Of course, the British BBC also thinks so.
On the evening of August 4th, local time, BBC broadcast the documentary "Are Our Children Strong enough", which tells the story of five teachers from China who taught English students mathematics, science and physical education in a pure China way. In a month, these students will compete with those taught by English teachers. At present, only the first episode of the three documentaries has been broadcast, which has aroused widespread public concern. In the film, it seems that the teachers in China can't cope with it, and the students in Britain are quite complaining.
The question left to the audience in China is not just whether British children are strong enough. We are more concerned about whether the education in China is "strong" enough. What kind of education do children in China need to grow up? Therefore, China Youth Daily reporter interviewed Bing Wang, a doctor of mental health in Peking University.
Discipline is often to meet one-way transmission.
When parents in China criticize their children, their favorite words are "Why are you so naughty" and "Why are you so disobedient". This means that obedience and obedience are the standards of good children in China, and respecting teachers and respecting morality is the premise of all campus life. Therefore, when five middle school teachers from China came to English schools and found that "students' reverence for teachers" was not a natural law, their hearts initially collapsed.
Bing Wang believes that this is actually a question of cultural differences, not a question of right or wrong. "In a culture that emphasizes collectivism, it is important to be consistent with everyone; In a culture that emphasizes individuality, it is important to preserve yourself. " He believes that in addition to this premise, the discipline itself also has something worth exploring.
Speak casually in class, don't listen to the teacher, and even make up in class. Some media reported that "this is a lesson for British students to teach China." In Wang Bing's view, "students shouldn't talk when teachers are talking" and "can students talk" are two different situations. "If discipline is to help children learn better, it is good discipline; And if discipline is to make the teacher save trouble and violate the child's nature, it is not good discipline. "
In China, most schools are educated in large classes, and discipline can ensure the quiet and safety of the classroom, so that more than 50 students can study efficiently in the classroom. Wang Bing said: "If 50 people go wrong, teachers and students will be victims. The irrationality of the experiment in the BBC film is that British children who are used to small class education suddenly enter large classes, which is unfair to teacher China. "
"But there is a limit to discipline. Too much emphasis on discipline will limit children's free development. Moreover, discipline is often to meet one-way transmission. After a long time, students' thinking will be inert-it is enough to listen to the teacher and not participate. This is why China students don't like to talk. " Wang Bing explained that the one-way teaching method will improve students' grades in a short time when there are many people, time is tight and tasks are heavy, but it is not easy to get distracted. It is also mentioned in the documentary that students seem to know everything, but they forget it after class.
"In the field of education, participatory memory is the strongest." Wang Bing believes that the two-way education method has at least three advantages: First, students are not easily tired, and they can stop and discuss at any time if they don't understand; Second, teachers and students are more equal and willing to discuss; Third, students' questioning is a learning process, which can never be done by one-way education. "Just like falling in love, no one wants to associate with people who only talk to themselves. You need to communicate to understand each other. "
Wang Bing said that if five British teachers come to China to attend classes, they are likely to encounter "shouting in the crowd but no one answers", encouraging no one to talk for a long time; The distress of students is likely to be that after studying for a day, they have not learned anything they have studied hard, so they just want to chat with everyone. "But as long as you are willing to give China children time and opportunities, it will change slowly. After 00, it will be much more open than after 80. " Wang Bing said.
Help each child find his own unique advantages.
In the documentary, a boy is not good at sports. Running 1000 meters is a nightmare for him. However, he is gifted in solving China's educational toy "Nine-Chain", and the whole class is happy to ask him for advice.
Wang Bing said that in some western developed countries, teachers pay attention to "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude". For example, children with dyslexia will use hearing materials more and give special counseling after class. "If there are only a dozen children in the class, we will have the opportunity to help each child find his unique advantage. However, in most cases in China, children are in the same class, use the same set of teaching materials and perform the same teaching rhythm. With so many children together, we can only take the greatest common denominator. "
However, Bing Wang reminded that if a child is judged by the teacher as "the subjects to be tested in the college entrance examination (excellent course) are not good, what's the use of learning other subjects", then the child may give up on himself completely in a self-destructive way-I won't study. Therefore, even from the utilitarian point of view, children should be encouraged. If he can find confidence in things that have nothing to do with the exam subjects, it will not be easy for him to give up his school studies.
