A. Teacher-centered and student-centered
I would say that the prime difference between the two education
systems is that one uses teacher-centered classes, and the other uses
student-centered classes. In the Eastern education system, the teacher is the only
authority; his or her words are not to be questioned. Students are not expected
to speak up in class or respond to the questions that the teacher asks.
Therefore, most of the questions are rather rhetorical. Questions are brought
up for the teachers to answer. Thus, there is no motivation for the students to
be active. This leads to a very unusually phenomenon, the students sleeping in
class.
Students of the Western education system, on the contrary,
participate more in class. They have class or group discussions and they are
forced to express opinions, which are valued. In this way, students also listen
to other’s ideas, which make them not only learn from the teachers, but also
their peers.
B.
Memorizing and understanding
The way students learn individually (not as members of a class)
also differs from East to West. For instance, Eastern education is mainly based
on book learning and memorization. They focus on classics and exams. Teachers
often have to rush through the textbooks to meet the deadline of every monthly
examination. Hence, students learn from memorizing facts, which are often
forgotten after a short period of time, rather than understanding. And the lack
of understanding all the facts results in the need for cram schools.
However, sometimes students put too much dependence on cram
schools and often exhaust themselves, which can easily pull down the efficiency
of learning. I noticed that recently teachers tried to train us in the ability
to analyze and organize information we receive, but exams put pressure on
students to ignore this, since memorizing information is the key to winning
points. Somehow the community has formed a rather queer concept that
certificates and scores are believed to represent ability. In the end, all we
are best at doing is scoring high in exams or getting a diploma. Even our
attitude and behavior is graded by numbers. The truth is, however, that most of
us show lack of efficiency in solving problems we are confronted, and
oftentimes we find difficulties when it comes to organizing activities or our
daily routine. We are so competitive but we’re still not in step with the more advanced
countries.
If we take a look in the Western way, they have a comparatively
relaxed pace of learning. This allows better and deeper understanding of the
topic they are working on. They spend more time on class and group discussion
in order to know how to speak up logically and learn to accept other people’s
opinions. They are often given assignments in the format of a report or project
and will have to do their own research and gradually develop their
independence. Presentations are also expected to be given properly with a clear
voice and information, good time-control and stable eye contact. The skill of
taking notes directly from the teacher’s lecture replaces following lifeless textbooks.
This is the education of training students to be provided with skills they will
need in their further studies and future careers.
C. Conformity and originality
The Eastern education system puts a great deal of emphasis on
conformity. There are tons of school rules to follow and students are expected
to line up like troops when attending assembly. Rules like: “sneakers and socks
have to be white or black”, “shirts need to be tucked in”, and “no makeup or
nail polish is allowed” are common. I personally don’t think these issues have
anything to do with one’s attitude. All students are basically graded by scores
they get in the exams.
The disadvantage of this is that some students might study around
the clock but still fail and this would terribly cut down the interest they
have towards studies. The Eastern education system seems to be working on
producing “perfect”, “zero-mistakes” students. Any action that’s out of the
ordinary is regarded as some sort of rebellion and will be questioned or
punished. Occupations like doctors and lawyers are regarded as decent jobs to
do while being an artist or designer is not so respected by others since in our
education system, only those who score low in exams attend vocational schools.
This prevents those with special talents from developing into professionals.
Unlike the Eastern system, in the Western education system,
mistakes are considered positive. There is no doubt that humans at least once
in a while make mistakes, and for Westerners, these are simply steps towards
learning and are perfect chances to mature. In contrast to the Eastern grading
system, they grade students by assessment of their performance. This way,
students who put lots of effort to their studies can be satisfied with the
grades they get and will maintain the motivation to keep up the good work and
those who don’t work hard also learn that lack of effort is not sufficient to
earn a good outcome.
Originality and extracurricular activities are highlighted and
encouraged, activities like a donation contest, visiting an orphanage or
building houses for the poor. Consequently, they produce more artists and
designers that dominate the fashion trends and create a more concerned
community.
D.
Relationship between teachers and students
Traditionally, the relationship between teachers and students has
always been tense between students and teachers in Eastern culture. Teachers
are meant to be respected and sometimes students even have to bear teachers’ bad
temper. No matter how familiar we are with a teacher, it is not easy for us to
automatically talk to them about our concerns. Some don’t even speak freely
with their peers.
Students under Western education generally are more willing to
speak about their problems to their counselors and are more flexible about
other people’s advice. This is also due to the fact that Westerners consider
emotional problems as something normal and always try to be optimistic about
them. Through lots of discussions and debates in class, teachers have the
status of an assistant or guide instead of a director.
Conclusion:
It should be clear from the preceding discussion that there are
some definite differences between the two education systems. Both have their
advantages and disadvantages. Western education encourages people to pursue
their true interests, producing a broad range of skills and areas of expertise.
Eastern education, on the other hand, discourages the pursuit of learning that
has no strictly practical purpose, such as visual and performing arts. Eastern
education, however, is an efficient way of training people to perform tasks
that require quick and precise thinking.
Confucius is known to be the greatest teacher ever. In schools, we
are taught about all the famous lines that he said. Things like “The teacher
should teach differently according to every student’s condition” are familiar
to all of us, but do we see it inside our education? It’s very ironic that we
have the greatest teacher ever but we produce “robot” students. Surely there
are some wonderful teachers showing up now and then, but if the whole system
doesn’t change, it would be difficult to just rely on this small portion of
teachers.
Overall, I would say that the advantages of Western education outweigh
its shortcomings. Western education produces people who are able to make
choices more consistent with their own true interests. Therefore, they
ultimately achieve more satisfying lives. This gives them the motivation to
follow their interest with passion which drives them to become leaders in their
chosen field. In the East, seniors often tell us to equip ourselves so that we
will have the ability to help others after becoming an adult, but the West lets
students participate in charity work since childhood or adolescence and this
gradually becomes one of their habits. In actual fact, there is so much we can
do even if we are only seventeen or eighteen.
In addition to individual consequences, the education system also
has an impact at the social level. For example, the two education systems
produce different values. Eastern education gives out the concept that working
is the main purpose of life. While this creates some social stability, it also
means that the spiritual life of each person is easy to impoverish. On the
contrary, Westerners know better how to relish life and this world. I believe
if we want our society to be more progressive and be in line with the most
advanced countries, there is definitely a need to reform our education system.
