I have been sick in the last two weeks. It was a very very sad period. Lots of pain, lots of suspects, and lots of medical examinations. BUT I don't want to drop out anyway! I'm already here, I cannot withdraw at this moment. I don't wanna give up now and redo it in the September. It's time and cost consuming. I was think putting my healthy as priority and withdraw this semester, but then it's not me. I felt so sad and guilty when I was staying at home. I'm the generation in China that has been through lots of changes, and most of us have a very strong will.
We cannot control the things that happened and will happen in our life, but we can control our attitude toward it. Having a grateful attitude and stay strong will help us go through all the difficulties.
During those days in bed, I did research on China for our group project, and finished the first draft of my part. It hasn't been edited yet and must have lots of errors, but wanna sharing here as cheering for myself.
Our Topic:
Statement 1: India's focus on science and math explains much of
their growing success in software, engineering, and pharmaceuticals. China is
also successful because of their focus on science and math. All countries
should focus on science and math if they want to be economically successful in
the 21st century.
Statement
2. Science and math are very useful in many fields and industries, but do not
by themselves lead to a successful economy or even happiness. A well-rounded
education will lead to the long term economic success of a country because it
encourages innovation, leadership in design and culture, and entrepreneurship,
which is the foundation of all successful economies.
Three main points
are identified in the two statements:
1.
Economically
successful
2.
Education
- focus on math and science VS well-rounded education
3.
Happiness
Part 1: China
Structure:
1.
The
role of education
2.
China’s
education system analysis – historical and general
3.
The
advantage and disadvantage of China’s education system
4.
China’s
economy in general
5.
The
determinants of economic growth in China
6.
China’s
happiness index
Work
Cited
1. The role of education
As
some scholars claimed, although education can be identified as a consumer
activity since education provides a variety of possibilities, it is basically
an investment activity. Education’s purpose is to obtain ability, get further
satisfaction, or increase individual’s future income. It is similar to the
general durable consumer good, and also it is the production of goods and
materials. Education is regarded as an investment, which will result a form of
capital (Lao, 2005).
Moreover,
the essence of education has been recognized as the culture inheritance between social and people. Also, all education has the essential characteristic that
it is the interaction between social and individuals. Education is in all kinds
of , and raise along with the development of human society. The part of
conscious education is getting more and more. Therefore, no matter where and
when, the essence of education has shown in the diverse education (Lei, 2004).
In short, education
system has the ability to effect people’s believe system.
2. China’s education system analysis –
historical and general
Confucianism is recognized that has been throughout the Chinese education system thousand
years ago. Because the Confucian has the idea of filial and piety, the
authorities let the Confucian play the role of education in order to govern
easily. The founder of the Confucian is the Confucius who was living in the
spring and autumn period. He is known as the founder of ancient Chinese
education. He initiated
private learning, expanded the scope of the education objects, emphasized on
education, and encouraged in training people. These
are initiative of the education which created by Confucius and it is the
foundation of China’s ancient education. Confucius was focusing on moral
education because he thought moral education is more important than legal
system. This is also his most prominent educational thought. His theory has a
great influence on later generations (Ling, 2011).
China
implements pre-school education, primary education, secondary education, and
higher education. China establishes a scientific schooling system. The state
Council or education administrative departments authorized by the State Council
govern schools and other institutions,
education model, length of schooling, enrollment requirement, and training
target, etc. China has the nine-year
compulsory education system, which ensure school-age children and adolescents
access to education. The parents of school-age children and adolescents, other
guardian, and related social organizations and individuals have the obligation
to ensure that school-age children and adolescents receive and complete the
stipulated education (People’s Republic of China,
2006).
3. The advantage and disadvantage of
China’s education system
Advantage: Science and math
China's
education system has a significant advantage that the quality of education is high.
Such as, students have a good foundation in early
education, the requirements
from teachers and school is strict, and the students are studying very hard. In
short, the quality of the whole education system, including the basic education
and post-secondary education, is high (Zhou, 2004).
Moreover,
Chinese students have shown a marvelous and excellent performance through
several International mathematics testing and competitions, which including
IAEP, TIMSS, and PISA (Xu, 2010, p. 130). Xu has also claimed
that the balance between establishing a good basis for students and their future
growth has been pursuing, as well as the balance between students’ positive
studying and teachers’ practical direction (Xu, 2010, p. 133). Furthermore, Chinese
teachers emphasize on both skillful and effective operations, which is an
important characteristic of Chinese mathematics instruction (Xu, 2010, p. 136).
Disadvantage: Hinder
innovation
Although
many Americans regard China as a global competitor, experts say that it is
necessary for China to reevaluate their education system, which can truly help
China in global world. Despite China's mathematics and other science
dominances, China's education system emphasizes too much on testing and exams.
Because of these factors, China creates world class labor competition in the
United States and other European countries. China's education system is helping
China to become an economic giant, who plays an important role in the world;
however, some analysts have stated that if China wants to have more power than
the United States and other western countries, and becoming the new leader,
China has to make some changes in its education system (Chooljian, 2011).
People
tend to think that innovation has become the key of the sustainable growth of
employment in China. Nevertheless, for hundreds of years, testing has been the
driving force of China's education. For instance, Chinese students in
kindergarten during early childhood education have to participate in testing.
Also, tests have been frequently required throughout school life and career.
