AJC.com > Opinion > Opinion Talk > Archives > 2008 > May > 06 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USCan U.S. schools learn from China?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dixon Adair, a 10-grader at Atlanta International School, spent a semester in China and returned impressed with some aspects of the nation’s educational system.
He writes: “The school day ran from 7:40 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and most students in the grade in which I was placed — eighth grade — studied until midnight. The eighth-grade students were also expected to go to school on Saturdays for extra classes, to prepare for end-of-year exams.
“Instead of the teachers assigning students extra work, the students would often give themselves extra exercises to do so that they could improve themselves for their own good, not just so that their teachers would be impressed. They also went as far as “punishing” themselves by doing a lot of extra work if they performed poorly on a test because they knew that what felt like punishment now would actually benefit them in the future.”
Teachers are awarded immense respect, writes Adair. “In China, when the teacher enters the class to begin it, the students stand up to greet the teacher and bow,” he wrote. And students are actually required to mop the classroom floors.
Back in the U.S., he welcomes a more relaxed educational atmosphere but still believes the U.S. can learn from China.
“The school that could combine the best of American and the best of Chinese education practices would surely be the best school of all.”
Do you agree?
Permalink | Comments (33) | Categories: Forum
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By yankee
May 6, 2008 7:48 AM | Link to this
Depends, will the Chinese or the Mexicans take over here?
By Jesse
May 6, 2008 7:48 AM | Link to this
It is clear the the American education system needs a tremendous overhaul. The true question is how? China’s education system is saturated with tradition, family honor and personal respect. How do we turn a system of low expectations and no individual responsibility to one of honor and respect.
By Jesse
May 6, 2008 7:50 AM | Link to this
It is clear that the American education system needs a tremendous overhaul. The true question is how? China’s education system is saturated with tradition, family honor and personal respect. How do we turn a system of low expectations and no individual responsibility to one of honor and respect.
By Pat
May 6, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this
The schools aren’t the reason for success. It’s the culture that’s behind them. Chinese children have centuries of culture that teaches them to respect their elders, honor parents, and value teaching. We have kids coming from homes devoid of discipline, either steeped in hip-hop street values, or spoiled in upper middle class “give it to me now” homes. It’s a losing formula.
By Joe Cool
May 6, 2008 8:06 AM | Link to this
Our schools are a mere reflection of our society. We can’t expect such show of honor and respect in and out of the classroom until it is accepted in society. The question should not be what can our schools learn from China, but what can our society learn from Chinese values.
By zeke
May 6, 2008 8:33 AM | Link to this
Also, Japan and other countries where students constantly destroy US students in areas of learning success! I have a friend who came here from Japan for college! He was in NC, I do not know which college. In his first science class, after a day or two, he realized that he had studied that material in MIDDLE SCHOOL!! Another class professor from China, when the students constantly complained how hard the material was, told them that Chinese students had that material in the 5th grade! No wonder we cannot measure up! My friend said that when he and his wife have children, he is moving back to Japan to give them a far better education than they can get in the US! He said in Japan, school is a full 9 to 10 hours per day, 6 days per week, and, students are required to have discipline, as well as, only the greatest respect for teachers, PERIOD!
By Stan
May 6, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this
As an educator it is disheartning to see the lack of concern that our children have been given as it relates to their educational development. As stated in one of the other opinions the values and traditions in this country are virtually gone. It espicially hit’s hard among black and brown children who are becoming more and more statistically bound!!!!!!
By Fred
May 6, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this
The kids work so hard because if they don’t, the government will put them in a work camp or execute them. Yeah, that’s a country we should be emulating…
By kim
May 6, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
Read the May issue of National Geographic entitled, “China, Inside The Dragon”. It was extremely interesting and gives some insight on China’s educational system.
By SCY
May 6, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
You know what they have in China, at least in Hong Kong, which regularly outpaces US children in virtually every academic measure, but we dont have in the US? Its school choice. Parents have an actual voice in deciding where their children attend school, yet in a supposed “democracy” we have no voice. But then again all of that is meaningless if there is no culture that values education instead of pop culture and American Idol and parents taking an active role in their child’s education then it doesn’t matter how much choice we do or do not have.
By demwit
May 6, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
Yes! Bring back the cane!!
By Fred
May 6, 2008 11:02 AM | Link to this
The nice thing about education in China is that you don’t have to worry about your little sister bugging you and embarrassing you in front of your friends at school because the government forced your mom to abort her. You also don’t have to worry about being bothered by that strange kid in class with the odd ideas about that’s right and wrong because he was removed and send to a Reeducation Through Labor camp. Because of the government’s other policies, there is no short bus. As a matter of fact, there are no slow students at all! The slow kids just all go away somehow. Chinese education is far superior to American education!
