Little soldier
Uiterlijk 30 januari in huis
In the spirit of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, French Kids Don't Throw Food, and The Smartest Kids in the World, a hard-hitting exploration of China's widely acclaimed yet insular education system - held up as a model of academic and behavioral excellence - that raises important questions for the future of Western parenting and education
A captivating exploration of the best ways to educate children in the twenty-first century, set inside one of the most celebrated - and most extreme - school systems in the world
When American journalist Lenora Chu moved to Shanghai with her little boy Rainey, she and her husband decided to enroll their rambunctious young son in China's state-run public school system.
Almost immediately, he began to develop surprising powers of concentration, became proficient in maths and learned to obey his teachers' every command. Yet Chu also noticed disturbing new behaviours. Whereas he used to scribble and explore, Rainey was now obsessed with staying inside the lines. He became fearful of authority figures and also developed a habit of obeisance outside school. 'If you want me to do it, I'll do it', he told a stranger who had asked whether he liked to sing.
What was happening behind the classroom doors?
Over the next few years, Chu followed Chinese students, teachers and experts from all stages of school, pulling back the curtain on a military-style education system in which even the youngest kids submit to high-stakes tests and parents are crippled by the pressure to compete. Yet as Chu delved deeper, she also discovered surprising upsides, such as the benefits of rote learning, competition as a motivator and the belief in hard work over innate talent.
Lively and intimate, beautifully written and reported, Little Soldiers asks us to reconsider the true value and purpose of education, as China and the West compete for the political and economic dominance of a new generation.
'I couldn't put this book down. Whip smart, hilariously funny and shocking. A must-read'
Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
In 2009, Lenora Chu, her husband Rob, and toddler Rainey, moved from LA to the Chinese megacity Shanghai. The US economy was spinning circles, while China seemed to be eating the planet's economic lunch. What's more, Shanghai teenagers were top in the world at maths, reading and science. China was not only muscling the rest of the world onto the sidelines, but it was also out-educating the West.
So when Rainey was given the opportunity to enroll in Shanghai's most elite public kindergarten, Lenora and Rob grabbed it. Noticing her rambunctious son's rapid transformation - increasingly disciplined and obedient but more anxious and fearful - Lenora begins to question the system. What the teachers were accomplishing was indisputable, but what to make of their methods? Are Chinese children paying a price for their obedience and the promise of future academic prowess? How much discipline is too much? And is the Chinese education system really what the West should measure itself against?
While Rainey was at school, Lenora embarked on a reporting mission to answer these questions in a larger context. Through a combination of the personal narratives and thoughts of teachers, parents, administrators and school children, Little Soldiers unpacks the story of education in China.
- 1 Bekijk alle specificaties
Taal: en
Bindwijze: Paperback
Oorspronkelijke releasedatum: 19 september 2017
Aantal pagina's: 288
Illustraties: Nee
Hoofdauteur: Lenora Chu
Hoofduitgeverij: Piatkus Books
Editie: 1
Product breedte: 152 mm
Product hoogte: 34 mm
Product lengte: 232 mm
Studieboek: Nee
Verpakking breedte: 152 mm
Verpakking hoogte: 31 mm
Verpakking lengte: 235 mm
Verpakkingsgewicht: 475 g
EAN: 9780349411774