Several teachers and students in China described this scenario about the defining event of a Chinese student s life to me. In September 1999, I visited my daughter who is teaching English in a teachers college in southwest China. As a 28-year veteran American educator myself, I was fascinated to learn about education in China. Unlike Europe, where until recently, a person s position in society was determined by birth, in China, positions of leadership were determined by a score on a national exam. The same is true today.
Chinese students face enormous academic pressure.
That one child may have two parents and four grandparents, all of whom are affected by the child s success or failure in school. While education is compulsory, parents are expected to pay for their child s schooling. In fact, parents of students who fail a subject or are last in their class are fined. Many parents sacrifice a great deal to send their child to school and the child s performance is expected to be worthy of that sacrifice. Most students who aim for a place in the middle class take extra courses on Saturday and are tutored by teachers in the evening.