “fairly typical of other guest teachers working in American schools: China pays about $13,000 a year toward her salary, and the school district provides her with housing and a $500 monthly stipend.”

In addition, a “parallel effort has sent about 2,000 American school administrators to visit China at Beijing’s expense.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on virtual Chinese language instruction taking place via the website MyChinese360, “believed to be the only Chinese-language course in the United States that conducts real-time lessons via Web cam with instructors halfway around the globe.”