Chinese Educational System

[Dennis143]

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.

162618[/snapback]

Evidently, Chinese educators do not place great importance on this curriculum. I wonder why, especially with their merging global influence.

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

[Joanne]

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?

162564[/snapback]

We learned geography. Chinese geography and World geography are taught to every junior high school kids. Even in kindergartens, children play with world map puzzles. To be frank, generally speaking, this subject interest boys more than girls. So learning a subject does not mean that we remember all the facts. One of the reasons you don't hear your SO talk about it is we didn't learn the geographical names in English, so it is difficult to share knowledge. For example, the other day, I was talking about Saipan to my mother-in-law. I know the name in Chinese, Sai Ban Island. I have to search the dictionary to find its English name.

[bnolsen]

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....

162002[/snapback]

This surprises me, that a country with a communist system doesn't have public schools. Are christian private schools allowed?

 

For a country that is supposed to be communist in many ways they are actually more capitalistic and less into classic socialist redistribution of wealth than we in the US are. Small business is obviously far more developed than ours is also.

[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?

162564[/snapback]

We learned geography. Chinese geography and World geography are taught to every junior high school kids. Even in kindergartens, children play with world map puzzles. To be frank, generally speaking, this subject interest boys more than girls. So learning a subject does not mean that we remember all the facts. One of the reasons you don't hear your SO talk about it is we didn't learn the geographical names in English, so it is difficult to share knowledge. For example, the other day, I was talking about Saipan to my mother-in-law. I know the name in Chinese, Sai Ban Island. I have to search the dictionary to find its English name.

162669[/snapback]

Aw, now that makes sense, Joanne. Of course it is taught, just don't know the English names of countries. Actually, seems not many western women I know are much interested in geography either.

Edited October 24, 2005 by Dennis143 (see edit history)

[lassetter]

A few weeks ago I was on a beach in St. Augustine looking South. I saw the vapor trail of the Space Shuttle!

 

Tomorrow my brother will have hip replacement surgery. He will be walking around in a few days!

 

My thought is, as a teacher, that the USA is doing well!

 

My version of the truth is, that the USA still has great universities and schools and still provides a great education to its ADVANCED students. The problem is at the lower end. We need to develop far more work/trade/skill training for high school students who are not strong academically. As things stand now we waste their time in school.

 

Rupert

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

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?

162564[/snapback]

China has been a closed country for thousands of years so it's not surprising that the people of China by and large don't know geography. What's dispicable is that in a free country like let's think of a good example.....Okay, the USA. Every US citizen in the USA can get a passport for a relatively small fee. That passport allows one to travel almost anywhere in the world at any time. Why is it that only 30% ever do. Talk about being naive....

Edited October 24, 2005 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[skibum]

One of my wife's instructors told her that she was smart because she is Chinese. If only he knew how hard she worked to be smart!

[BuffaloPaul]

Work ethic is a big factor. My step daughter comes home from school and studies for several hours each night. Doesnt matter if she has homework or not. My kids come home and play computer games. Guess I am to blame. My wife scolds her daughter if she is not always studying. She things PE is a waste of time. On the other hand her daughter loves her new school.

[tucsonjim]

This surprises me, that a country with a communist system doesn't have public schools.  Are christian private schools allowed?

 

For a country that is supposed to be communist in many ways they are actually more capitalistic and less into classic socialist redistribution of wealth than we in the US are.  Small business is obviously far more developed than ours is also.

162680[/snapback]

This school funding system in China created a real hardship for my SO and daughter. The cost of sending a child to school in Nanning was not affordable to my SO, who worked for very low wages (480 RMB/mo), so my step daughter has been living with my SO's older sister on a farm for most of her school age years, since the cost of going to school in rural China is much less than in the cities, because most rural people are very poor and can't afford to pay more. The farm is 70 km from Nanning, so my SO could only see her daughter on weekends a couple times a month because she couldn't afford the bus fee to go visit her each weekend.

 

I suspect there are plenty of single parents living in the cities that don't have the option of sending their child outside the city to live with a relative, so it likely creates some significant hardships.

 

If someone can't afford to send their child to school, I don't know what happens... anyone know? Do the kids just not get any schooling or do they have some form of assistance that must be paid back over time?

[HanLi]

This is something I have not heard of, I was under the impression that the schooling was provided to everyone.... quite an eye-opener.....

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

If someone can't afford to send their child to school, I don't know what happens...  anyone know?  Do the kids just not get any schooling or do they have some form of assistance that must be paid back over time?

163311[/snapback]

China residents that cannot afford to send their childen to school have the option of asking other family members to help pay, and many families do help one another in this way. There remains a great chasm between the poor and educated in China. The people there rather accept that there is a class separation and view the poor as being there to serve others in the service industry. Certainly the poor in China have not become the lazy public tax burden that they are in the US.