China's basic education includes preschool education for 3 years; Primary and secondary education is divided into three stages: primary school, junior high school and senior high school *** 12 years. Primary school and the original intention of ***9 years belong to the compulsory education stage. Ordinary high school for 3 years. You can choose vocational education after graduating from primary school, and secondary vocational education starts from junior high school 1 to 3 years. Higher education includes two to three years of universities, four to six years of undergraduate courses, and two to three years of master's and doctoral degrees.
The educational system of Taiwan Province Province in China includes 2 years of preschool education, 9 years of compulsory national education, 3 years of high school education and 6 to 10 years of higher education. Starting from junior high school education, it is divided into two systems: one is academic education system, which trains specialized talents for academic research, including three years of high school, four to seven years of higher education universities and two to six years of master's and doctoral education. The other is the technical vocational education system, which teaches applied disciplines and technologies. The goal is to cultivate applied professionals, including five-year colleges, three-year higher vocational colleges, two-year colleges, two-year colleges, four-year colleges and research institutes.
The educational system in the United States is similar to that in China, with six years in primary school, two years in junior high school, four years in senior high school, four to five years in university, two years in master's degree and four years in doctor's degree. Before graduating from high school, education was compulsory and funded by the government. The content of education was general education. Starting from university education in the United States, vocational education is divided into vocational education and academic education, and vocational education includes two-year vocational schools and professional colleges. Compared with other countries, the education systems of China and the United States are more compatible. Students from China go to the United States to continue their studies, and his high school and university education is recognized. If he enters an American university for postgraduate study, most of the credits he studied in China can be transferred. It is also convenient for him to enter American universities after graduating from high school, because most of the science courses in high school have met the requirements of American universities. Vocational school students can also successfully apply for American universities, but it may take a little longer to complete some credits and courses.
There are also differences between American universities and China universities. American college students can wait until the third year of the second year before deciding on professional courses. American universities don't have majors in medicine and law, and they must wait until they have completed their bachelor's degrees and passed relevant exams before they can apply.
China students studying in the United States are usually not behind in professional courses, but they must strengthen their English ability, independent research ability and creativity, and cultivate a proactive spirit, so as to achieve better results and succeed.
Some people say that education in China attaches importance to the consolidation of basic knowledge, while education in the United States attaches importance to the cultivation of creativity; China's education pays attention to the instillation and mastery of knowledge, and attaches importance to "essence" and "depth", while American education pays attention to the flexible use of knowledge, and attaches importance to "breadth" and "width".
Taking mathematics as an example, China education adopts the tactics of asking questions about the sea, and teachers let students practice repeatedly until they are "perfect"; Mathematics education in American schools is basically "peer-to-peer". Teachers generally don't ask students to finish the exercises in textbooks, and often only ask students to do odd or even questions. The basic education in China is to train students to master skills skillfully, while the education in the United States only makes people understand what is going on. As for whether students want to take mathematical engineering as a career in the future, it is up to them to choose. There is no need for school education to force students to practice those skills.
Therefore, education in China is an "elite" education, eliminating those who can't learn advanced knowledge. American education is a combination of popular and elite education, allowing students to choose whether to be civilians or "elites". Those who choose to take the "elite" road need to work hard; Those who choose to take the road of civilians receive universal education and receive the education of basic knowledge necessary for social survival in a cold and uncontroversial way. This is why it is only a matter of time before a lot of knowledge is imparted. This kind of education is popular and civilian education. Although every American must receive compulsory education before the age of 16, this kind of universal education is relatively universal, that is, the standard is relatively low, which is suitable for the acceptance level of most students. Due to the lack of educational resources, the restriction of job market and the influence of humanistic environment, domestic education can only be implemented "fairly". China students have no choice in this social form, but American students are different. A few people who choose the "elite" road can realize their "elite" education as long as they study hard. Because this is my choice, there is no pressure from society and family, so I have a pleasant heartfelt motivation.
In addition to self-orientation, there are also great differences in the choice of academic courses between China and the United States. Education in China requires all subjects of mathematics and physics, and a poor science subject may have a fatal impact on the future of life. Basic education in the United States gives students greater freedom of choice on the basis of meeting the most basic requirements. For example, if a student is not interested in physics, chemistry and biology and finds it very difficult, he can only take relatively basic courses, take more courses of interest that he is good at, and choose only one of restoration, chemistry and biology, so that he can graduate from high school and enter a top university, and also have the opportunity to become an "elite".
