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ｄｕｃａｔｉｏｎ：Ｃｈｉｎａ ａｎｄ Ａｍｅｒｉｃａ
中文摘要:这篇文章主要阐述了不同文化对中国教育和美国教育的不同影响。中国和美国有着不同的教育体系和教育方法;同时,父母对孩子的教育方法也不同。 为了完善中国的教育体制,我们应该改变我们的教育观念,强壮我们的经济,加强与其他国家的文化交流。
Abstract:This paper shows some different influences of culture on education in China and America. America and China have different education systems, which produce different education forms and methods. Also, parents use different methods to educate their children. In order to develop our education system in China, we must change our educational concepts, develop our economy and strengthen cultural communication with other countries.
关键字:文化 中国教育 美国教育
Key Words: Culture Chinese Education American Education
Introduction
It was October 18th, 2002. The conference on the comparison between Chinese education and American education was held in Shanghai. Some representatives raised the question: in the annual international Olympic competition for middle school students, Chinese students won gold medals for their intellectual achievements every year, but why is never anyone from China appearing on the Nobel awards stage? After discussion, some experts pointed out that it was due to different education systems within different cultures. This deepens on our understanding of the issues and
problems in the Chinese approach to education.
Culture and Education
Nowadays, “culture” may be one of the biggest buzzwords in our life, but we do not know the exact period of time when the word “culture” emerged. Every day, we can encounter a lot of fresh phrases concerned with “culture”, such as “commercial culture”, “automobile culture”, “city culture”, “movie culture”, and even “WC culture”. Sometimes we are really puzzled. So when we talk about the discrepancy between the influences of culture on education, it is necessary for us to impose and make clear the concept ------culture.
“Culture is an extremely complex concept and an enormous subject. It almost embraces everything in the world, whether material or spiritual. However complex it is, it can be roughly classified into three categories in scope: material culture, which refers to all the products of nature and manufacture, institutional culture, which refers to social systems, religious systems, ritual systems, educational systems, and kinship systems, and mental culture, which refers to people’s mentalities and behaviors, beliefs, perceptions, concepts of value, and thought patterns”. (Chen Hongwei , From—Changing for Faithfulness in Chinese—English Translation: A Cultural Perspective P257)
Education is included in institutional culture and it is an important part of culture. Education is increasingly important in modern societies because it determines, in large measures, the success or failure of a nation in global competition. Education is like a big window, according to the English novelist, Mary Webb. Through this big window, we can see a lot of things, which can reflect a nation’s culture. However, different countries have different education systems, which reveal different cultural assumptions. In the following section, we are going to look at different influences of culture on education in china and America.
Students are part of one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of education: the American effort to educate an entire national population. The goal is ---and has been since the early decades of the Republic----to achieve universal literacy and to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote both their own individual welfare as well as that of the general public. Though this goal has not yet been fully achieved, it remains an ideal toward which the American education system is directed.The progress that has been made is notable both for its scope and for the educational methods that have been developed in the process of achieving it. But we want at the same time the clear one is seen, behind the ones that are educated in this kind of Volkswagen, have paid the high cost too—reducing of the quality. The existing problem is at present: teaching time is shortened, teaching demands to reduce. Because emphasize cultivation of ability excessively, even simple letter can not, there are high school students, the basic one adds subtracts operation can not calculated.
The economy is another important factor influencing education system. China is a developing country. Its education is described as “穷国办大教育”(large-scale education in a poor country). In most Middle School, there are over 50 students in each class. It is difficult for students to do some class activities. Many schools, especially in western areas and in the poverty—stricken countryside, are very poor. Facilities in schools are out of date. Students have to have classes in shabby classrooms and they have no modern studying equipment. Also, schools are too poor to afford the training of teachers. Although some schools in big cities are rich enough, but the teachers’ quality is not very high. They are reluctant to try new methods or they can’t use them at all. The low quality of teachers is really a great impediment to educational innovation. America is a developed country. Every year, the government invests a lot of money in educational development. Schools are equipped with modern teaching facilities. With modern equipments, teachers are encouraged to try many new teaching methods. And America pays more attention to the quality of teachers: a teacher must have many certificates to prove that he or she is qualified in many aspects, morality, deportment and teaching skills, for instance. A lot of teacher training is provided in the USA, including morality training, teaching skill training, psychology training and professional training.
So, to revitalize our education, the government should try to develop China’s economy. Then we can increase its financial contribution to education to improve the facilities, the quality of teachers, and the management of schools. Also, we should balance the “resource disposal” between eastern and western areas, the cities and the countryside, and the key schools and other schools.
B.Different school education
1. What is taught in school?
In American universities, classes vary from seminars, or small discussion groups, to large lecture courses for hundreds of students and students have lots of chances to practice and students can use what they have learnt in real life soon, which reinforce their practical ability. For American students, after they pass the required courses, they can learn what they are interested in. Many elective courses are available to them. Except the required course, a sizeable percentage of time is given over to self-study. Students can go to “self-access” center. There are a lot of books available, also some competent teachers on duty to offer help and advice. Students choose topics by themselves. They take responsibilities for their own learning.
But this message mentioned above may be difficult for some students from certain educational background and cultures who have been led to believe that it is the teachers’ job to provide learning. That’s why the Chinese students studying in American universities “pace up and down” wondering which topic should be chosen because they have been used to being given a certain topic by teacher.
The Influence of Culture on Education
