chinese kids better math chinadaily field medal olympiad question

My granddaughter, 10, was very happy the day before yesterday because her mother and the mother of one of her classmates took them to a park and a Pizza Hut to celebrate Children's Day. For a whole day, the two girls played heartily -- no homework, no extra-curricular skills training.
The happy life lasted only for one day. Yesterday, the routine resumed: doing homework till late at night and brushing up lessons learned at last weekend's English and "Olympic mathematics" courses.
Every time I went to my daughter's house in the evening, I saw my granddaughter sitting by the small desk in her room doing math exercises or writing a composition assigned by her teacher. On the white wall behind the desk is some graffiti she wrote. One sentence reads: "Why is the exercise endless?"
Poor girl!
But she is not the only unfortunate kid. Nearly all schoolchildren, at least in cities, suffer from the heavy burden of "studies". Although teachers have stopped giving after-school homework to primary school children - thanks to an order of the Ministry of Education, parents have been forcing their kids to attend various kinds of extra-curricular training courses - learning English, painting, music instrument, weiqi (go), "Olympic mathematics", and so on, every Saturday and Sunday.
Are these extra-curricular courses really necessary in children's education? The answer is definitely "No". Take the so-called "Olympic mathematics." These courses are very difficult for the children to grasp. Often, they are difficult even for adults.
Early last month, when well-known Russian mathematician Andrei Okunkov visited Nanjing, a local journalist showed him a question from a local "Olympic math" course. The winner of the prestigious Fields Medal thought for quite a few minutes before giving up. "Sorry, I feel a little bit muddled," he said.

In the past, there have been reports of university professors and doctors failing to solve such questions. These cases prove beyond doubt the absurdity of such courses for children. Parents know it, but they still want their kids to undergo such courses. "They have to", they say. "When other children attend such courses, my child cannot be left out."
That is the mentality of most parents. After the authorities banned schools from giving homework to children, schools started all kinds of extra-curricular courses. Some non-school organizations and teachers also began running such classes privately. They urged the parents: "Don't let your kid lose the race at the starting line."
Though there is no unified examination for primary school students to enter middle school and the government has decreed that they should be admitted to schools near their home, parents want their kids to attend "better quality" schools. These schools will test the applicants with higher-level examinations. And, whether a child can land a seat in a "better quality" school matters greatly for university admission.
Most parents want their kids to study out-of-school courses to be competitive. In such a situation, it is unrealistic to urge parents to stop sending their children to such courses. The only effective way is to ban these courses by law.
A few days ago, Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, planned to pass a law prohibiting parents from tracking their kids' Internet browsing "for the protection of the minors' privacy." Most netizens opposed the idea after it was reported online.
Whether right or wrong, I think a more urgent and practical necessity is a law banning all kinds of extra-curricular courses. This is essential to free our kids from the ridiculously heavy burden of "study" and allow them more time to play.
E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

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chinese peaceful greeks geaography of thoughts

The Chinese were concerned less with issues of control
of others or the environment than with self-control, so
as to minimize friction with others in the family and village
and to make it easier to obey the requirements of the
state, administered by magistrates. The ideal of happiness
was not, as for the Greeks, a life allowing the free exercise
of distinctive talents, but the satisfactions of a plain country life shared within a harmonious social network.
Whereas Greek vases and wine goblets show pictures of
battles, athletic contests, and bacchanalian parties, ancient
Chinese scrolls and porcelains depict scenes of family
activities and rural pleasures.

HONORARY ASIAN

Tim says:

July 29, 2012 at 11:31 pm

@ scott
It’s not that surprising considering the history.
For centuries, China had technological superiority but a stagnant, bureaucratic government led to their downfall.
In addition, during this period of turmoil, Western nations started to colonize most of Asia, using unequal and racist policies to stamp out innovation for fear the “natives” would rebel.
So it’s no wonder that currently most of the modern inventions are from the West since they East didn’t even get a chance to participate.
But nowadays, you see a lot of inventions and ideas from the more developed Asian nations in areas such as green technology, semi-conductors, GM foods, and even business processes (e.g. JIT).

myth that asian americans are the brightest of their country

>>2819962

Ethnicity   High School Completion
Filipinos     90.8%    
Indians     90.2%    
Bangladeshis     84.5%    
Pakistanis     87.4%    
Chinese     80.8%    
Japanese     93.4%    
Koreans     90.2%    
Vietnamese     70.0%    


>Pakistanis     87.4%    
>Chinese     80.8%

best and brightest lel

97% of South Koreans complete high school    

South Korea has one of the highest percentages of adults with bachelor’s degrees in the world (63 percent of South Koreans between 25 and 34 have completed college).

70% OF ALL PHD CANDIDATES ARE FOREIGN-BORN

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/01/20/danger-america-is-losing-its-edge-in-innovation/

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