International Mathematical Olympiad, as an international competition, was proposed by international mathematical education experts. The scope of the topic is beyond the scope of compulsory education in various countries, and the difficulty is much higher than the national college entrance examination. China is a big country in Olympic Mathematics and has won many awards in recent years. However, Chinese people's excessive pursuit of Olympic Mathematics has brought many negative effects to basic education.
Korea: Olympiad is not universal education.
20 12 International Mathematical Olympiad, Korea won the team championship for the first time. The domestic mathematics community in Korea believes that this shows that Korean mathematics has reached the level of developed countries.
As early as 1988, South Korea began to team up to participate in this event, but the result was not satisfactory. Since then, with the continuous development of Olympiad Education in China, its performance has been steadily improved. Since 2006, South Korea has never fallen out of the top five in the team competition.
According to Lu Yonghe, a middle school teacher in Seoul, Olympiad Education is not a universal education in South Korea. Only students from elite high schools and science high schools specialize in studying Olympic Mathematics. Pupils and junior high school students can study Olympiad because of their interest, but the results of Olympiad have nothing to do with students' further studies. Elite high schools and science high schools will consider the Olympic math scores when enrolling students, while other high schools will not take the Olympic math scores as the criteria for further studies. He said that primary and junior high school students' premature study of Olympic Mathematics may cause them a burden and may have an aversion to mathematics. Learning Olympic Mathematics should be based on personal interests, not everyone is suitable.
As of 20 12, there are 24 science high schools in Korea. Among them, four science high schools, such as Seoul Science High School and Gyeonggi Province Science High School, were renamed as Science Talents High School after 2009 because of their good teaching conditions and quality. Korean science high school emphasizes the teaching of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. Most graduates will eventually choose science and engineering universities such as Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Pohang University of Technology, or choose science and engineering majors from comprehensive universities such as Seoul National University. In 20 12, six Korean students who participated in the international Olympic competition in Argentina all came from science high schools.
Bulgaria: Strong in Olympics and weak in mathematics.
In the past 20 years, Bulgaria has been the only European team except Russia to win the Olympic champion. Bulgarian middle school students have a long history of studying and participating in the Olympic Mathematics Competition. The first Bulgarian National Mathematical Olympiad can be traced back to 1949. At present, in Bulgaria, the competition is held once a year and divided into three rounds, namely, school-level competition, municipal competition and national finals. Of the 70 middle school students (grade 9 ~ 12, age 14 ~ 19) who entered the national finals, only 6 can enter the national team of Mathematical Olympiad.
Middle school students who win prizes in domestic and international Olympic mathematics competitions can be exempted from the college entrance examination and enter the corresponding majors. In other words, to study mathematics related majors, if the student wants to apply for other majors such as literature, he still needs to take the unified entrance examination.
Although the results in the international Olympic mathematics competition have been good, the overall mathematics performance of Bulgarian middle school students is not outstanding. According to the Report on Mathematics Education in European Countries issued by the European Commission 20 1 1, the average scores of middle school students in Bulgaria and Romania are lower than those in other European countries. Professor Peter of the Bulgarian Olympic national team said: The problem now is that the foundation is slowly disappearing. We are at the top of the pyramid, studying and training with top students. But in order to get them to the top, someone needs to work with them in the basic stage. ?
Germany: elite schools reject top students in Olympic mathematics
The German Olympic Mathematics Competition has branches in various cities, and cooperates with local schools and mathematics research institutions to offer different levels of Olympic mathematics courses, with the goal of helping primary and secondary school students to enhance their interest in mathematics. The course of Olympic Mathematics is never allowed to be commercialized in Germany, and only a nominal fee of up to 10 euros is charged; There are no remedial classes for Olympic Mathematics in society. According to the reporter, about 10% of German students have participated in the Olympic Games. Any student can sign up for the competition on the basis of interest. A junior high school student named Anna told reporters that she studies in her spare time, usually once a week or for one or two months in winter and summer vacations.
Then, can German students who win prizes in the International Olympic Mathematics Competition enjoy care in their further studies? Professor Weides, president of the University of G? ttingen, the alma mater of the famous mathematician Gauss, said? In the process of admission, we are looking for students who are excellent in all aspects, not just competition results. ? Winning the Olympic Mathematics Competition is not enough as a reason for first-class universities to be exempted from the test, but some less well-known universities take the Olympic Mathematics medal as a condition for exemption. Professor Weides said that the University of G? ttingen rejects many Olympic champions every year. He said that although he personally thinks that the advantages of the Olympic Mathematics Competition outweigh the disadvantages, it cannot test a person's overall ability. The difference between academic competition and academic research is that the former requires students to have a good memory, but the requirements in observation and imagination are not higher than those in academic research. Therefore, when the students who win the Olympic Mathematics develop in the direction of academic research, they must give consideration to other abilities.
America: Rely on interests and strive to integrate.
Although Olympiad was organized to participate in international competitions as early as 1974, it was also very popular with younger students. However, American education circles showed little interest in this kind of international competition, and only used Olympiad as a means to stimulate students' enthusiasm for mathematics, so the results of Olympiad were not linked to further studies.
