Children in China: Are they being taught to lead, or just to follow? …

Oriental Morning Post, People's Republic of China

Why American Schools Create Better Leaders Than Ours …

Are Chinese schools inferior to their American counterparts in teaching leadership skills? According to this op-ed article from China's State-controlled Oriental Morning Post, American schools teach children that positions of leadership need to be earned, whereas in China, what it takes to lead is not taught, and leadership positions are arbitrarily given.

By U.S. Correspondent, Xue Yong [薛涌]

Translated By How Xian Neng [侯显能]

May 21, 2007

People's Republic of China - Oriental Morning Post - Original Article (Chinese)

After my daughter - who was born in the United States - began her second year of elementary school, the way her classes were conducted became increasingly complex. Her situation often brings me to recall my own primary school education, and has led me to compare primary school education in China and America.

During our childhood, teachers would assign a class “cadre” during the first year. To be honest, in several of my classes our class cadres were truly good students who performed well in their studies. But as we grew up, things began to change. “Common people” like me felt somewhat frustrated by the cadres, because the only thing they seemed to do was curry favor with the teachers. This divide between class cadres and the rest of the students became more apparent during secondary school, when the main criteria fir becoming a class cadre was “obedience.”

In the school that my daughter attends, no one has ever heard of having a class cadre. In her first year of pre-school, the teacher assigns duties to the entire class: Some are door monitors, who open the doors when the students enter the classroom and close them afterwards. Some are group leaders who walk in the front of the line and guide the rest of the students as they enter the class. As you might imagine, all the children want to be the group leader rather than the door monitor. But these roles are rotated with absolute equality. The goal is to educate the child to seek to serve others, and that everyone has a duty to help others to the best of their abilities. For the children, this is likely the first step in encouraging a team spirit.

Even after my daughter's second year, there was no “class cadre.” But humans are animals that like to exercise authority, and this plays out as a desire by children to play “the boss” and control others. One day during a 20-minute morning recess, children in the same grade were amusing themselves in the playground, when a minor power struggle broke out.

In my daughter's class, a boy named “Alex” had organized an insect club. My daughter likes nature and immediately decided to join. She discovered that Alex had named himself “boss,” another girl his “deputy,” and another child his “assistant,” whereas my daughter is an ordinary “member.” My daughter is an amiable person who certainly doesn't mind the arrangement, and she played along with it for quite some time.

There club has all sorts of rules. For instance, new members have to pass a test. Namely, they need to capture a small insect and must look after it carefully so that it isn't injured, and so on.

After a while my daughter got tired of forever taking orders from others. She became impatient and decided to quit the insect club and begin a “nature club” of her own. Three children immediately wanted to join. Her enthusiasm returned. She is the boss, her friend Nick is her deputy and a girl named Olivia is her assistant.

When I heard about Olivia’s participation I was rather startled. I knew this girl to be extremely intelligent, but that she is used to being treated like a little princess who likes to do her own thing and not be subordinated to others. How could she possibly be contented being a mere “assistant?” After several days, the power structure in the club had already shifted. As the “boss,” my daughter decided that positions would decided on job performance, based on who could find a particular kind of leaves [of a tree]. Olivia, being especially smart girl, quickly out performed Nick. My daughter sought out Nick and asked him if he would agree to allow Olivia to be her “deputy,” with Nick being demoted to “assistant.” Speechless, Nick had to agree. But within several days, Nick announced that he was quitting to set up his own club, the Happy Club, in which my daughter agreed to participate.

In this small playground, no one knows how many such clubs there are. Since the time for free activity is limited, no one has time to join every club, so they all have to compete for members. If you want to begin a club, you can control it. But at the same time, you have to be able to attract members. A club is undoubtedly meaningless if it's only member is the “boss."

As one would imagine, to be a leader you must fulfill several conditions. First, you have to have some popularity - other children must be willing to play with you. Second, your club has to be interesting and appealing. Third, you must be competent and be able to manage others. Olivia was just such a child. According to my daughter, she frequently brought small gifts for the other children and was full of ideas; and all the children liked playing with her.

Moreover, we took part in a club for parents and guardians. The members would get together and among other things, praise the good deeds of the children. Olivia’s mother recounted an incident with her daughter and said that, “Olivia was organizing a musical and the band was playing to a tape. She said that Olivia repeatedly stopped the music to make sure that everyone was able to catch up. This demonstrated her concern for others and her leadership capabilities.”

When I heard the words “leadership capabilities” I was surprised: what had a seven-year-old to do with leadership? But after observing the situation in the playground, it was clear that many children were trying hard to establish themselves in leadership positions. They all understood that leadership is not something for the teacher to give, but is earned by winning the approval of others. A leader must take into account the benefit and welfare of others. Parents like Olivia’s mother subtly encourage this kind of behavior.

To cultivate our future citizens with a strong sense of responsibility, we must therefore let them organize and judge among themselves. After all, children cannot obey parents and teachers for the rest of their lives. When they grow up they should be independent, free-thinking individuals and make their own choices in life. Our educational system should prepare them for a future of taking responsibility.

