Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Some schools are teaching children how to think for themselves

 
 
IN CHINESE classrooms, students rarely question teachers—part of a broader deference to authority in Chinese society. So the growth of Western-style debating in schools and universities, in which participants sometimes argue against prevailing Communist Party policies, can seem incongruous. But interest in such debates is growing.

Many schools, especially in the big cities, have teams that debate, in English and Chinese. Educators say the aim is to develop some of the skills they know are lacking: critical thinking, spontaneity and public speaking. Many students also believe taking part in debating as an extra-curricular activity can help with applications to universities in the West.

[Read the FULL STORY: http://www.economist.com/news/china/21586319-some-schools-are-teaching-children-how-think-themselves-house-believes]

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3 comments:

  1. ViRtuaL POP CulTs26 September 2013 at 17:05

    It's really great to see that the students' mindset in Chinese society are changing. Through debating, they start to think the issues in more perspectives. Also, they become brave to express their own views in front of the audience!

    Catherine from virtual pop cults

    ReplyDelete
  2. Red Translates2 October 2013 at 12:15

    Agree with you, Catherine. I appreciate your expression of your views here too!

    Red

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown15 October 2013 at 15:21

    We always use the term "critical thinking", educators know the importance of "critical thinking" and therefore we have a compulsory subject called L.S. in secondary school as well as CCC in our university.
    But, what exactly critical thinking is? To me or form my experience, critical thinking is a set of theories that i have to cram for the examination.
    From Wikipedia:Critical thinking is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, partially true, or false. Critical thinking is a process that leads to skills that can be learned, mastered and used.
    My conclusion is:To know is easier than to do.

    By COCO virtual pop cults

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