In the United States, what is the name of the organization really related to the Olympic Games? Mathematical Olympics in primary and secondary schools? , located in a small town in New York, started to build a website in 2000. It has been 13 years now, and the click rate is only 1 10,000. According to the website, what are the goals of the organization? Stimulate enthusiasm and love for mathematics, introduce important mathematical concepts, teach problem-solving strategies, cultivate the ability to use mathematics flexibly when solving problems, strengthen mathematical intuition, promote mathematical creativity and innovative consciousness, and provide satisfaction, happiness and excitement when meeting challenges? . It can be seen from this passage that its purpose is not to compete, but to improve interest, cultivate ability and stimulate creativity.
Generally speaking, American primary and secondary school students are not interested in mathematics, but children who are really interested will be very involved. In primary and secondary schools, people with special talents in mathematics will voluntarily join the school's mathematics club or be selected by the school into relevant interest groups. These students are interested in supporting and have great development potential.
America never appeared? Olympic fever? . The reporter asked many American parents, and they all said they didn't understand the game. There is also little information about the Olympic Mathematics on the Internet, and occasionally there are some sporadic records, which are very different from the Olympic Mathematics commonly understood in China.
The Olympic Games is not hot in America. First of all, it has something to do with the enrollment methods of American schools. Public primary and secondary schools in the United States adopt the principle of admission to the nearest school district, and there is generally little room for school choice. Admission to American universities is self-enrollment. Admission depends on the usual grades, personal statements, teacher recommendations and other materials as well as personal performance during the interview, not just the winners in the competition. Secondly, it has something to do with the American concept. Americans pay more attention to the local area? Siemens science prize? Games like this. Correspondingly, about online? Scientific design? Materials like this are very rich. This scientific design competition is not limited to the specific content, and students decide what to design, how to design and how to show it. These designs need to mobilize mathematical knowledge and comprehensive application ability, and also need to cultivate communication skills.
Russia: Amateur Spirit of a Mathematical Power
Russia is the birthplace of the Mathematical Olympiad and the gold medal winner of the International Mathematical Olympiad. 1934 and 1935, the then Soviet Union began to hold math competitions in Leningrad and Moscow respectively, and it was the first time to be crowned? Mathematical Olympics? Name, once a year. At present, the Russian Olympic Games are divided into three levels: all Russia, states and cities. For decades, Russian universities have mainly enrolled students independently, and the winners of the Olympic Mathematics Competition can be admitted without examination. In 2009, Russia adjusted its college entrance examination policy, but the policy that Olympic winners are exempt from taking the exam to go to college has not changed.
Every year, the presidents of universities in Moscow sign a special agreement to grant students of grade 1 1 who have won the Olympic competition for middle school students in Moscow or the whole country to enter our school without examination. Universities in other parts of Russia have also opened their doors to Olympic champions. University teachers have always spoken highly of students selected through layers of competition.
Russia implements 1 1 year compulsory primary and secondary education, regardless of primary and secondary schools. Therefore, although students' Olympic math scores are directly linked to college enrollment, there are no two thresholds, namely, junior high school entrance examination and senior high school entrance examination, so there are no problems such as choosing schools and adding points. At the same time, Olympic athletes have clear age requirements. Therefore, Russia's Olympiad fever with the goal of entering colleges and universities is basically concentrated in the high school stage, and there is no extreme phenomenon that primary school students or even kindergarten children learn Olympiad.
In Russia, the winning results of the Olympic Games are only valid for one year, that is, only students in the graduating class of middle school can be admitted without examination, and the results of previous Olympic Games are not counted. At the same time, the majors of the winners of the Olympic Games must be the same as those of the Olympic Games, that is, the winners of the Olympic Games can only enter the mathematics department of colleges and universities without examination in principle. If you want to enter other popular majors, you still need to pass the national unified examination, but math subjects can be calculated according to full marks.
Japan: value but don't insist.
Japanese students have achieved excellent results in international Olympic mathematics competitions for many times. At present, about 10% of primary and secondary school students in Japan have had the experience of learning Olympic Mathematics. However, compared with China people, Japanese people have a more peaceful attitude towards Olympiad, believing that Olympiad, like baseball or calligraphy, belongs to children's after-school hobbies. Japan's basic education is more relaxed and pays more attention to students' physical and mental health. A Japanese parent told reporters: Among many interest classes, Olympiad Mathematics is just a humble one. Japanese children seem to be more interested in sports such as baseball, kendo and football. ?
Japan implements nine-year compulsory education, all public primary and secondary schools are free, and equal education is implemented. The so-called equality in education means that school-age students within the scope of compulsory education enjoy equal rights to receive education, and the state provides fair admission opportunities, ensures a fair competitive environment, and guarantees the most basic level and quality of running schools. The basic teaching facilities in Japanese public primary and secondary schools are basically the same. Regardless of the size of the school and the number of students, there are similar hardware facilities and teacher levels. Because the educational resources of public schools are generally balanced, parents generally do not need to choose a school, but enter the school nearby according to the school district. Japanese primary school students have almost no pressure to enter higher schools in junior and senior high schools, and they don't need to choose students through additional conditions, so there is no worry about overheating the Japanese Olympic Mathematics.
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