Book review: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon?, by Yong Zhao
China's touted rise to the top of the world education ladder has been declared a "Sputnik Moment" for the US - the nation must learn from China to maintain American status as a scholastic leader and superpower, it's said.
by Yong Zhao
Wiley
China's touted rise to the top of the world education ladder has been declared a "Sputnik Moment" for the US - the nation must learn from China to maintain American status as a scholastic leader and superpower, it's said.
Education expert Yong Zhao, who has written more than 20 books, disagrees. "Chinese education produces excellent test scores, a short-term outcome that can be achieved by rote memorisation and hard work, but … it does not produce a citizenry of diverse, creative, and innovative talent," he writes in his critique, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon?: Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World.
Academic vices he addresses include institutionalised cheating: in June 2013 in Hubei province, Yong recounts, a riot erupted after students were barred from pursuing a cheating scheme their parents had paid for. Smashing cars, a mob of tiger parents and cubs screamed: "We want fairness! There is no fairness if you do not let us cheat."
Besides fuelling cheating, China's hyper-competitive system stifles creativity, smothers curiosity and distresses students, among other minuses, according to Yong.
Blame the legacy of the old imperial civil service testing system: keju. Tied to the belief that advancement was only viable on its narrow terms, keju fostered a tame, obedient citizenry led by the study-freak bores who aced the exams.