Bing Wang told a story: A boy likes playing tennis very much, but his father won't let him play tennis because he doesn't study well. However, children who no longer play ball games are still not good at learning, their self-confidence is particularly frustrated, and their relationship with their parents begins to be antagonistic. In order to repair the relationship, the father hired a coach to continue to teach his son to play tennis. Gradually, the father found that the child worked hard when playing ball, so he praised his son: "You are not tired after practicing for so long, and you are so brave in the face of difficulties. You should be able to do better in your studies." The story is not chicken soup for the soul, and the child did not become a "tennis master+schoolmaster" in the end. If he learns to transfer his tennis experience to his studies, the relationship between father and son can be rebuilt.
"If you help your child find self-confidence, he will be braver in the face of difficulties in life in the future." Bing Wang said: "If a person knows that there are not all difficulties in his life, but there are other pleasures besides difficulties, he will be more willing to solve them."
The doctrine of the mean and rules are more important aspects of education in China.
Bing Wang thinks that the BBC made this documentary because they realized that there was something wrong with education in Britain. The problem lies not only in the fact that the programme for international student assessment report points out that by 20 12, middle school students in Shanghai, China will rank first in the world in mathematics, reading and science, while British students will rank around 20.
In order to show "pure Chinese teaching", British students are required to wear "parachute-like" uniforms, which even China students have complained about countless times. Students who do arithmetic with calculators on weekdays have to learn trigonometric functions in one class. A little girl muttered, "Why should we learn? Let's learn how to pay taxes. " . Students get up early every day to do morning exercises-it is said to cultivate collective consciousness, "let's do the right thing together" ...
A girl who repeatedly "violated classroom discipline" was asked out of the classroom by the teacher, and a boy who loves to talk in class was punished by the teacher. If we continue, it seems that we just need to "invite parents". But British children don't seem to care. The girl said, "I wouldn't have come to school if I hadn't thought about my friends."
"Emphasizing discipline and collectivity is actually silently conveying an idea: the teacher is right. This will make children feel from an early age that whoever is authoritative can be willful and can make rules at will. " Bing Wang believes that there is no absolute competition between the East and the West in teaching methods, and the golden mean and rules are the aspects that need to be broken through in China education now.
Wang Bing mentioned, for example, that parents of children studying in China are particularly worried about their smoking marijuana and promiscuity. "In some cultures, if you have no sexual experience after graduating from high school, you will be laughed at; It is a kind of pride that boys have many close relationships in college. But the problem is that young people in these countries will be more loyal once they choose a partner; And children in China may only learn half, but can't understand everything. ".
"Temperance and rules should not be completely abandoned, because children are animals that don't consider the future. They just want to eat, drink and be merry, and few children can think of why they study. If you emphasize happiness completely without restriction, it is that educators have not fulfilled the responsibility of being an adult. " Bing Wang said: "Pain is part of learning. After entering the society, everyone must rely on themselves and will not allow you to do whatever you want. "
Many HR have complained to Wang Bing. They found that the post-90 s children pay great attention to self-feeling. In short, they just want to "work less, earn more and be close to home". If you make me unhappy, I won't compromise. Wang Bing said: "This is actually a lack of professionalism. In our education system, the education of professional quality is very scarce, and children's self-liberation is very thorough. It is very dangerous to enter the workplace with the attitude of being praised by the whole world. "
Bing Wang said: "The British way of education will make self-disciplined children more self-disciplined because they have tried freedom; It will also make it difficult for children who are not self-disciplined to become self-disciplined, and stratification is very obvious. Only in Britain can you live well on welfare. "
At the end of the first episode of the documentary, teachers in China began to try a new class management method-class selection committee. The result of this method is unknown. Wang Bing believes that since the class committee is elected by the children themselves, it is a good thing to abide by their own rules so as to realize the exemplary role of peers and self-management among peers. But Wang Bing reminded: "The class committee is just a formality. Whether it is to help teachers achieve a certain authoritative will, or to let students demonstrate and influence each other and realize self-awareness and self-management will determine the final result of this matter. "