Teaching to the Ultimate Test...

Playing 'Catch-Up' with Developing Nations Makes No Sense for US!


The more I read for this class, the more my eyes are opened to what is going on with education around the world.  I really enjoyed the interview with Yong Zhao: Playing 'Catch-Up' with Developing Nations Makes No Sense of U.S. by Joan Richardson.  I have posted the article above so you can read it if you like!

The reason this particular article struck a cord with me is because I work at a school that has a pretty serious international population.  The majority of those students are from China.  Actually, my family had a student that lived with us.  It was truly an amazing experience for our family and for Steven (our student).  At dinner time, we would all sit down to a meal and have conversations about everything!  One topic we discussed at length was the reason Chinese parents are sending there children (in really large numbers) to America for school.  Steven said there were many reasons, but the one that we continued to go back to was the fact that students who study in America have more of an opportunity to go to university then if they stay in China.  The reason for this is the gaokao.  The gaokao is the Chinese test that determines college admissions.  It is a very serious test that students and their parents take very seriously.  It is a well known fact that not many students actually pass the gaokao.  If they do not pass the test, they do not go to university.  More importantly, if they do not pass the test, it would seem that all the education that they received up until that point, is wasted.

Yong Zhao is a Distinguished Professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University.  He also is the Founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology.  He closes out his impressive resume by also being the Executive director of the Confucius Institute and a Fellow of the International Academy for Education.  When he sat down with Joan Richardson he really did a good job in breaking down what the educational system is like in China and explaining it in a way that is easy to understand. In short, Zhao claims that in China, if you are not good at taking tests, then you are not good at much.  The schools in China are so focused on teaching for students to pass this test, that they are only teaching to the test.  Zhao explains that students aren't learning so much as they are memorizing.

Another aspect of this article that I found intriguing is Zhao's assertion that the U.S. should not now try to follow China's lead in education.  I feel like he is saying...look our system is not perfect, we have some things that are not working and that need some help.  But, we can't do what China is doing...the kids in China are certainly receiving a good education...but is it actually a enriched, fulfilling experience that a lot of our students receive here in the States?