"Learn more and know less" and "Learn less and know more"
I think the most fundamental feature of basic education in China is to discuss heroes through exams. This determines that our course has a high starting point, great difficulty and narrow knowledge. Our children have to do too much homework, take too many exams and recite too many articles at school. Children hardly have any free time to satisfy their hobbies. And our teachers basically don't encourage and tap children's potential outside of learning. On the other hand, children living in America are much happier. They basically have no homework, and most of them 14 go to various extracurricular activities after school. Even in exams, teachers don't rank students, and students never care who does well in exams. On the contrary, if a child has a specialty, he will be admired and respected by other students. I think this is mainly because American teachers generally believe that students' practical ability, especially creativity, is far more important than those abstract theories that are boring in books and have nothing to do with real life.
One argument that our basic education is good is that students in China often win prizes and gold medals in various Olympic competitions. But as long as we think about it carefully, we will understand how much time and energy our students have spent "creating" results. The so-called achievements only focus on the problem-solving skills of the subject, rather than the practical application and invention. In other words, our knowledge is only limited to doing and solving problems, rather than using rational thinking and methods to solve practical problems in life. Imagine that if we spend our children's limited time on abstract puzzles, their time and ability to participate in practice will be greatly affected.
In the humanities and social sciences, the United States is obviously higher than China. Middle school students in the United States have been able to independently go to the library to look up documents, find information and complete a formal project. Their ideas are entirely based on interest, from anti-terrorism to world peace, from environmental protection to animal protection. In our opinion, some of them can only be completed after graduating from college. American teachers always inspire children's self-expression, questioning and debating skills. Children never think that there is only one standard answer in the world. This ability to doubt cultivated since childhood is the creativity of the future. This is also a strong foundation for the United States. China's basic education has laid the foundation for attaching importance to knowledge "learning more and understanding less". Throughout the United States, basic education is an education to cultivate innovative ability, "learn less and understand more." China's basic education attaches importance to solidity, while American education attaches importance to diversity; China's basic education pays attention to vertical depth, while American basic education pays attention to breadth; The basic education in the United States focuses on cultivating students' self-confidence and self-improvement spirit, while the basic education in China focuses on cultivating students' rigorous academic attitude. Accordingly, the United States has a relaxed and free atmosphere, which can fully take care of every student's hobbies; Basic education in China is much more boring.
Students in China learn more, practice more, take more notes and take more exams, so as to cultivate children's ability to absorb knowledge, learn behavior and accept. American students see more, ask more questions, think more and do more, and pay attention to cultivating students' critical thinking, independent thinking ability, creativity, practical ability to find and solve problems and apply what they have learned. Thinking deeply, I think, should we train candidates or students? It is the fundamental difference between Chinese and American education, and it is also the essential difference between exam-oriented education and quality education. Training candidates is to teach those who have problems no problem; Cultivating students is a problem of teaching without problems.
Cultivate innovation and lay a good foundation.
There is no national curriculum standard in the United States, but States, counties and even school districts can make their own curriculum standards. Generally speaking, the curriculum in the United States is quite flexible, mainly including compulsory courses and elective courses. Compulsory courses account for more credits, and the content is broad but not deep, emphasizing students' practical ability, thinking ability and ability to understand and solve problems. There are many kinds of elective courses, up to hundreds, mainly depending on the actual needs of students' further education, employment and social life. Students can freely choose according to their own interests and get the required credits.
Compared with our current curriculum and textbook system, our situation is just the opposite of that of the United States. The requirements of unity, consistency, flexibility and individuality are not enough. At present, in the curriculum scheme we implement, the position of compulsory courses is quite prominent, with many teaching hours, high knowledge requirements, unified curriculum standards and even unified teaching materials.
Compared with the United States, there are too many classes in our classroom, with large capacity and high requirements, and the classroom atmosphere is more serious and inflexible. This laid a solid foundation for students, but at the same time, it also brought the disadvantages of inactive class, teachers talking too much and students thinking too little. This is a typical teacher-centered teaching model, which is the * * * nature of basic education classrooms in China, especially high school classrooms. In the United States, the class size is small, the atmosphere is free and relaxed, and students can walk freely, debate freely and express their opinions in class, which is a typical student-centered teaching model.
