Education

One thing that I have noticed about China is the attitude that they have on education.  There have been many Chinese scholars, the best known being Confucius.  There has always been an attitude of learning.  Before I came to China, I heard a lot about the education system; mainly that it is much more difficult to succeed academically.  I don’t know a lot about traditional Chinese classes, but the Mandarin classes I have taken here are a lot more intense than the ones I have taken in the States.  The expectations are much higher, and I think I have a slightly larger understanding about why the native Chinese students study so much.  I think it comes down to expectations, the teachers expect a lot more as do their parents.  In China, it takes actual effort not just to pass high school, but also to be accepted into high school.  When I walk into the library at the college at my college campus in Beijing, just the bottom floor was covered in students.  Many had food, and what looked like all the homework for the entire year.  I also observed several piles of books on tables marking places; a sure sign the owners would return.  However, in the United States, libraries seem to be taken for granted.  One summer day in Seattle I went to the library to check out some books.  This happened to be a very hot summer.  Seattle is generally between 75-85 degrees in the summer, but this week was pushing 100 degrees and people were suffering.  I was browsing books when I head the receptionist say over the phone, “yes, we have air conditioning.” What has the world come to when libraries are viewed as a way to glean free air conditioning in the summer time, instead of ways to learn or pass leisure time with books?  No wonder funding is being cut.

People sometimes voice the observation that the United States seems to be falling behind in the world.  The United States used to be the golden standard of things such as medicine, cars, and education.  But today, technology in Asia is much more advanced than it is in the United States.  Less people own American cars than foreign cars, and the ratio of goods we import vs. export has greatly increased.  Comparing the Chinese education system to the United States education system, could revel why this is happening.  In the United States, some states report proficient reading levels as low as 12%.  This could give clues as to what the problem is.  If a better part of the nation can’t read properly, what would be surprising about a country that

Most grade levels as follows: 100-90% A, 89-81% B, 70-60% C, 59%< F.  Technically a ‘C’ is average.  But should an average really be a 70% job well done?  ‘Average’ people can do a 70% proficient job in doing things doesn’t seem like a very accurate description.  In China, there is a definite drive and pressure to succeed.  Parents are very adamant about their children succeeding, sometimes ‘helping’ their children make the right decisions.  My friend met a girl who attends the same university as we do, and he spent about an hour talking to her.  When he asked what her major was, she said English Literature.  Upon further questioning, he discovered that when she started working on her degree, she didn’t like English.  She reassured him that she liked it now but at first it was really hard to study and she thought it was boring.  He asked why she was an English Literature major if she didn’t like studying English to which she replied, “My dad wanted me to.”  The education system in China is not perfect, but it seems to be working efficiently enough that the country is successfully industrializing.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures of my school.  This is my classroom.  I sit here three hours a day 5 days a week.  I have exactly 3 teachers (Bai, Zou, and He老师[teacher]), and the classes are 1.5 hours long.  I really like my classes.  At first it was really hard to like them because every vocabulary word we learned, we studied at home, and then everyday said at least 5 times over.  But repetition works! I remember things a lot more and it’s great practice for getting tones right because my responsibility is basically to mimic them.  I think all State schools should adopt their practice for languages.  I was skeptical at first, but now I’m a cheerleader for the method!