The Myth of Chinese Super Schools

[ellenrr]

great article:

"The examination system, Zhao holds, was designed to reward obedience, conformity, compliance, respect for order, and homogeneous thinking; for this reason, it purposefully supported Confucian orthodoxy and imperial order. It was an efficient means of authoritarian social control.

Zhao says this is what Chinese students, even in rural areas, are best at: high test scores. Chinese students regularly win any competition that depends on test performance. Where they fall short is creativity, originality, divergence from authority. The admirers of Chinese test scores never point out that what makes it the “best” education system is also what makes it the worst education system. It is very effective in “eliminating individual differences, suppressing intrinsic motivation, and imposing conformity.” It is

a well-designed and continuously perfected machine that effectively and efficiently transmits a narrow band of predetermined content and cultivates prescribed skills…. Because it is the only path to social mobility, people follow it eagerly."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/nov/20/myth-chinese-super-schools/