The Intention of the Project

A major purpose of this book is to support the STREAM Education Program for Children in Guizhou Province. This is the initiative of Dr. Yu, who wants to give back to her former student Mr. Zhongping Yang and his home province. All proceeds from the sale of this book will be put toward education in rural China, especially in the form of this STREAM Education Program for the children of Guizhou Province. Mr. Yang, who is from a rural village in Guizhou Province, supported research by Harvard Graduate School of Education’s China Lab in 2015, by Professor Robert Selman and Professor Helen Haste, on how to reduce the pressure on Chinese high school and middle school students.

The meaning of STREAM: The common acronym STEM refers to science, technology, engineering, and math. With the addition of the arts, it becomes STEAM. Lengthening the acronym to STREAM with the addition of R, representing reading, writing, and relevance, reflects our belief that learning how to read and write about personally and socially relevant issues is the “right” way to change oneself and to change the world. We will also expand the connotation of S to include sports. China is striving to “build an education system to promote the all-around development of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education, and form a higher-level talent training system”. Former President of Harvard University Derek Bok argued that sports can not only help students acquire higher standards of ethical behavior and personal responsibility, but can also improve interpersonal skills. We hope that the integration of this “triple R” as well as sports into STREAM will further contribute to the cultivation of the whole person and the betterment of the entire world.

Praise for the Project

“Our world needs a change. Only the best thoughts on education can help. Spreading these thoughts is especially important to accelerate these changes. Thanks for the great efforts from the authors of this book to stimulate these changes.”

Frances Sun

Mason Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School;

Director for Asia, Harvard Alumni Association (2014-2017)

“This is a visionary book from Dr. Haiqin Yu and her team, which deserves resounding applause. Dr. Haiqin Yu and her team of committed interviewers are to be heartily congratulated on a stupendous achievement that should have a major impact on the future of education, globally. Dr. Haiqin Yu has always been interested in education, and has always had two things fill her mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe: the starry heaven above her and the moral law within her.”

Xianjin Cai

General Director of Foreign Affairs Office of Shandong Provincial People’s Government, President of Shandong People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; former Vice President of University of Jinan, former President of Liaocheng University Praise for the Project