Chinese Educational System

[Yuanyang]

Is this The Family again? These folks seem to learn How to Learn and pick up things very very quickly. (I've freely admitted that my Lao Po is much smarter than I am.)

 

Some of you folks are professionals in the education field. What do you think?

 

Those that have your new sons and daughters here: What's different about our schools as opposed to theirs?

[LeeFisher3]

The family is what drives this, but discipline is a big factor, the school days and year are longer.

 

It really is about having a better life.

[Randy W]

I agree with Lee. I think the same students will do well under either system

[shimaore]

Is this The Family again?  These folks seem to learn How to Learn and pick up things very very quickly.  (I've freely admitted that my Lao Po is much smarter than I am.)

 

Some of you folks are professionals in the education field.  What do you think? 

 

Those that have your new sons and daughters here:  What's different about our schools as opposed to theirs?

161842[/snapback]

well let us look at the problem of our educational system :

- lack of discipline, parents think teachers should be nanny / sex educator ( ie do the job of busy parents )

- reduction in teaching the hardcode subjects ( algebra , stats , etc... ) , you can get through uni without mastering the basics .

- read an article showing teachers are the social category in France the most prone to suicide ( must be fun being taught by them !)

- Who are the models in our society ? I rarely saw a documentary about surgeons but I am overwhelmed by biographies of richard branson or puff daddy

 

based on this we can say Chinese education system take advantage of an environment which promote learning : discipline , parents support teachers ( like god ) , not scared to do the extra 2 hours of daily homeworks.

 

Now my experience at Uni while studying with asian students ( generalisation _ hehehe ) extremely smart in hard sciences ( set of rules to be applied to get a result ) but staying behind in terms of human sciences ( where there are no right/wrong answer but teachers more interested in your thoughts and how you present them ). what are the reasons ? Got no clue .

 

How to measure the success of an educational system ? Number of math graduates or number of sociology graduates . Long debate and most government prefer the consensus ( we need both of them equally ).

 

From my observation here are the international differences :

- France , most students have a broad general culture

- UK , students out of uni a lot more effective for employer than french newly graduated . You can actually computing as a subject to my amazement when i arrived here.

- US, most drop out have millions in their bank account ( hello Billy Gate )

- Germany , because of the strong link between the private sector and the education system - employers have an effective workers to choose from ( the old german efficiency _ hehehe )

 

What worries me about the chinese education system , it seems pretty exclusive, a large part of the population can not afford to spend time studying for a better futur ( I noticed many teenagers working late in restaurants/shops/etc).

[Trigg]

Chinese students are expected to learn. No fun, no frills, no BS. Just shut up and study. They excel in math and science and all subjects that require the learning of "stuff" and a step by step methodical approach. However, they appear weak in critical thinking skills. synergising is not their strongest suit.

 

I for one would be a true advocate of a merger of our ways and Chinese ways when it comes to education.

[Yuanyang]

Chinese students are expected to learn. No fun, no frills, no BS. Just shut up and study. They excel in math and science and all subjects that require the learning of "stuff" and a step by step methodical approach. However, they appear weak in critical thinking skills. synergising is not their strongest suit. 

 

I for one would be a true advocate of a merger of our ways and Chinese ways when it comes to education.

161861[/snapback]

As would I on the merger. But I personally think that it is our culture that is keeping the grades and the brains down. Too much TV of any type, too much free time to be filled with self-amusement.

 

Kids are raising each other as we have both parents (or the single parent) working. So the time from 3:00 to whenever Mom and/or Dad comes home (usually 7PM) is not regulated.

 

The rout learning seems to be a carry over from the old imperial days when there was no original thought. Yet, when the imperial courts allowed individuals to explore and discover, they proved themselves far ahead of the West.

[david_dawei]

Tonight, my SO mentioned that the parents pay for all the school levels ... this is in Northeast area.. is that true of your SOs areas ?

[Yuanyang]

Tonight, my SO mentioned that the parents pay for all the school levels ...  this is in Northeast area.. is that true of your SOs areas ?

161874[/snapback]

Well, yes, but our daughter is attending a boarding school (1st grade )

[Joanne]

Is this The Family again?  These folks seem to learn How to Learn and pick up things very very quickly.  (I've freely admitted that my Lao Po is much smarter than I am.)

