Life
As a recent US graduate turned Chinese professor, I have noticed some huge differences in the educational systems of China and America. One of the most glaringly obvious differences, and perhaps the one I am most envious of, is the idea of community behind Chinese education.
Educators and administrators of Chinese universities really strive to create a niche community for students to have a feeling of belonging in schools that have huge populations. I am a professor for Tianjin Normal University (TNU), and it alone has 20,000 students and is not the only large university in the city.
To deal with these large populations, the schools create class sizes of about 30 that will travel through most of their studies together, all the way until graduation. This group is supposed to be your personal community. It is where you can find help and support with your education, and although they don't always work perfectly, the idea is to be able to build a support system amidst thousands and thousands of students.
In this little mico-community, there are three student-selected "monitors;" there are the students who are the go-betweens from students to professors. It is their job to make sure that the students get all the information from the university. There are three types: a teacher-relations monitor, a study monitor and a personal monitor. Each one has different responsibilities and things they are in charge of.
Because the monitors are student selected, they usually do a good job of making sure that the information gets dispersed to all those in the class in a timely fashion. Chinese universities also do a much more stringent job of promoting safety and security. Many times, the gates to the universities will close and lock at 11:00 pm on the weekdays and 12:00 am on the weekends, if you are out after this time, you will not be able to enter the campus. In many dorms, the students are not allowed to have any outside guests, including their parents.
Most dorms sleep six to a room, and it is important to the school to protect those other five members of each room. Due to the sheer population of China and its universities, six to a room is necessary, although it seems overcrowded to an American, who generally encounter two or three to a dorm. The sexes are also divided by building, instead of my experiences of a division by room.
Chinese universities try to take in the needs of all the students; an example is the fact that the lights and Internet will cease to work at 11:00 pm on the weekdays. Because many students wish to sleep at that time, the university attempts to make it easier for them to do so.
Often, students do not use their rooms for anything but sleeping, and the libraries are much more important here than in the United States. Many students will also use empty classrooms to study for exams or write papers.
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A college education is much cheaper in China than in the United States, but the students have hidden fees. They must pay for the Internet access and hot water for their showers. Photo from JIN Magazine |
A college education is much cheaper in China than in the United States, but the students have hidden fees. They must pay for the Internet access and hot water for their showers. Another interesting piece of campus life is that many times the showers are located in a different building than where the students sleep. They must go outside to shower.
Dining halls are much larger and offer a wider variety of food on Chinese campuses, because students do not have kitchens in their residence halls. They do not use the "meal plan" system common in America, but instead load money onto cards to use in the dining halls.
Although students spend a lot of time with their personal "classes," there isn't the same campus-wide comradeship as in America. It is common to see many students and professors wearing clothing to support their school in the States, such as sweatshirts, sweatpants, coats, hats and even carrying mugs. I have not noticed a similar trend at TNU. I have found hardly any clothing or other souvenirs with the school's logo on it that are available to purchase.
To the same end, there is not such a focus on athletics. To my knowledge the school does not have any athletic teams, other than club teams that are created and perpetuated by the students. There are many organizations and clubs to belong to, similar to the States, but they are not as prevalent or visible as their Western counterparts.
The Chinese campuses are much more focused on academia and to this end, offer many individual and group academic competitions that inspire learning and school pride. The students get much more support from the professors and administrators to participate in these type of events, and these help to bring recognition to the school, the teachers and the students.
An example of these competitions was an English speech competition, which I was asked to judge. The English major students who wished to participate were asked to devise and give a speech centered on the idea that Confucius and Socrates met and had a conversation. The top students were asked to present their speeches at the prestigious Nankai University.
I was awed by the level and command of English these students possess, if I were to give a speech in Chinese, it would be an unmitigated disaster, not to mention that these students were discussing two of the greatest philosophers in the world.
Because there is such a focus on academia and excellent education, the students have little time for outside work. Many US students have part time jobs to combat the high cost of university. Chinese students do not need to work through their college careers, but instead many take 15 to 17 classes a semester. Their classes only meet once a week, but it is still an incredible amount of work for these students.
The students also have intense nationwide exams that they must prepare for. The Chinese education system is much more focused on exam scores than the American one. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. It is an advantage, because it allows for large bodies of students to be able to show their learning. It is a disadvantage, because many students don't excel at memorization and may receive grades that they don't deserve.
There is also a big difference in teaching styles. Many Chinese teachers profess their lessons to the students and then expect them to learn it, which is quite the opposite from the more discussion-based style learning of Westerns.
The last piece about TNU that I find very fascinating and different is the fact that the campus could be considered its own town. The students have no need to leave campus for anything. There is a post office, banks and every conceivable store and restaurant within walking distance. This is one aspect that I am jealous of because a car was necessary for my attending the university. It would have saved me a lot of money if I hadn't needed to drive.
Population plays a large role in the differences between the United State and China, and this difference in especially noticeable in the education systems. China attempts to create communities out of thousands of students. They have devised ways to do so that make the two systems diverse.
