Chinese Education VS British Education

【摘要】这篇文章讲述了我对《中国式教育》这一纪录片的看法，将中国式教育和英国式教育进行对比，由于中西方传统文化和国家政策的不同，导致了教育方式上的差异。中国教育和英国教育各有所长，中国教师可以将英国学生的特点与中国文化相结合，使所有学生积极参与课堂活动，从而更好地教育英国儿童。

【关键词】中式教育；英式教育；传统文化；教育方式

【Abstract】This article describes my views on the documentary Are Our Kids Tough Enough？ Chinese School. I compared Chinese education with British education. The differences in educational methods are caused by the differences between Chinese and Western traditional culture and national policies. Chinese education and British education have their own strengths. In order to teach British children well， Chinese teachers ought to combine the characteristics of British students with Chinese culture making all the students participate in the class actively.

【Key words】 Chinese education； British education； Traditional Culture；education method

【作者簡介】陈薏仁（1997.11.2-），女，浙江人，杭州师范大学，在读大学生。

Are Our Kids Tough Enough？ Chinese School， a BBC documentary， records five Chinese teachers came to the Bohunt School in Britain to teach 50 ninth-grade students. In the progress of teaching， the collision of Chinese and Western cultures had brought Chinese teachers many unprecedented challenges.

In the documentary， the students provocation and ignoring authority is most challenging part of Chinese teachers teaching. Compared with the previous learning mode， the long-term learning made them more restless and naughtier than Chinese students. So，in the class， Chinese teachers must spend a lot of time stressing discipline. Using ways of detentions and exclusions to punish them， but it didnt work. They didnt feel shame even just found it hilarious.

This phenomenon is caused by the different traditional cultures of the two countries. Chinese education is based in authority， discipline and ruthless competition. It is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation to respect the teachers. It couldnt be more different from the culture of child-centered learning that has come to dominate British school. So， whatever it is after class or in class， Chinese education emphasizes obedience， while British students are accustomed to freedom. This contradiction runs through the entire process from the beginning to the end.

In China， its common to have 50 kids in one room， but in Britain， the maximum is usually 30. And from the arrangement of seats， we can clearly observe the difference between Chinese and Western teaching methods. In Chinese school， such as teacher Yangs science classes in documentary， teachers barely leave the podium and pay more attention to the progress of teaching. Students are mostly just given notes which theyre expected to copy and memories. But in Bohunt School， kids are separated into classes of different abilities so that teachers can teach students in accordance of their aptitude and they are also encouraged to ask questions and discuss their work.

Therefore，in my opinion， due to the less interaction in the Chinese classroom， students cannot concentrate on the lesson all the time and lose enthusiasm gradually. Meanwhile， Chinese teachers usually go over things so quickly that students cant keep up with them. Maybe， explaining some knowledge timely and properly and increasing more interaction with students will make Chinese education be much better.

Because of the differences in national nature and policies， China and the British have also caused some disagreements in education. For example， in Britain， PE is often a chance to have fun， but there are many sports tests in Chinese PE class. We can see that the British children are afraid to compete with others and failure. And then， the way the British PE teacher encouraged those who couldnt complete the test that they would be excelling in other area， which was contrast to more competitive Chinese approach. The Chinese teacher would let kids practice again and again until they reach the standards.

Hence， I think what make the difference in psychological stress resistance is that the social statuses of the two countries are totally different. Chinese children work hard because they know that only studying well can lead a happy life， while the British students are relative laziness is because social welfare is so good that they dont have the motivation to study hard. Chinese children have grown up in pressure and competition and have strong psychological qualities. In contrast， British students have weak anti-compressive ability. Thus， British teachers can give children some pressure in their teaching to make kids tough enough and try to let them develop in more aspects.

Chinese education and British education have their own strengths. In order to teach British children well， Chinese teachers ought to combine the characteristics of British students with Chinese culture making all the students participate in the class actively.