<p>On college entrance exams:
Note: the Chinese system is far more demanding and rigid than our issues with College Board... but I still found the parallels interesting, especially the 2nd article about the girl who protested by an out-of-the-box approach to the test. </p>
<p>If American parents could see what ordinary Korean, Chinese and Japanese schoolchildren endure to try to win a place at a top university, they would reconsider the lockstep march toward absolute meritocracy.</p>
<p>One of my best friends graduated from Seoul University in the days when few women were admitted. She devoted her entire childhood to gaining that spot. Yet, when she arrived, she found that it was just....school. She was hugely disappointed and full of regret for her lost years. Many of her Korean classmates felt the same, apparently.</p>
<p>I've heard the same thing from some Japanese colleagues - they study so hard during their childhood to make it into the higher-level U and once they get there, they're in, so no need to study their guts out any more. That said, I'm sure plenty still do.</p>
<p>Chinese university admissions are SCARY - you get one shot, and if you don't make it you are basically screwed. </p>
<p>In Beijing, there are no-go zones for traffic for 2 weeks around schools that are holding the Gaokao (university admissions test), so students aren't distracted by horns going off, engines backfiring etc. Kids have nervous breakdowns every year.</p>
<p>Laylah, it's very similar here in Seoul. The test day is a national event.. parents stand outside with signs encouraging their kids. Special foods are prepared (sticky foods to help the student "stick" or do well on the exam; slippery foods are avoided so the student won't "slip off" the list of admitted students) Police direct traffic that morning to help students get to the test centers on time. They'll stick kids in random cars and ask the drivers to take them to the test center if the students are running late.</p>
<p>After the exam is taken and scores are tallied, each university decides what the cutoff score that year will be, for their uni. They accept all students who achieve higher than the cutoff. Everyone else is rejected.</p>
<p>When my mom was a kid growing up in Korea, her mom only let her sleep for 4 hours each night. There was a saying that if your child slept for 4 hours/night, they would be admitted to a good university. If they slept for 5 hours/night, they would be rejected. It worked for my mom, but my grandmother now realizes how crazy she was... lol. My mom certainly doesn't think that way.</p>
<p>Anyway, in Korea, if your score on the national exam is too low to be admitted to uni, you attend special schools called "hakwon" for a year and re-take the test the following year. My dad had to do that, lol. It's quite common. Competition is fierce, especially for the "big 3" -- Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei Universities.</p>
<p>Every year, some students commit suicide over the national exams. It's very sad. The Korean government has proposed transforming the college admissions system to more strongly resemble the States (GPA, essay, etc.) and the students+parents protested! Crazy. No one knows what they want.</p>
<p>Only 4 hours of sleep per night?? Woah. There's no way I could have handled that!</p>
<p>My knowledge of the situation in China comes from teaching English there a few years ago - just after I had done my A-levels (UK university admissions exams), and I was shocked at the difference. Kids in China seemed to be literally TERRIFIED of failure - I used to get students phoning me up at 3 am begging for an extra class or more homework - compared to the UK, where if you fail there are tons and tons of other options for study. </p>
<p>I do like the idea of sticky food though - I am an unashamed honey addict, and don't even let me near toffee... ;)</p>
<p>Universities in China base their university entrance exam off ONE single score, that is the National University Admissions Examinations (more commonly known as Gaokao). </p>
<p>So what you get in China is a student population with no ECs, no research, no projects, etc..., and hits the books from everyday till 12 or 1am (maybe even later).</p>
<p>Heck, the Chinese even have a name for this type of studying, Ti-hai, literally "Question Ocean". They believe that the practice you have (i.e. doing more from exercise books), the higher you will score in Gaokao.</p>
<p>Yes, and you also get students who find it very hard to question anything, because they are so used to their teachers effectively being infallible, as well as censored lesson plans. </p>
<p>While teaching in China, there were three things I wasn't allowed to mention in classes - politics, sex, and religion. I got around this by doing lessons based entirely on British culture - I showed them photos of the Houses of Parliament, discussed women's suffrage, commented on the fact that there is no age of consent for lesbian sex because Queen Victoria didn't believe women did such things, and talked about the Church of England as the state religion. </p>
<p>I doubt it helped any of them pass the Gaokao, but they all told me afterwards that it was the most interesting class they'd ever had!</p>
<p>Uhh......No offense, but that doesn't seem questionable to me. You said you were a English teacher, so why are you teaching houses of parliament, discussing women's rights, etc.? ....adn you would like to debate sex and religion in school too? Go to southern US and try to talk religion and sex. Touchy topics will get you nightly phone calls. </p>
<p>Although I don't support that one test should be used to determine admisions, this censorship stuff is way exagerrated. The fact that you were able to get around it shows that it's not that serious and you can leak through. They warned you of not teaching those things because, what a surprise, they don't focus more on englihs than on history. Sure, you're able to speak english to them, but I won't consider it effective by the least.</p>
<p>The students telling you that it was the most interesting class isn't limited either. If you came into my classes in the US and talked about UK culture and politics, we'd all be interested as well becaseu we rarely ever study the stuff.</p>
<p>SAT writing is a piece of cake, compared to those.</p>
<p>"Ti-hai, literally "Question Ocean" "</p>
<p>yea i lived through it. (lived in china for 15 years). it was quite tough, but sometimes it's FUN when you finally solve a physics problem after 2 days of hardcore thinking. :)</p>
<p>Both my parents say that Chinese education is a lot more competitive and difficult compared to America's, which it undoubtably is. However, after looking at the admission process in the US, my mom says she prefers the Chinese admission system because it's more straightforward.</p>
