About this item
New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice; Real Simple Best of the Month; Library Journal Editors' PickIn the spirit of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Bringing up Bb, 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.
About the Author
Lenora Chu [www.lenorachu.com] is an award-winning journalist and author of the upcoming book Little Soldiers, the story of her parenting journey inside China's school system. A former TV correspondent with Thomson Reuters and a contributing writer with CNNMoney.com, she began her journalism career as a political reporter in the United States. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Texas, she and her husband Rob Schmitz, NPR's Shanghai correspondent, have two young sons. To learn more about Lenora, and to view dates for her 10-city U.S. book tour, please visit www.lenorachu.com.
