Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve

　　一位西方母親的東西方教育衝擊

　　一場令人大開眼界的中國教育探索之旅



　　當中裔美籍記者Lenora Chu一家人移居上海，那一年，上海代表中國首次參與國際學生能力評量(PISA)，初次登場便打敗了眾多對手，在數學、閱讀和科學科目排名世界第一。Chu也注意到，和自己吵鬧的兒子相比，中國孩童又乖又守規矩。



　　中國是如何創造出學術上的超級成就者？她自己的孩子是否能在中國教育體系裡受益？



　　對中國式教育感到好奇，並對中國學生的學術表現印象深刻，Chu和丈夫決定為他們的三歲兒子Rainey註冊進入中國的菁英幼兒園。但從他上學的第一天起，夫妻倆就開始有了疑慮。



　　Rainey短時間內便有了驚人的學習成效，他變得自律、守規矩，在數學和中文學習上都有很大的進步，也交了新朋友。但夫妻倆也注意到，一些意料之外的警訊伴隨而來：Rainey變得畏懼權威，他不經意間透露出了一些老師在課堂上灌輸他們服從和合群精神的方法。



　　對於關上教室門後所發生的事感到憂心，她採訪了教師、學生和父母們，試圖在這團教育的迷霧中整理出更清晰的圖像──從中浮現的是一個透過高風險考試制度建立的軍事化教育體制，老師們公開學生的成績排名，獎勵達到標準的學生，未達到目標的學生則被羞辱或孤立。同時，她也呈現了政府多年來試圖減輕學生課業壓力，並提升自主學習動機的努力。



　　當她了解的越多，她開始思索：中國學童是否在學習順從和獲得學術實力上，付出了過高的代價？是否有更好的方法，能夠適當保留這個制度的優點，並移除它的缺點？



　　透過這本結合了親身經歷與調查報導的著作，Chu打開了一扇窗，深入探索這個有著儒家思想傳統，同時又深受共產主義教條影響的國家教育體制，讓我們得以一窺當代中國的複雜現況，並重新審視教育的價值和目的。(文/博客來編譯)

New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice; Real Simple Best of the Month; Library Journal Editors' Pick

In the spirit of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Bringing up B b , 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 American parenting and education.

When students in Shanghai rose to the top of international rankings in 2009, Americans feared that they were being "out-educated" by the rising super power. An American journalist of Chinese descent raising a young family in Shanghai, Lenora Chu noticed how well-behaved Chinese children were compared to her boisterous toddler. How did the Chinese create their academic super-achievers? Would their little boy benefit from Chinese school?

Chu and her husband decided to enroll three-year-old Rainer in China's state-run public school system. The results were positive--her son quickly settled down, became fluent in Mandarin, and enjoyed his friends--but she also began to notice troubling new behaviors. Wondering what was happening behind closed classroom doors, she embarked on an exploratory journey, interviewing Chinese parents, teachers and education professors, and following students at all stages of their education.

What she discovered is a military-like education system driven by high-stakes testing, with teachers posting rankings in public, using bribes to reward students who comply, and shaming to isolate those who do not. At the same time, she uncovered a years-long desire by government to alleviate its students' crushing academic burden and make education friendlier for all. The more she learns, the more she wonders: Are Chinese children--and her son--paying too high a price for their obedience and the promise of future academic prowess? Is there a way to appropriate the excellence of the system but dispense with the bad? What, if anything, could Westerners learn from China's education journey?

Chu's eye-opening investigation challenges our assumptions and asks us to consider the true value and purpose of education.