Marjorie Gardner University of Maryland College Park, 20742
Early in the pre-dawn morning of Wednesday, March 22, a group of educators assembled by the National Education Association (NEA) arrived in Peking. As the onlv science member of the g r ~ ; ~I,was both exhzarated and frustrated bv the ex~eriencesof the next two weeks. The dramatic ~ o l i c v changes that were occurring and placing science and-technology a t the top in a new drive to achieve the four modernizations: science and technology, defense, agriculture, and industry, were exhilarating. As a member of a general group of educators, my opportun%.y to learn about sc;ence education and more specifically, chemical education, was very limited and thus frustrating. I returned home from this visit puzzled, fascinated and committed to "China watching" for the next two decades a t least. The first impression, as one arrives in Peking, is of people everywhere; people who are apparently healthy, happy, and productive. As we rode into Peking by bus from the airport a t 6 a.m. on a cold winter day, we were immediately aware of people exercising, jogging, walking, or riding bicycles. Individuals, families, and large groups were engaged in their early morning calisthenics-often tomusic blaiing from a nearbj loud speaker. Wherever we went, people seemed curious, shyly friendly, eager to show us their workand unanimous in their denunciation of the "terrible Gang of Four" who had misled them. T h e entire stay was a carefully orchestrated educational1 cultural visit. We were free to walk the streets. shop in the department stores (as opposed to the ~ r i e n d s h i pStores for foreign visitors) and talk to people; however, in reality, little of this was possible. The official planned schedule was so tight that there was little free time: the lanmage barrier re vented much mnversation with the mrn or women in
