There
are many reasons why Chinese parents are sending their teenage children to
study in America. A degree from an American university still carries great
prestige in China and study abroad also offers a way to avoid the
hyper-competitive Chinese entrance exams. As an added bonus, the Chinese
students attending Fryeburg Academy in bucolic Maine might just receive an
excellent education. For three years, Miao Wang followed a group of Chinese
students as they learned, grew, and matriculated in Maineland
(trailer here),
which screens during the 2017 Camden International Film Festival.
With
domestic enrollment down, Chinese recruitment has become critically important
to traditional day-and-boarding prep schools like Fryeburg, the eighth oldest
private academy in America. The outgoing Stella charms her way in on the first
interview, whereas the shy Harry makes it in on the strength of his academic
record. Both believe it is their familial duty to study business in college,
even though she would prefer to take a degree in education and he would rather
pursue music.
Not
surprisingly, she will be more socially active than he, but both will take
advantage of the opportunities that would be unavailable at Chinese schools. In
Harry’s case, this means studying the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre,
which clearly leaves him deeply confused. Stella joins the cheer squad and
other Chinese students make their own documentary about their experiences and
the perceptions of their American classmates for their film studies class.
There will indeed be plenty of culture clash to navigate and it is unclear how
wide their circle of friends extends beyond fellow international students.
However, from what we see, the teachers really have a knack for reaching them.
Frankly,
Fryeburg looks like a truly superior school that really does foster critical
thinking. If every Chinese pupil studying in America receives a roughly
comparable education, China could be a vastly different country in twenty years—unequivocally
for the better. Much like Neasa Ní Chianáin & David Rane’s School Life, Maineland also gives us a chance to track their development over
time, with the general trend definitely looking positive overall. The Chinese
students clearly have just as strong an emotional attachment to Fryeburg, which
says a lot.