 

Some of you folks are professionals in the education field.  What do you think? 

 

Those that have your new sons and daughters here:  What's different about our schools as opposed to theirs?

161842[/snapback]

It seems that I am "smarter" than my American husband. I do better in math, I can figure out some trival matters faster than he does.

 

However, I think that he is wiser in making decisions, he is more persistant in persuring his long term goal, and he has accomplished quite a few goals which I would have given up just to think of it.

 

I received my Bachelor's degree when I was 19. He received his when he was 28. However I believe, he is going to be way more accomplished than I during our life long journey.

 

So what matters?

[Dennis143]

Chinese students are expected to learn. No fun, no frills, no BS. Just shut up and study.? They excel in math and science and all subjects that require the learning of "stuff" and a step by step methodical approach. However, they appear weak in critical thinking skills. synergising is not their strongest suit.?

 

I for one would be a true advocate of a merger of our ways and Chinese ways when it comes to education.

161861[/snapback]

As would I on the merger. But I personally think that it is our culture that is keeping the grades and the brains down. Too much TV of any type, too much free time to be filled with self-amusement.

 

Kids are raising each other as we have both parents (or the single parent) working. So the time from 3:00 to whenever Mom and/or Dad comes home (usually 7PM) is not regulated.

 

The rout learning seems to be a carry over from the old imperial days when there was no original thought. Yet, when the imperial courts allowed individuals to explore and discover, they proved themselves far ahead of the West.

161872[/snapback]

While in China, I stayed at my former SO's home for a week. I was very

surprised to see her 8 year old daughter, Jinxin, daily leave for school at around 7am. While we were sitting down for dinner at about 6pm, Jinxin would return home, . After dinner, she would study her homework, watch TV for an hour and then off to bed for another day of the same routine. I never saw this little girl without a big bright smile on her face.

 

What I have learned is that Chinese parents make it a point to fill their childs days with activities. After her basic 3 Rs, Jinxin would then attend classes in music, singing, art, ping-pong and other activites.

 

Here in LA, Chinese parents send their children to Chinese school. Chinese school is where they study Mandarin, (the parents want to make sure their children do not loose their cultural language) as well as other activities. They also attend Chinese school on Saturdays.

 

It is so obvious that these parents will not allow their children to have too much idle time to watch TV, play video games etc to allow their young brains, and muscles, to just waste away.

Edited October 20, 2005 by Dennis143 (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

It is so obvious that these parents will not allow their children to have too much idle time

161881[/snapback]

This is a country without too much idle time... The children see hard work all around them... Getting up early is just routine as well.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

One very important factor that differentiates Chinese Schools from American is that there are NO public schools there. If you want your child to go to school you must pay. They don't take money from everyone in China and build schools with the money, but rather the schools are a business. Novel thought eh? So, there is accountability from the staff that works at the schools and accountability for the student to do better because you can bet your ass that the parent is watching after they sacrifice their hard-earned RMB to pay for the school each month.

 

Rather disgusting that in America that you can walk down most any street and ask someone under 25 how many branches of government are in the US? Who was Christopher Columbus? What's the preamble to the US Constitution? <blank stares come back> Public schools don't work. Home school and vouchers do....

Edited October 21, 2005 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[Guest thinkaican]

I believe it is also related to the respect paid to teachers. As an educator you are really among one of the most esteemed groups. Consequently the value and importance of education is tremendous. Disrespecting a teacher is disrespecting yourself, your future.

 

A short story: I recall being on a train from Beijing to Sichuan(Kunming) five years ago and we shared a cabin with an 8 year old girl and her father. After learning that I was working at Tianjin University, the father had his little girl recite at least 15 major poems of Du Fu and Li Bai. Just astounding. Of course, she didn't always understand what she was saying...

 

I am with Trigg. A blended solution that combines the rigors and discipline of the Chinese system with some of the more creative and communicative aspects of the US system would be great.

[Dennis143]

I have not talked with any Chinese women who seem to know geography. outside of China. Do they not teach this subject? Honestly, it seems like they've never studied a globe before. Is it me? Or, have others noticed this?

Edited October 23, 2005 by Dennis143 (see edit history)

[Yuanyang]

Interesting that a people that mapped western north and south america centuries before the Europeans (as well as eastern africa) seemed to not have the desire to exploit their discoveries.