By Asian doctor
May 6, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this
i am from india.
growing up went to school 6 days a week.
every day in my high school years would read from 5pm to 12.30 am with 30 min break for dinner.
now my kids born here in america get tired after 30 minutes and want a break”.
i fear how they are going to compete with kids in china and india in future
By Asian doctor
May 6, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this
i am from india.
growing up went to school 6 days a week.
every day in my high school years would read from 5pm to 12.30 am with 30 min break for dinner.
now my kids born here in america get tired after 30 minutes and want a break”.
i fear how they are going to compete with kids in china and india in future
By Linda
May 6, 2008 11:42 AM | Link to this
I strongly suggest everyone read Charles Murray’s article on Educational Romanticism in the May issue of The New Criterion. I think he has some valid points about education in America today. I think we need to change the way we do things in education to help our children be competitive in the next decades.
By Willie
May 6, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this
Personally I do now want my kids to be like the Chinese kids. Little communists doing good for placement in a rigid society that allows no private thought outside the normal curriculum. The Chinese did start out much more advance than any other civilization but look at the price. There are about as many bones in or around the great wall and the great canal as there are stones that made it. I know most of you would rather have any other system than a U.S. system. Its so hard to love America! When we do get things to working well then some liberal or wacho extremist comes in with the ACLU and changes it. I know the Chinese kids are much better educated than ours. See how much more advanced is their technology! See the nice comfy homes they live in! Wow, why am I so ardent about being me. I guess that red blooded American boy is a traditon we got to get the ACLU to get ruled unconstitutional. All those other countries are so much better than ours! I know many families (in America)whose kids study hard and learn. Are we stuck on a percentage bias? We must have all our kids with colleged degrees and become lawyers and doctors! Oh yeah—a few actors to support the arts. And we got the Mexicans to do the rest…for a while then their kids will want college. OMG its a vicious circle and makes my head hurt. I guess I will tell all of you…its America, just love it.
By HARRY
May 6, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this
A child’s education is up to parents. My son reads alot. If he does not want to read, I read to him. My wife and I are with him when he does his homework and check it to make sure that it has been done and that it has been done thoroughly. We homeschooled him when it was necessary put him in a private school when it was clear that our local schools were too crowded. He is in 3rd grade and is in his second year of latin. He reads on 5th grade level and has straight A’s. Some kids have a natural bent towards learning but few children can excel without the direct involvement and encouragement of parents. It’s hard work but it is important. We as a country need to stop handing our children over to someone else to educate them without parental involvement. The education problem in this country is not a teacher problem or a school problem. It’s a parent problem.
By ADL
May 6, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this
Kim @10:05am,
I read the National Geographic issue devoted to China. It is a shame such smart kids will be dead from pollution and no natural resources in 10-20 years.
By Matt
May 6, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
I think the main difference between China and America is that in America, everyone is entitled to an education. In China, only the best and the brightest are educated; the rest are left to work the fields. I wonder why Chinese students are so hard working and intelligent?
By Liza Dittoe
May 6, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
Most Americans perception of both India and China is wildly out of date. The view that these countries are immersed in abject poverty is simply no longer true. While both countries do still have people living in extreme poverty, the sheer size of their populations (China 1.3 Billion; India 1.1 Billion vs America 300 Million) means they also have very large middle classes. So, if you’ve not visited Indian or Chinese schools nor done business in these countries in the last 6 months, you may want to rethink your views about these countries. Times have changed!
It’s interesting, one of the most common objections I hear from US audiences about the Indian and Chinese emphasis on study during the two million minutes of high school is how much “stress” and “pressure” Indian and Chinese parents put on their children.
There is no doubt students in those countries feel parental, peer and community pressure to set high academic goals and to perform at a high level intellectually.
But I think as Americans we should be a bit cautious about throwing the “stress stones” without examining where we put pressure on our teens. In our glass house, athletic achievement is the pressure point for high school students - peer pressure to make the team, parental pressure to earn the scholarship and community pressure for athletic recognition.
I am in no way saying we should do away with high school athletics, my daughters both play high school sports and they benefit from the exercise, commitment and teamwork that comes from athletics. I do advocate, however, that the portion of each student’s two million minutes in high school that are devoted to sports should be in proportion to their benefit - both short term and lifetime - and should be secondary to the time and effort spent on academics. A smarter child is always a winner in the long term.
I am so passionate about this topic that I created a documentary film about it. It’s called Two Million Minutes. You can check out the trailer on YouTube or www.2mminutes.com.
Dixon Adair is right on, folks…
-Bob Compton
By prof
May 6, 2008 1:54 PM | Link to this
It seems that some readers have their feelings hurt and stray from the topic at hand when the US education system is compared to China’s. Well we can’t fix the problems until we admit they exist.