See Also:

Why Americans Educate Their

Children Better Than We Do …

Oriental Morning Post, People's Republic of China

Chinese Version Below

美国孩子们的“班干部”怎样产生

2007-5-21 2:42:11

早报美国特约撰稿人 薛涌

在美国土生土长的女儿上小学二年级了，班里的事情也越来越复杂。她不时回来讲讲，令我想起了我同龄时的小学生活，也得以把中美的小学作了一番对比。
    我们小时候，从一年级起就有班干部，全是老师指定的。老实说，我班里的几个班干部，确实属于好孩子，功课特别出色，不能说老师偏心。但渐渐长大后就不同 了。像我这种不争气的“平民百姓”，对“干部”多少有些气，觉得他们就知道巴结老师。中学时更明显，选班干部的标准，主要还是“听话”，而且班干部和一般 同学之间隔阂不少。

女儿上学，从来没有听说有班干部。第一年上学前班，老师给全班同学分配任务：有的是把门人，即孩子们列队进教师时，把门打开，等全班进去后再关上；有的是 领队，走在第一个，引导全班进入教室。可想而知，孩子们都想当领队，不想当把门人。不过，这些角色，从来是每个人轮流，绝对平等。目的是教育孩子，每个人 都要给大家服务，对别人都应该尽责任。这大概也是培养集体精神的第一步吧。女儿上二年级后，班里照样没有学生干部。不过，人是权力的动物，从小就希望当头 头，支配别人。上午有一个20分钟的课间休息时间，一个年级的孩子在游乐场自由活动，小小的权力角逐就从这里开始了。

女儿班上的一位叫阿利克斯的男孩，组织起一个虫子俱乐部。女儿喜欢自然，赶快去参加。结果她发现，阿利克斯把自己封为老板，另一个女孩子是副老板，还有一个是老板助理，她则是个普通雇员。女儿是个谦和的人，对此并不太介意，跟着玩了不少时间。

俱乐部有种种规矩，比如新成员要考试，即抓一个小虫子，但要好好照顾，不能有任何伤害等等。

不过时间久了，女儿觉得自己总听人指挥，有些不耐烦，就决定退出，发起了一个自然俱乐部，马上招来三个小朋友加入。这次她可神气了。她当老板，她的好朋友尼克当副老板，另外一个叫奥莉维娅的女孩当老板助理。

当我听说奥莉维娅加入时，心里多少有些吃惊。这孩子我知道，非常聪明，是个典型的孩子王，什么事情都要按自己的主意办，从来不甘居人下。她怎么可能安心当 老板助理呢？果然，几天后，俱乐部中的权力发生了变化。女儿作为老板，定下了规矩，要给手下人评分，根据工作成绩确定职位。他们的主要工作就是捡树叶。那 个奥莉维娅特别机灵，马上捡了许多，比尼克的成绩好。女儿找到尼克，问是否应该让奥莉维娅当副老板，他当老板助理。尼克无话可说，只好同意了。不过过了几 天，尼克宣布退出，自己另立一个快乐俱乐部，女儿还答应去参加。
    这个小小的游乐场，不知道有多少这样的俱乐部。孩子们自由活动的时间有限，不能什么俱乐部都参加，所以俱乐部之间就要竞争。你想当头，就得发起一个俱乐 部，并能把持俱乐部的领导权。同时，你要能吸引人来参加。如果最后成了光杆司令，俱乐部就失败了。

可想而知，成为领袖要有几个条件。第一，你自己要比较有 人气，人家愿意和你玩儿。第二，你发起的俱乐部要比较有意思，能够吸引人。第三，你要比较能干，会管理，能服人。那个奥莉维娅，就是这么一个人物。女儿 说，她常常带一些小东西分给小朋友，而且主意特别多，许多孩子都喜欢和她玩。另外，我们还参加了一个包括她父母在内的家长俱乐部，大家凑在一起，当着孩子 的面，夸奖孩子做的好事。奥莉维娅的母亲讲起自己的女儿来说：“一次，奥莉维娅组织一个音乐剧，在开始时，她特地停下录音机里的音乐，问大家是否都能跟 上。这显示了她对别人的关心，显示了她的领袖才能。”

我当时听到“领袖才能”一词，心里一惊：七岁这么点一个孩子，谈什么领袖能力？但再一观察学校游乐场上的情况，实际上许多孩子都在为确立自己的领袖位置而 努力。他们都懂得，自己是不是领袖，不在于老师怎么评价，而在于自己的小伙伴们是否认同。一个领袖，必须能照顾他人的利益，给大家带来福利。像奥莉维娅的 母亲这样的家长，平时也潜移默化地鼓励这样的行为。

我们要培养未来有责任感的公民，就应该放手让孩子自己组织自己，自己评价自己。毕竟，孩子不能一辈子都听家长和老师的。他们长大成人后，应该是一个独立思想的公民，为自己的生活作出选择。我们的教育，应该为他们日后对自己的责任做准备。