How Cool is School?

Americans are beginning to fear the Chinese work ethic more and more every day, as their economy and their SAT scores increase at amazingly rapid rates.  They put many more hours into school than the average American, some staying at school until nine, beginning their homework at ten, and starting it all over again the next morning at seven.  The average student in China is required to go through at least eleven hours of school, which is four hours longer than the average American.  Their vacations are short, and they compensate for missing school during the year by attending weekend classes.  Their summer vacation is only a month long and most of that time, they study.  Their work ethic is truly unquestionable, and always has been. 

So, I can’t help but ask: Why don’t they have a stronger economy?  Why does the average American make $46,400 dollars compared to the $6,600 dollars that the average Chinese makes?  To look at China comparatively, that $6,600 dollars puts them right behind Turkmenistan and right in front of Namibia.  How can such immense efforts yield such meager results? 

Clearly, China’s political history has a role.  Mao started the revolution only 61 years ago, (in fact I am writing this on the anniversary).   It is amazing to think as I see buildings shooting up all over that only about thirty years ago China was a completely communist country in rags.  

In addition to their recent communist roots, I can’t help but think that their approach to education is at least partly responsible for their weak economy as well, and I wonder if their education approach will long-term hinder their ability to compete fully with America. 

Burn-out

You know that feeling you get after you finish a triathlon?  Well, I don’t.  But I’ve heard, that you feel like you never want to ride a bike, run, or swim, ever again.  A great many Chinese people seem to feel the same way after they’ve finally finished toiling through school.  Unlike most tri-athletes, however, they never recover.  As a result, the work ethic that is so apparent in school seems to vanish.  You can frequently spot men and women in offices engaged in online poker instead of work.  Rather than staying after work in an effort to get ahead, they head out to drink and play cards, this time with some pool or television thrown in to the mix.  While this doesn’t hold true for all Chinese people, it appears to me to be a somewhat common practice.

Memorization instead of Critical Thinking

I also think that the fact that they learn a different way impacts their potential. Although they put in far more hours than we do, our education system yields better results.  Because of their population size, the class size is huge.  There are about 70 students in each class, instead of the 10-20 students in a typical American class.  This seems to drive a focus on memorization instead of true learning. 

I was surprised to find that I was further along in math than my new classmates.  I believe that this is because, as they move on to the more complex math, their teacher is unable to help each student understand each problem.  Memorization no longer compensates for lack of understanding.

 

The same holds true for the social sciences.  They focus on memorizing different passages, never writing works of their own, or examining the text like an American English class examines Shakespeare. 

And while their English language class focuses on expanding their vocabulary, it seems to fail to teach them proper English. Instead, they learn some version of English that is required to pass the national exams.

 

Their approach to History, in my opinion, is the worst.  Probably, this is due to the fact that history is my favorite subject.  The focus is only on memorizing the facts - not on forming an opinion.  This would drive me crazy!  If, for example at Salisbury, I express an opinion in Mr. Mokriski’s class, he may disagree with me, but I have the opportunity to explain my position.  I am in fact, encouraged to share my opinions - they can’t be flat out wrong!  In China, however, if I was to state an opinion (a very unlikely occurrence in a Chinese classroom), my teacher would immediately state that I was incorrect – no further discussion. 

The use of the Socratic Method in the West, in my opinion, is crucial to our continued strength as a Nation both in terms of intellect and economics.  The Chinese system (which many Chinese teachers, by the way disagree with) doesn’t allow students to be creative, doesn’t allow an individual student to excel, and doesn’t teach students how to build an argument.  The US System by comparison encourages us to be creative, to excel on an individual level, and teaches us to build arguments.  These skills are all crucial aspects of successful business and a successful economy. 

I can’t help but think with half of the effort producing twice the results- maybe (US) school is cool…

- or maybe the pollution is just getting to me!