A reflection on American education and exam-oriented education after the migration of a parent

When I took my nine-year-old son to the United States and sent him to an elementary school in the United States that was not far from the apartment, I was like giving my most loved thing to a person I didn’t trust to keep it. Worried. What kind of school is this? Students can laugh loudly in the classroom, let the students play for at least two hours every day, and go home from school in less than three o'clock in the afternoon. The most eye-opener for me is no textbook.

　　After seeing the fourth grade textbook of Chinese primary school that my son brought with me, the blond American female teacher said politely: “Before the sixth grade, his mathematics need not learn!” Facing her smiling face full of goodwill, I was like Sap. For a time, I doubted that it would be the stupidest thing in my life to bring my son to the United States.

　　One day and a day passed, watching my son happily go to school every day carrying an empty schoolbag, my heart could not stop a sad. In China, starting from the first grade of elementary school, the schoolbags were full and heavy. Three schoolbags were changed from the first grade to the fourth grade. One was bigger than the other, and people felt that the weight of “knowledge” was increasing.

　　In the United States, he had no burden. Can he call it to school? One semester passed and the son was called in front of him. He asked him what the American school gave him the deepest impression. He smiled and gave me an American English: "Freedom! "These two words are shot on my head like a brick.

　　At this time, it is a profound memory of Chinese education. It seems to be more profoundly understood why Chinese children are always able to win the Olympic Games gold medal internationally. However, things have only come to an end.

　　Unconsciously, one year passed, and his son's English grew a lot. He did not go home directly after school, but he often went to the library and backed back a book with a large bag from time to time. Asked him what he had borrowed so many books. He looked at the borrowed book while he was typing on the computer and said, "Operating."

　　Is this called homework? When I look at the title of a child playing on a computer screen, I can't really laugh or cry - "China's Yesterday and Today". Such a big subject, even a doctor, dares to do it?

　　So I sternly asked who was the idea, and the son calmly told the reporter: The teacher said that the United States is an immigrant country and asked each student to write an article about the country where his ancestors lived. Ask for a summary of the country’s history, geography, and culture, analyze its differences with the United States, and explain its own views. I heard that even the strength of sighs is gone. I really don’t know that letting a 10-year-old child do such a project that even adults may not be able to do is a result. Only a 10-year-old child If you are educated without knowing how to be high, you may not even have the ability to eat afterwards.

　　After a few days, the son completed the assignment. Unexpectedly, it was a twenty-page booklet printed out. From the Jiuqu River to hieroglyphs, from the Silk Road to the five-star red flags... bustling. I didn't approve or criticize me because I was a little bit embarrassed. First, because I saw my son divide the article into chapters and festivals, and secondly, I listed the bibliography at the end of the article. I think this was the way I used to write after I was a graduate student. At that time, I was 30 years old.

　　Soon, another composition of his son came out again. This time is "How do I see human culture?" If there is scope to follow in the last operation, this time is really far-fetched. My son sincerely asked me: "Dumplings is a culture?" In order not to delay future generations, I had to consult the author's reference book with my son. With a lot of effort, we completed the irreversible tossing from abstraction to concreteness and from concrete to abstraction. The son spent several nights sitting at a computer and writing articles. I can't help but smile in my heart. How can a primary school student understand the notion of "culture", which is infinitely rich and indefinite and indefinable? Let's hope that the son who has an interest in "eating" is stuck on dumplings and steamed stuffed buns. Make a big story. The son who has become unfettered in education in the United States undoubtedly made the article. This time, it printed out ten pages and was the cover of his own. A reference book was also listed at the end of the article. Later, the children brought home the work the teacher had seen. There was a teacher’s comment on the above: “I arranged that the original intention of this homework was to make the children broaden their horizons and be active in thinking. But as a result of reading their homework, I often entered my hope. The children entered the realm." Asked what his son's words mean.

　　My son said that the teacher was not proud of us, but she was shocked by us. "Is it not?" my son asked me.

　　I am speechless. I think how can this child understand so many things at once? It is no wonder that even children who dare to make cultural subjects dare not to assert anything?

　　At the end of the sixth year of the son's time, the homework that the teacher left for them was a series of questions about "World War II." "Who do you think is responsible for this war?" "What do you think was the reason for the failure of Nazi Germany?" "If you were a senior adviser to President Truman, what attitude would you take to the United States to cast atomic bombs?" "Do you think? Was there only one way to put an atomic bomb to end the war?" "What do you think is the best way to avoid the war today?" - If it is two years ago, I would certainly complain if this is an assignment. It was the pre-election for the Senate to run for election! At this time, I can calmly ponder the truth.

　　Schools and teachers are precisely in this one question, transmitting a humanitarian value to the children, guiding the children to pay attention to the fate of humanity, and letting children learn how to think about major issues. There are no standard answers to these questions in the classroom. Some of its answers may require the children to use their entire lives to seek. Looking at the 12-year-old son's enthusiasm for reading books to complete these assignments, I can't help but think of the way I learned the history of World War II. I remember that my death should be remembered in accordance with the events of the past. The conclusion in the book is also known as the Bible. Remember, otherwise, how did you go through the exam and go to the bright future?...

　　When he graduated from elementary school, he was able to skillfully use the computer and microfilm system to find all the text and image data he needed. One day, we both argued about the lion and leopard's foraging habits. The next day, he borrowed a video from the library from the National Geographic Society and introduced the animal. He took me while watching and discussed it. The child knows where to find the answer to what he does not understand.

　　The change in my son prompted me to return to see primary education in the United States. I discovered that elementary schools in the United States never instilled in their classrooms a lot of knowledge and formulas for children. They tried to direct their children's attention to the immense sea of ​​knowledge outside the school. They wanted the children to know that all the time and space of life. All of them are classrooms where they study; they painstakingly tell their children how to think about problems and teach them how to find answers in the face of unfamiliar areas. They never use tests to divide students into threes and nines, but try their best to affirm children. Every effort is made to praise the children for their own conclusions and to protect and motivate the children's original creation and experimentation.

　　I often think of China’s exam-oriented education. I think of children who are sitting upright behind their hands in the classroom. They think of those who carry heavy schoolbags, deal with a lot of homework, and face rigorous examinations... It makes people feel awesome while It also makes people feel great depression and bondage.