Looking at American and Chinese Education Ideas
Obama and Ying Ying Yu Offer Differing Reasons to Work in School
Sep 26, 2009
American gifted students are often torn between doing what they are good at and doing what they want to do. They have strengths in multiple areas, but often one dream for future success – and the dream they want might have nothing to do with their talents. As gifted teachers help students focus on what they want for their futures, using President Obama's speech about taking personal responsibility for education seems to be a natural tool for inspirational thinking, and it also lends itself to an interesting compare/contrast discussion on how responsibility is defined differently between cultures.
An Introduction to Chinese Education
NPR's amazing This I Believe series has an essay written by a 13 year old student, Yin Ying Yu. "A Duty to Family, Heritage, and Country" was originally broadcast July 17, 2006, and is still available as streaming audio and as an essay. In this essay, Yin Yin Yu gives students an idea of the education experience in China, saying "Education is the center of every child’s life and a grade less than 85 percent is considered a failure." She describes the red scarf that is the prize for a dutiful student, and she explains that although she loves gardening, her family wants her to be a lawyer, and she will do her duty. At one point, this young 13 year old - the age of most middle school students – says, "Here in America, there is almost a pressure to follow your dreams... dreams are illusions."
Activities for Students Listening to "A Duty to Family, Heritage, and Country"
The short essay will take less than five minutes for students to hear, but there is so much information that students can pick up from that short essay. Students should answer the following questions:
- Ying Ying Yu says duty both haunts her and gives her strength. How can duty haunt her? How can duty give her strength?
- What three qualities does Ying Ying say merge into "duty"?
- Ying Ying Yu says that, "The achievements I make come with a cost." What is that cost? Do you think her achievements of fulfilling her sense of duty will be worth the price she has paid?
An Introduction to American Education
As students in America are familiar with the daily life in the classroom, President Obama's Back to School speech to students offers an excellent summary of how many people feel about American education. He tells students that, "Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer, and you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is." That is distinctly different from what Ying Ying Yu learned in China, although she also learned of duty and responsibility. What American students need, according to the President, is that, " No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny." This idea of writing one's own destiny is very different from the idea that dreams are illusions.
Activities for Students Listening to "President Barack Obama's Back to School Event "
After students have read the President's remarks or listened to them on the 15 minute video clip on Youtube, they should compare the President's ideas with those of Ying Ying Yu. Some specific questions they can answer are:
- Is the President describing a school system you are familiar with?
- How does the President feel students can use education to help their country?
- Who is writing Ying Ying Yu's destiny? Who is writing the destiny of American students?
- How would Ying Ying Yu respond to the president's speech?
What is most important is that students understand that there are similar ideas about one person adding to the culture of one's country, and there are similar ideas about following realistic goals, but the essays are strikingly different portrayals of motivation, responsibility, and goals.
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