Is China’s Education System Driving Away Top Students? Sharp Increase in Chinese Students Abroad: Part 2

Is China’s Education System Driving Away Top Students? Sharp Increase in Chinese Students Abroad: Part 2
Sep 25, 2014 By eChinacities.com

Editor’s note: This article is the second part of a two part article translated from ifeng.com exploring the recent increase in Chinese students choosing to go abroad for high school and undergraduate study. In part 1, we looked at the various reasons behind the trend; part 2 addresses some of the difficulties that Chinese students face, how their experiences abroad shape them, and compares the Chinese and American education systems.

We Are On Different Wavelengths

When Song Yuchen returned after his first year abroad, Song Bin almost did not recognize her. Song Yuchen had a very dark tan. He asked her how she had gotten so tan. She answered, from playing tennis.

Is China’s Education System Driving Away Top Students? Sharp Increase in Chinese Students Abroad: Part 2
Photo: sohu

Her father was surprised; his children had never liked sports. Song Yuchen had become an athlete in her year abroad. She had tried baseball, swimming, fencing and even horseback riding. She was a bench warmer on the school’s baseball team, but each game, the coach let her play for a little while. Even when she played badly, the coaches were always encouraging saying, “You played great Yuchen!”

“When a person is encouraged by others, they are more likely to feel a sense of accomplishment. When a person has a sense of accomplishment, they will become more interested.” Song Bin said that Song Yuchen had played the piano since childhood but always had a lackluster interest in the instrument. This was probably because her parents had forced her to play it.

In the American school system, there is a lot of time to exercise. After school sports are considered credits and there is less pressure from schoolwork. In a semester, you can choose from a dozen different courses as long as you take five core ones. If you do not like physics, you can take chemistry, if you do not like chemistry you can take cooking.

Integrating into American culture, however, has proven to be a challenge for young Chinese students. Li Wu now works in a New York consulting firm and first came to the United States in 2007 to attend high school. Li says that the most difficult thing about coming to America was learning how to integrate into American culture. International students usually stick together and rarely take the initiative to talk to American students. After six months abroad, Li found that American society is actually quite open and slowly began to step out of his shell. In the beginning, he was afraid to speak in class and nervous about criticism from his teachers but said that he soon was able to answer questions and teachers slowly began to like him.

In his first months abroad, Li began to take steps to integrate into American culture. He ate at his classmates’ homes with their families. Over the summer, he even brought an American classmate back to China. In his sophomore year in high school in America, he joined a sports team and helped his team win the state championships. Because he was neither tall nor confident, Li never dared to join a sports team before coming to the United States.

Li returned to China for the summer after his sophomore year of high school and met up with his old Chinese classmates. When asked how he had gotten along with his former classmates Li said that, “We are on entirely different wavelengths.” He noted that, “My former classmates only talk about grades. I am more interested in what I should do in the future, whether I should run for student council president and planning events and parties.”

After watching from afar while his son Zhu He studied in the United States for two years, Zhu Damin developed profound feelings regarding the US educational system. “What is taught in American schools and what is taught within American society is consistent. China’s secondary education is about saying one thing and then doing another.” Zhu Damin believes that mainstream values and moral edification are clearly ingrained in the American educational system. At the same time, Chinese political ideology and the Chinese educational system send two different messages. Therefore American children are more willing to accept American values and ideological education.

“In the Chinese classroom, students learn about complying with and respecting traffic laws, respecting the old, caring for the young and sincerity. However, they do not go out and act the same way. It seems, as long as there is no crime, everything is ok. I cheat you and you cheat me, how is that ok?” Zhu Damin believes that lessons in Chinese education and society contrast greatly. In the United State schools teach integrity and society also values integrity, therefore those in violation must pay a price.

Zhu Damin believes that no one is born with social responsibility and but that people have an innate sense of how to serve the interests of society. America’s education system combines classroom learning and social practice in order to educate children responsibly. “In China’s education system students must attend cram school all summer, take exams, do exam training after school, do their chores, and show filial respect to their parents on top of this. Is it possible to also make them love their country and feel a sense of social responsibility?”

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Keywords: Chinese education American education comparison Chinese study abroad students

8 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

bill8899

No. They go to undergad abroad and apply to grad school here in China.

Oct 03, 2014 15:39 Report Abuse

bswalker0844

China has been creating robots, not open minded socially responsible adults. When the government refuses to fix the problem, the parents who can afford to send their kids abroad to get a proper education. Maybe when one of your high level commie officials kids flings himself out of his dorm window to his death, then change might come. Teach your kids social responsibility, how to have fun while your learning. And most important, teach them it is not necessary to spit to clear your throat, swallow like a man........... Kilroy

Sep 26, 2014 23:17 Report Abuse

bill8899

Yes.

Sep 26, 2014 07:11 Report Abuse

glydwelle

Just want to correct a few incorrect things about your article. After school sports in most states(I think all actually) are not credits. You can earn things to get your letter-man jacket and pins, but not for class. Another problem is most high schools will offer to let you choose between physics or chemistry. But. will require you to take at least a science class. They will not let you choose cooking instead and count it as a science class.

Sep 25, 2014 15:25 Report Abuse

bill8899

yes, their 'facts' about US schools are hilarious and wrong.

Sep 26, 2014 07:14 Report Abuse

adminanswer

Hi glydwelle, This article is translated; we didn't write it. Articles posted in this section are translated from Chinese articles to try and give people a look into what is currently trending in domestic media, and the Chinese view of western culture. Thanks for your comment, Admin

Sep 28, 2014 17:44 Report Abuse

glydwelle

What I should have said was This article, not your article. I was pointing out what was wrong with the article that you had translated it from. Not what you wrote, unless you were the person interviewing and writing these down as facts. I was just pointing out the mistaken thoughts that this article(which I assume you translated into English and didn't write from your response) has it in.

Sep 29, 2014 09:41 Report Abuse

louischuahm

With the current education system I'm not surprised. Those who can afford will go overseas to get a well rounded education. Those who can't will have to make do. At the rate it's going, those who went overseas will eventually become leaders, the rest just followers. Those who compete their overseas education return and become disillusioned. They will finally leave when they find that they have nothing to gain at home.

Sep 25, 2014 10:09 Report Abuse