Among them, the climax is the university entrance exam, which is very important
and recognized as a test that can decide a student’s future. Every June, China
has more than 9 million high school students participating in three days, and
accumulating for nine hours of the university entrance exam. The university
entrance exam brings students enormous pressure, and the process of preparing
for the university entrance exam cannot be negligent. Because the exam is so
serious, Chinese students tend to spend a huge amount of time to recite, memorize
or do training topics (Chooljian,
2011). As a result, there is almost no time to think freely. If their
thinking model cannot jump out of the exams mode, they will hardly to have the
ability to think outside the box.
In
addition, in Chinese higher education, students only learn knowledge from
textbooks, and seldom participate practices. However, an ongoing changing in
Chinese education will change this situation. Professors noted that students’
behavior is changing and no longer o what they are asked (Lynton, 2006).
To
sum up, although China’s education system has a great contribution to the
economic growth, a well-rounded education system is needed for the further
development.
4. China’s economy in general
The National Bureau of
Statistics of China stated that the GDP for 2010 was 40.1202
trillion Yuan. The first industrial was 4.0534 trillion Yuan. The second
industrial was 18.7581 trillion Yuan, and the third industrial was 17.3087
trillion Yuan. According to the numbers, the first industry accounted for
10.1%, the second industry accounted for 46.8%, and the third industry
accounted for 43.1%（National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2011).
In an interview ahead of the fifth G20 Summit with Republic of
Korea (ROK) media organizations, Chinese President Hu Jintao has said that
China has a stable and developing economy. Also, he noted that as the world's
largest developing country, China is making a significant contribution to the
recovery of the world economy. China has actively taken part in the
international cooperation to cope with the financial crisis. Furthermore, Hu
confirmed that China has kept the exchange rate of its currency. The currency
is stable and the reform of the exchange rate mechanism is gradually advancing
(Xinhua, 2010).
In brief, China is committing to
develop its economic growth and help tpo achieve a sustainable world economic
growth.
5. The determinants of economic growth in
China
There were ten factors that have been
established as the main determinants of the economic growth in China. First of
all, China introduced the concept of market. The high concentration of
planned economy that existed thirty years ago was the foundation of Chinese
economy. However, it hindered the economic growth later. The reason was it against
the commodity production and the law of value, and limited citizen’s enthusiasm
that develop independent commodity economy. The introduction of market led a productive
development and stimulated
people's enthusiasm to participate, invest, produce, and exchange. China’s market
economic system has been developed based on the positive and negative
experiences of the international socialist constructions. Also, it learned
lessons from the develop commodity from western countries. It is a combination
of the advantage from both socialism and capitalism. The second
factor was the basic economic system met the requirements of the development of
productive forces. The third factor was there was a clear and correct
development strategy. The fourth factor was making structure adjustment in
order to let industry structure keep up with the pace of the development. The fifth
factor was emphasizing on technology progress and management. The sixth was the
high rate of the investment. The seventh was focusing on district construction
and infrastructure. The eighth factor was human resource and enthusiasm. The
ninth was government concerns about the citizen's welfare. Finally, the ten
factor was opening widely to the global (China Business, 2002). Therefore,
there is no direct relationship between China’s economically successful and the
focus on science and math.
6. China’s happiness index
The
thirty-fourth global happiness index survey launched by Gallup International
global organization in 2011 November shows that China’s happiness index is
lower than the world level. The global
average happiness index is 40%, while China is only 25%. In the BRICs comparison,
China is also in the last row of the happiness index while Brazil has the
highest happiness index reached 63%, and two other countries are India and
Russia with 37% and 31% (China Daily, 2012).
Also,
the cross analysis of Happiness and income shows that China is placed in a
fourth class which means both happiness index and income levels are low. Moreover,
having high happiness index and income countries are mainly concentrated in
Europe, the United States and other developed countries. The results of the survey
also showed that despite the economic downturn of the European countries, most
respondents still feel happiness (China Daily, 2012).
In
addition, income is often considered as the important factor when people
measure whether they are happiness or not. However, the survey shows that
people have the feeling of happiness has nothing to do with their income
conditions, but with their relative social status (China Daily, 2012).
In
short, although China has been in a significant economic growth, the citizens’
happiness index is low. The economically successful in China did not lead to a
happy country.
Work Cited:
China Business. (2002) Ten
Factors of China's Economic Growth [Internet]. Available from:
<http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/EC-c/229437.htm> [Accessed 22 February 2012].
China Daily. (2012) 2011
Happiness Index Survey, China is lower than the world level [Internet]. Available from:
Chooljian, L. (2011) China’s education system may stifle innovation [Internet].
Available
from:
<http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-10-20/general/30728501_1_education-system-testing-chinese-companies> [Accessed 21 February 2012].
Lao,
K. (2005) The possibility of education
market and its limit [Internet]. Available from:
Lei,
M. (2004) Education is the essence of the
cultural inheritance [Internet]. Available from:
Ling,
L. (2011) The Development of Confucian Education Ideology and its Impact on Chinese Modern Education [Internet]. Available from:
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2011)
The National Bureau of Statistics about
2010 Annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Preliminary Check Announcement [Internet]. Available from:
<http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjdt/zygg/sjxdtzgg/t20110907_402752625.htm> [Accessed 21 February 2012].
People’s Republic of China. (2006) People's Republic of China Compulsory
Education Law [Internet].
Available from:
<http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2006-06/30/content_323302.htm> [Accessed 21 February 2012].
Xinhua. (2010) China's
economic stability, development contributes to global recovery [Internet].
Available from:
Xu, B. (2010) Research on Mathematics Education in China in the
Last Decade: A Review of Journal Articles. Front.
Educ China [Internet], 5(1), pp. 130-155. Available from:
Zhou, J. (2004) The Significant Advantage of China’s Education System: High
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