Letters

Is Western-style education best?

It's good to know through a China Daily report that expenditure on education will increase by about 20 percent a year. But as a foreign teacher working in China, I wonder how the money will be spent and what the end results would be, because one can spend a lot of extra money without getting any additional benefit.

Since I have taught more than 1,000 Chinese students until now, I can say with confidence that Chinese students are smart and intelligent. They know how to study hard and for long hours. They also know how to endure long classes (I've seen some primary school classes being extended up to three hours). Children in the United States normally wouldn't sit through a class that is longer than 40-50 minutes.