Is the basic education in the United States really as relaxed and happy as many people in China envy? When parents' anxiety in China is growing, what is the state of parents and children in the United States?
American parents also attach importance to education, and it is common to move for choosing a school.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Kelly, a third-grade student in Ito Primary School, just finished the math interest group course of 1 hour. She sat on the steps of the street, helping her friends who had just entered the first grade with their homework, while waiting for their mother to pick them up and go home together. "The teacher left his homework yesterday, but not today." Kelly snapped her fingers and calculated: "The remaining homework in each subject is about 15 minutes, and it takes about 40 minutes to complete all the homework. I can do it myself. "
The middle school department of Washington International School is less than 10 minutes' walk from Ito Primary School. Its high school education level is among the best in Washington, and many graduates are promoted to Ivy League schools for further study every year. Nelson's brother and sister go to junior high school here, and the time spent on homework every day is about 1 to 1 half an hour. Similar to Kelly's situation, unless the teacher has special requirements, the homework of brothers and sisters basically does not need parents to ask. If they don't understand anything in their study, they will ask the teacher for help.
Although American children have a strong sense of learning autonomy, this does not mean that American parents ignore basic education. They also want to send their children to the best schools they can. It is understood that there are more than 50 million students studying in public primary and secondary schools in the United States, and about 70% of them become primary school students and junior high school students. Because public schools adopt the principle of admission nearby, and there are also "school districts" in the United States, it is very common for parents to move and choose schools.
In order to choose a suitable school for her daughter, Tom McLean, director of Boeing's international public relations department, took her children on a field trip and compared many public and private schools near her home. "Although the school hardware is very important, the reputation and academic level of the school are my top priority." McLean said.
Zhang Xiaoxia is the head of the Chinese language program at Baltimore International School in Maryland. In her view, nationality, family income and parents' education level may not be directly related to the importance that families attach to children's education. The unified measure that determines parents' different performances is their expectations of their children.
Generally speaking, education is still very important in the minds of most parents. But why do American parents let go of their children's homework and academic performance?
According to some China people who have lived in the United States for a long time, China's parents work during the day and are busy with their children's homework and extracurricular classes at night. American parents can't do anything even if they want to. American families usually have two or more children, so parents usually spend most of their energy on taking care of the workplace and raising children. On the other hand, the divorce rate in America is quite high. About 65,438+0/3 of the first marriages ended in separation or divorce. These parents should not only take care of the children of the new family, but also be responsible for the children of the previous marriage. Their energy is further dispersed and they have no time to take care of every child's growth. Zhang Xiaoxia said that her students once forgot to inform another parent to attend the parent-teacher conference because they were temporarily staying at one parent's house.
There are also many exams in American schools, and students need to work harder to get the best.
Many people think that one advantage of American education over China education is that the former does not take exams as the ultimate goal. In fact, exams have not been reduced to a form in the United States. On the contrary, exams and grades play an important role in American basic education. Emily attended the famous Murray Middle School in Washington. Her ambition was to become a doctor. At present, in middle school, the academic pressure is still quite great. On average, there are two big exams every month, during which there are quizzes in various subjects. The school will regularly inform parents of their children's recent exam results. Despite this, American schools are not allowed to disclose test scores and ranking results, which increases the psychological burden on children and parents.
However, American children are relatively calm about exams and grades. When asked if he would feel depressed because others were ahead in academic performance, Gauss of 12 categorically said no: "I will attribute my good friends' good grades to having good learning methods. "If the exam results are not satisfactory, he will apply for retaking the exam or find a teacher to check for leaks." Most of my classmates and I can get an A, but if we want to get an A+, we really need to work harder. "Gauss said.
Before the exam, it is the teacher who bears the greatest pressure. According to Zhang Xiaoxia, Maryland, where she lives, regularly holds state unified examinations for public schools. The education department requires students to make progress in the unified examination, and students' grades are directly linked to teachers' salaries. For some special public schools, such as charter schools, students' grades will even be directly related to the life and death of the school.
When urging children to study, Zhang Xiaoxia said that American teachers don't have the authority as China teachers, and it is difficult for them to guide their parents. Parents' mentality is that the school will take responsibility for sending their children to school. Teachers adjust the teaching content through big exams and quizzes again and again to ensure that children do not fall behind. Therefore, if students can cultivate the awareness of autonomous learning, it is a burden for teachers.
American public schools rely on government financial allocations, and the number of students is directly linked to the amount of funding. In order to enhance the attraction, many schools will arrange interest groups and custody classes after school to solve the trouble that working parents can't pick up their children on time. Usually, parents don't have to pay extra for interest groups, but their purpose is not to improve students' academic performance. Kelly said that her math interest group is led by a math teacher, and students participate in math games through computers. Custody class is a fee-paying project, but it is not for extracurricular tutoring. Students finish the homework of the day under the supervision and help of the teacher.
American educational circles are also rethinking, making syllabus to improve students' grades through state unified examinations.
"In China, a good university depends on a good middle school, and a good middle school cannot be separated from a good primary school to lay the foundation." McLean, who can speak fluent Chinese, has studied and worked in China for many years, and is deeply touched by the educational anxiety of parents in China.
"In America, we have a proverb that it is not important to get a college degree, but what you will do with it." American high-quality universities are rich in resources, and the most stressful stage is the college entrance examination. However, McClane said that Americans do not blindly worship prestigious degrees. "It's cool if you can go to Harvard University and Princeton University, but if you are admitted to a second-rate university, American children won't feel humiliated."
In McClane's view, the most ideal educational model is the combination of China and the United States. "American parents need to learn from their parents in China and pay attention to their children's test scores, but they don't have to be anxious. It is very important to grasp the degree. Education in China needs more efforts on students' independence and speculation. After all, many questions have no correct answers. "
Zhang Xiaoxia feels the same way: China's parents are too strict about grades, while American parents are too loose. Too strict and too loose is not conducive to the growth of children. "Because of insufficient attention, many American children's knowledge system foundation is not solid. Parents should realize that there is no contradiction between consolidating basic knowledge and improving children's overall quality. "
In fact, over the years, American education circles have been constantly rethinking, and the trend of attaching importance to exams is increasing. In 200 1 year, then President george walker bush put forward the education reform plan of "No Child Left Behind", the core measure of which was to hold state unified examinations in the fourth and eighth grades. Under the accountability mechanism, teachers are under great pressure.
However, the results of the fourth Program for International Student Assessment Test released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 20 10 still surprised Americans. American students ranked seventeenth, thirty-first and twenty-third respectively in this test on reading, mathematics and scientific literacy of students aged 15. Shanghai students who took the exam for the first time in those years were the first in all three items. Arne duncan, then US Secretary of Education, called on the whole country to regard this result as a wake-up call and stressed that "being surpassed in education today will be surpassed in competition tomorrow."
In 2009, the Obama administration allocated $4.35 billion to set up a "Race to the Top" fund to encourage local governments to take the initiative in educational innovation in a competitive way. The following year, the Best Practice Center of the National Governors Association and the Committee of State Directors of Education published the final version of Common Core Standards, which stipulated the syllabus from preschool to senior three, focusing on improving students' reading and math scores. At present, most States in the United States have joined.
However, whether it is "not a few", "striving for the upper reaches" or "sharing the core", the implementation effect is controversial and criticized. Educational reformers in the United States are still worried about how to give full play to the role of examinations and cultivate future-oriented talents.