No, we don’t have to go to the extremes that China does. No one here is advocating education for only the top few. No one is advocating the elimination of the “short buses” or the special prgrams they represent. There are plenty of good aspects of the Chinese system that have been mentioned in this blog. As a country we should discuss the good parts and the bad in an effort to improve. We should avoid knee-jerk reactions like bringing up abortion in a discussion about education.
By teacher
May 6, 2008 1:57 PM | Link to this
I think it’s no coincidence that both China and Japan have two of the highest suicide rates per capita of all industrialized nations.
By prof
May 6, 2008 2:07 PM | Link to this
Yes, teacher. We are saving our children from suicide by teaching them that showing up and staying in the room is what education is all about. If instead we required actual learning, who knows what would happen.
By David Elmore
May 6, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this
Dixon Adair is an eloquent 10th grader and is, ironically, a poignant refutation of his own infatuation with the Chinese model of education – one built upon stifling conformity and motivation-by-embarrassment. Education by fear and absolute obedience is simply the means to stifle individualism, creativity, revolutionary thought, authority-figure confrontation and volition. What the Chinese churn out is intelligent puppets with shattered self-esteem and toe-the-line psychologies. America is little better, indeed, with its faux-self-esteem mutterings, propaganda studies (environmentalism, recycling, welfare-state sociology, etc.) and low expectations. But the one thing that is modestly salvaged in American classrooms is volition, so that students at least have a modest chance to pick themselves up after schooling and choose their own lives without having had conformity pounded into them mercilessly. I found it interesting that Dixon did not propose any middle-ground alternative. Perhaps that is because there really isn’t one. The Chinese understand this. If they backed off one iota from their oppressive model, that would open the floodgates to individual criticism and action. The only way to improve American schooling is to abolish it and get back to the days of our Founders, with their emphasis on vocations and schooling for those who wish to pursue it. What we need is more freedom, not less of it via Chinese educational imprisonment.
By Bob
May 6, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this
China is also 20 years behind America in it’s cultural revolution.
i. e… It’s only a matter of time before the Chinesse educators begin pulling their values from the progressive toilet like their American counterparts.
By kerry
May 6, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this
How to change? Leadership.
By Winston Smith
May 6, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this
Can’t read. Can’t write. Our kids are great at putting condoms on cucumbers, though.
By Roo
May 6, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
If China’s social system and tradition is the reason for their academic success, why don’t we work on our social systems and U.S. traditions? Remember, this is the same educational system that put us into outter space. We can’t be that stupid!
By Jesse B.
May 6, 2008 5:11 PM | Link to this
HARRY and Matt touched on good points.
The article mentions the “nation’s educational system” but doesn’t mention how it is funded. China’s schools are paid for by parents, and they pay a pretty penny to have those kids educated. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
When we feel entitled to education, as though it is a God-given right, it’s no wonder we end up less driven to succeed.
Remember, he who has the gold makes the rules. If you want state funding, expect state chains. If you want federal funding, expect federal chains. If you want local control, reject all funds other than local. If you as a parent want control over your child’s education, home school is basically the only option.
By amelia
May 6, 2008 8:52 PM | Link to this
Jesse B,
Chinese government offers 9 years free education to all children. For three years senior high school, parents pay some but not that much. Few private schools in China.
By Tesan
May 6, 2008 10:30 PM | Link to this
Primitive societies traditionally pride the group over the individual, and limit the reward for overachevement; yet, intensify the punishment for underachievement. Its commonlly excepted in the age we live in that personally accountability is ingrained in the life of some individuals as a highly regarded value. Its also widely common (and regarded as human, though not desired) that those attributes might not be common.
Our developed society holds that allowances should be made for the determinism (and the acceptance thereof) of an individual for his or her own fate, not that of the country at large.
By You think
May 6, 2008 10:45 PM | Link to this
The downfall of the American public school system continues to be schools not serving the residental neighborhoods in which they are located, the inability to remove incompetent teachers, i.e., teacher’s union, irresponsible parents (or usually parent), and a educational system which caters to and teaches to the lowest common denominator at the expense of those who want to and can achieve to become an asset to society rather than a drain on society!!!!
By Jesse B.
May 7, 2008 12:47 AM | Link to this
amelia,
I stand corrected. So apparently Dixon was in the last couple of years where the students were under publicly funded education.
There’s no such thing as a “free” education, though. Someone is paying for it. I maintain that local schools should take the largest stake in order to have the most control.
Public education is a good idea, as long as you keep it local. Monolithic decrees from the great minds in Washington (or Atlanta, for that matter) limit academic freedom.
Getting back to China, perhaps the difference is more the fierce competition and the pressure from family, rather than the funding sources.