At the Napa New Tech High School in Northern California, a school famous for its project approach to learning, we were visiting a classroom that looked like a hybrid between a corporate conference room and a miniature media production studio. We were talking, with the help of an interpreter, to a group of students and their teacher, all very proud to show off their recent project work.

As part of their project, the students had recently implemented some clever conservation methods that were saving the school hundreds of dollars each month in utility costs. They also helped protect a nearby watershed from erosion by planting carefully chosen native shrubs and trees.

One of the Chinese delegates, Mr. Zheng, appeared increasingly excited the more he saw and heard. By the time we gathered to recap the day’s experiences, he just couldn’t wait to speak any longer.

He held up the school’s curriculum guide and asked, in English, “Where in here do you teach creativity and innovation? I want to know how you teach this! We need our students to learn how to do this!”

The school’s curriculum director, Paul, took a deep breath, collected his thoughts, smiled, and answered slowly, “I have some not-so-good news . . . and some good news.

“The not-so-good news is . . . it isn’t in the curriculum guide.

“It’s more in the air we breathe—or maybe the water we drink; the history of our country—Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin; it’s in our business culture, our entrepreneurs, our willingness to try new ideas; the tinkering and inventing in our garages, the challenge of tackling tough problems and the excitement of creating something new; in being rewarded for our new ideas, taking risks, failing, and trying again.

“In a strange way, our U.S. schools have been becoming more like your schools in China, focused on learning what will be tested in the big exams that determine so much of a student’s future. Our school is trying to keep the spirit of innovation and invention alive in the projects we do. We believe these skills are essential to being successful in our new global economy and in helping to solve the problems we all face together.”

Mr. Zheng, thinking deeply about all that it would take for today’s Chinese traditional school culture to embrace a more innovative approach to learning, asked hopefully, “And what is the good news?”

Paul chuckled.

“Well, the good news is that with the right opportunity and support, we have seen that our students can learn to be more creative and innovative. But it takes good teachers to create the right balance—between learning the facts and principles, and coming up with new solutions to problems and creative answers to questions they really care about.”

Mr. Zheng responded diplomatically, “Maybe we will help you better learn the principles and you will show us how to use them to be creative—we can work together.”

We all laughed politely, shook hands, took the mandatory group photo in front of the school, and our distinguished visitors were off to their next stop.