It can be seen that there are great differences between China and the United States in educational concepts, educational models and educational methods. Education in China is more of an example education; The United States emphasizes the spirit of innovation and individualism and is an elite education. In essence, focusing on innovation or laying a foundation is the fundamental difference between American basic education and China basic education.
Basic education in China and the United States can't simply say which is good or not. It depends on different people. In the teaching process, China students should be made more innovative, and American students should be made to lay a good foundation. This is the most appropriate way to complement each other, and the integration of advantages is the best. At present, the basic education reform in the United States focuses on making up the foundation on the basis of innovation. However, our basic education has traditionally paid too much attention to cultivating students' collectivism and seeking common ground thinking, but not enough attention to cultivating students' personality and creativity, so our education should increase innovation on the basis of foundation.
During my visit to the United States, the author made a survey of American education. It is found that there are differences between Chinese and American education at all levels, which are reflected in different forms. This paper only compares the differences between higher education and vocational education in the two countries.
American universities implement the credit system. Students can choose courses according to their personal hobbies. Different subjects have different credits. As long as you complete the credits, you can graduate and get a diploma and degree. In the past, we were puzzled to see from relevant newspapers that American college students got several degrees at a young age. Now I understand that the American university system is very flexible. Students can choose several professional courses during their study at school, and they can get their degree as long as they have completed enough credits. When studying several specialized courses, you don't need to repeat the same course, so it's easier to choose specialized courses of different majors after passing a basic course of one major. This gives students a good opportunity to expand their knowledge, and also provides convenient conditions for students to develop in the direction they are interested in. Students can also drop out of school and go to work, and the credits they have obtained are still retained. After a year or a few years, they can continue to study in the university until they complete their credits and get a degree. I know a Chinese American woman. After her son went to college for two years, she told her mother that she felt that she had no motivation to study and was going to work in the society for two or three years before returning to school. On the one hand, she can lay a certain economic foundation, on the other hand, she can find her real interest. Mother let him decide his own affairs, and there was no objection. In the United States, most young people are very independent, and this sense of independence is cultivated from childhood.
The door to vocational education and continuing education in the United States is open, and it is common for people to change careers. Usually, people begin to learn related new courses before entering a new career, so students of different ages can be seen in community colleges, some in their twenties and some in their forties and fifties. For example, a female teacher used to be a computer engineer. After working in the computer industry for nearly 20 years, she felt bored. She wants to be a teacher to make her life easier. She went to college to study secondary normal education, and found a job in a middle school after graduation. Another philosophy professor, who turned out to be an electrician, turned to grapes after being disappointed with philosophy. American education pays more attention to the development of human potential, and many educational institutions provide everyone with opportunities to receive education. As long as you want to study and research, you can find your major in the nearest university. After registration, the school will advise you what subjects to take after passing the relevant tests. Every year is divided into three semesters, which start in June, May and September. The course arrangement is also very thoughtful, from 5 pm to 7 pm during the day and night. Some old people go to college after retirement to make up for their previous study regrets. In China, the major direction is determined in the university. A person may be engaged in one occupation all his life, and may ignore his potential in other aspects. Although vocational education has made great progress, there are still some shortcomings in quantity, quality of running schools, specialties and courses offered by vocational colleges, which are far from the actual needs of society and need to be reformed and developed vigorously.
At present, China's universities are also working towards opening up, and more and more people have stepped into the threshold of universities, which plays an important role in improving the quality of the whole people. The future of China should be to make higher education popular, not just a few people go to college. China has a large population, and the number of universities is far from meeting the demand. More and more universities should be established. There is a saying in China that "students fail", but there is no such word in the United States. They think it is extremely impolite and a kind of discrimination.
Improving the quality of the whole people depends not only on schools and other educational institutions, but also on more places for study and research. In America, there are many libraries and library cards are networked all over the city. You can borrow and return books from any library in the city, and you can complete the procedures of borrowing or returning books on your computer, which is very convenient and time-saving. The library is open from morning till 6:5438+00 pm. There are also many bookstores and many extremely comfortable sofas for people to sit and read. You can open the door to read in the morning and close it at night 1 1. There is a bar that serves hot coffee and bread. Children also like to go to the bookstore, where there are many toys. Children's bookstores are arranged like fairy tales, and children's books are designed like toys, which makes children fondle them.