Opinion Winning formula
The real challenge posed by China is its focus on education
An international study published last month looked at how students in 65 countries performed in math,science and reading. The winner was: Confucianism! At the very top of the charts,in all three fields and by a wide margin,was Shanghai. Three of the next top four performers were also societies with a Confucian legacy of reverence for education: Hong Kong,Singapore and South Korea. The only non-Confucian country in the mix was Finland. The United States? It came in 15th in reading,23rd in science and 31st in math.
Ive been visiting schools in China and Asia for more than 20 years (and we sent our own kids briefly to schools in Japan,which also bears a Confucian imprint),and Ive spent much of that time either envious or dumbfounded. Ill never forget pulling our two-year-old son out of his Tokyo nursery school so we could visit the States and being handed a form in which we had to list: reason for proposed vacation.
Education thrives in China because it is a top priority and the US has plenty to learn from that. Granted,Shanghais rise to the top is not representative of all China,for Shanghai has the countrys best schools. Yet its also true that China has made remarkable improvements in the once-awful schools in peasant areas. In my Chinese-American wifes ancestral village in southern China the peasant children are a grade ahead in math compared with my children at an excellent public school in the New York area. That seems broadly true of math around the country.
But this is the paradox: Chinese themselves are far less impressed by their school system. Many Chinese complain scathingly that their system kills independent thought and creativity,and they envy the American system for nurturing self-reliance and for trying to make learning exciting and not just a chore. For my part,I think the self-criticisms are exactly right,but I also deeply admire the passion for education and the commitment to making the system better. And while W.B. Yeats was right that education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire, its also true that its easier to ignite a bonfire if theres fuel in the bucket.
The greatest strength of the Chinese system is the Confucian reverence for education. In Chinese schools,teachers are much respected,and the most admired kid is often the brain rather than the jock.
Americans think of Chinas strategic challenge in terms of,say,the new stealth fighter aircraft. But the real challenge is the rise of Chinas education system and the passion for learning. Were not going to become Confucians,but we can elevate education on our list of priorities without relinquishing creativity and independent thought. Thats what we did in 1957 after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. These latest test results should be our 21st century Sputnik.-NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
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