China Face Race every year?

The just completed Amazing China Face Race is being lauded as a “great teaching tool” by colleges – with many calling on organiser Hastings District councillor Kevin Watkins to run it annually.

Hastings students had to use their research skills to unravel clues to find one unnamed person in China – a country with a population of more than 1.4billion. They then had to find a way to contact that person for a code to submit to Hastings council to claim the prize – a fully funded trip to China.

The 14-year-old winner, Havelock North High School student Nesta Lade, will take her trip towards the end of September, after The Face, Li Sha, has visited Hastings earlier that month.

The competition was predominately run through colleges, and the feedback from the principals had been especially pleasing, Mr Watkins said.

One called the clues “superb on many levels” as the students had to investigate thoroughly to ensure they had the right answer. “The fact that there could be more than one answer to each part of the clue made our racers cross check both within and across facts, which is a big teaching point for research skills.”

It was a great “diversion for bright students in the middle of winter” another said. “Social Science benefits from having extension activities like this for the enthusiastic learners, and they became keener once the clues were not just eliminating areas.”

Another said the competition certainly had the effect Mr Watkins was looking for: Increasing interest and discussion of Chinese culture, politics and history and modern China.

Running it annually could be difficult, Mr Watkins said, given the fundraising required to pay for it about $20,000, but he was happy to develop it if it became feasible.

He believed it was “inevitable” that many of today’s students would be required to interact with the people of China in their careers. “The more knowledgeable our students are about all things relating to China, the more value and understanding they will bring to their employer, their work and Chinese and New Zealand relationships.”

4 October 2017

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