<p>chickenlord, your post was incomprehensible. I don't think you really comprehend Asian culture. You mentioned living in the South; while I don't wish to stereotype the South, it's a fact that Asians are a definite minority in that part of the U.S. As a result, I don't think it is possible for you to properly compare the teaching system in the southern U.S. with that in East Asia. Furthermore, as a dual citizen of the U.S. and an Asian country, and having grown up and attended both public and private schools in each of these countries, I can testify to the extremely different foci of education in each culture.</p>
<p>I was shocked that you said that censorship of teachers by the Chinese government was "way exaggerated" by Laylah. Nothing could be further from the truth regarding politics, sex and religion in China. The reason Laylah was able to "leak through" is due to the fact that Chinese police weren't sitting in her classroom. This does not make censorship in China any less serious. Missionaries are not allowed in China -- missionary work is punishable by death. Demonstrating against the government or protesting its policies is seen as subversion and is similarly punishable by death (it's more likely you will "disappear" in an eerily similar way to 1984). It is irresponsible and flat-out wrong to compare complaining parents' phone calls regarding religion+sex being discussed in U.S. classrooms to state censorship regarding the same topics in China. Censorship is very serious. Ordinary Chinese citizens do not have the civil right of free speech. That is fact.</p>
<p>Curiously, though the American education system is far less rigourous in many ways, it has produced the majority of the scientific and technological breakthroughs of the past 100 years. It has also invented and produced the dominant media forms of the past 100 years. It has also produced the dominant music and fashion of the last 60 years.</p>
<p>Very true. The rote learning emphasized in Korea+China, for example, suppress creative thought and the development of original ideas. It's a problem more Asians are recognizing nowadays.</p>
<p>In terms of scientific and technological breakthroughs, I think the next 100 years will produce a much more global diaspora of prominent scientists and researchers. Asia has endured incredible political turmoil in the past century. Korea was considered a third world country only 50 years ago. In time, I believe, the rest of the world will catch up to the West and contribute significantly to science.</p>
<p>Also, non-Western media is becoming more prominent nowadays. The obvious example is Bollywood. Asian and European film, in particular, are becoming popular even in the U.S., and many directors of American movies are now non-American (Ang Lee and Peter Jackson immediately jump to mind). These are, of course, still the exception, not the rule. My point is that the next century will be very different from the last in terms of the scope of global communication that will be going on -- in ideas, in information, in patnerships and collaborations, and, I believe, in the forums of culture, academia and research previously dominated by the West.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the future impact of the Chinese economy. If China is able to maintain it's current course, then yes, I think the next century may look very different to the current one. Asian societies will have the funds to compete with US universities and corporations. </p>
<p>BTW, that's a big 'if' in my opinion. It's not easy to 'manage' a billion people--and it's never been easy for the Chinese. And, the idea of investing n research is a peculiarly American idea. It has an aspect of philanthropy that is not understood or welcomed int he rest of the world--even Europe.</p>
<p>The 'paper tiger' countries will not be able to forge the necessary power. They are now struggling to maintain their standards of living agaisnt the rise of the Chinese. They are in an acknowledged 'sunset' phase of growth.</p>
<p>Also, I don't think your predicted century of change has yet to begin because the US is still attracting the best and the brightest talent from other countries. When the US starts to lose it's attractiveness, it will lose that talent and that diversity. That's when we will see a slow down in the rate of American productive creativity.</p>
<p>Until then, Katy bar the door. Don't foget, the internet was launched in 1992. That's only 14 years ago. A blip on the radar of history--and an indicator of a continuance of American innovation.</p>
<p>O_O Wow hardcore discussion, all I can say is that I'm incredibly thankful to be living here -- more so than usual this year beacuse I'm about to be a senior, but my cousin was one last year. He took his gaokao and did not do well on it at all. He didn't get into any of the universities he chose, and in my extended family in China, the sht has hit the proverbial fan. They are freaking out like no other. My parents have even been panicking and trying to figure out what to do... at this point it looks like he will go to a community college like thing and try to transfer or something. I <3 our app process so much more now...</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think it depends on the future impact of the Chinese economy. If China is able to maintain it's current course, then yes, I think the next century may look very different to the current one. Asian societies will have the funds to compete with US universities and corporations.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's if they get past the academic dishonesty and lack of respect for intellectual property rights that's rampant in the region.</p>
<p>And here comes the examples of how it's "just as bad" here*...:rolleyes:</p>
<ul>
<li>"Here" meaning the homeland, not the current digs.</li>
</ul>
<p>
[quote]
BTW, that's a big 'if' in my opinion. It's not easy to 'manage' a billion people--and it's never been easy for the Chinese.
[/quote]
I agree completely. I am skeptical of China's ability to become a true world superpower not because of its people but because of its restrictive government and messy bureaucracy. I still believe, though, that more individuals from Asia (India, Thailand, Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, etc.) will become prominent experts in diverse fields in the next few decades. Hwang Woo Suk leaps to mind. I was of course devastated when it was revealed that he had fabricated data and was, along with other Koreans, very embarrassed on behalf of our nation, but he DID successfully clone a dog. Surely this is an example, albeit flawed, of Asia's growing influence in the scientific sphere (though some serious education in ethics may be necessary, lol)</p>
<p>Also, in terms of mobile and media technology, I believe Asia is easily keeping pace with the West. Millions of Americans use Korean-made phones (Samsung and LG) without even realizing it. Korean cell phone models are released in Asia years before they reach U.S. shores. SONY is everywhere, and has been for the past 20 years. LSD televisions are practically the norm for middle-class Asians, which for now remains untrue in the U.S.</p>