Impressions On My Visit To The UK
1. On British Elementary Education
During my stay in the UK, I as well as my peer teachers experienced the equal, democratic and harmonious relation ship among people; mean-while we saw with our own eyes the harmony and quietness between humans and nature. Wherever we went, the verdant green colour were always around us, Seagulls, and pigeons flying freely over our heads, kids playing happily in the grass. However, as an educator, what impressed us most still is the advanced and developed elementary education.
When you visit any class in the UK, you’ll find the school there is rather like a multifarious factory. You might be surprised by the noisy class, in which students act so randomly that it can hardly be called a class. You might sign with emotion how relaxedly and how happily the British students are learning. You might also be shocked because your deep-rooted educational ideas have to face challenges. Then you’ll have to think. Why are there so different understanding on education and talents between the two nations?
As we all know, in China, we have been so far used to having more than fifty students sitting neatly and quietly, listening to teachers. We have been used to making the school and class the tool and place to pass on knowledge, judging the students’ responses just by what is called “standard keys”. We have been used to expecting the success of our students, which is our final expectation for them.
However, in the UK, the education doesn’t focus on passing on knowledge, but on serving the live people. That is to cultivate a human being with independence in working and thinking, one with special personalities, and with special knowledge and practical techniques. This is what all the school educational system and activities set for and measure by.
They think that once one has mastered the basic knowledge of a subject and learned how to think and work independently, they will surely find their own way in the society, and can fit the changes and development more easily than those who just get the details of a knowledge. Therefore in class, teachers often ask a lot of open questions. They encourage the students to give out variety of different answers to them, what is more valuable and meaningful is the course of thinking, rather than the result of it. No winder that once an English educator said, “The aim of our teaching is not to teach our students to be as exact as computers as calculators, but to teach them to learn how to use the tools to serve their work.” Don’t you think this is a vivid description of the ideas of the British education?
Absolutely, the educators in the UK think the forming of personalities and cultivating of characters depends on the labour and behavour, not on any language that one hears or speaks. That’s why the most important educational method is to encourage students to do plenty of actual deeds. During the stay there, I saw a lot of kids of 5 years or even younger started their own projects by collecting materials themselves. In physics classes, they study the connection of electric circuit. In science technology classes, they learn to go on line to search information, sending e-mails. In design technology classes, they learn to make potteries or woodcut. In art classes, they learn to make sculptures, or draw abstract portraits of their own, hands full of paints. No wonder that when we visited several English families, we always couldn’t help saying that English people are all musicians, painters, DIY masters. Actually, all of these would never happen, but for the English educational method which focuses on actual deeds.
When they try to develop the students’ skills and abilities, more attention is also paid to developing their harmonious characters and personalities. They aim to teach children to work, to find joy in working, to develop the corporation among their peers, and realize the important social value of the work. To them, the purpose of working is to practise their efficient ability or get the thanks from others, rather than being outstanding. Teachers are always skilled in finding virtues of each student, encouraging them to express their different opinions bravely. They encourage personalities and special talent as well as the spirit of the corporation.
2. On British Family Education
In the UK. We seldom saw any parents hold babies in the arms, instead, they push cradles or have their babies stagger along with them, nor do they pack their young tightly, even it’s cold when we all wear woolen sweaters, some kids still a small T-shirt, leaving their legs out. In the park we often saw a whole family relaxing there, parents talking, children playing, never involving each other. British parents start to encourage their children’s independence as early as they can. They seem never to spoil their children, never look on them as their accessories. Instead, they treat them as independent human beings, even though they are so little and young. You can’t imagine how equal and relaxed between the two generations.
Parents respect their children’s characters, hobbies, determination and their privacy. They never force their own opinions or them or ask them to do what they dislike to. My hostess has a daughter of 18, who often comes back home at midnight. But she never seems to evaluate her life. Just ask whether she is busy and what she is doing with her friends. I wondered why she bothered her so little. She smiled, “It’s true we bore her. All what means is that we just gave her her life. From then on she has been an independent girl, she has the right to choose her own way of living. She has her own freedom. I believe and respect her choice.”
3. On British Teachers’ puzzles.
In the UK, the number of the students is small, usually 20 or so, never more than 30, But a primary school teacher takes charge of all the subjects of a class. A middle school teacher has to face different classes in the same classroom, although they have assistants who prepare the teaching tools,deal with the management of the class discipline. No matter who they are, they always work hard from 8:15 a.m to 4:00 p.m, They usually give 6 class a day, with a break at noon for snacks. After work when they come home, there’s no doubt that they should set down to preparing next lessons for students of different levels, and they also have to go through student’s work. But the salary is low, compared with some other jobs.
Another big issue is the discipline. Since there’s too much freedom in class, anything might happen among students, who are of different races. It’s very troublesome to manage the class well, Teachers can do nothing to those mischievous children but pursuade them again and again. The most serious punishment is to take away his right of playing for a moment. Even worse, parents always, take side in their children’s bad behavours, Saying they have right of listening or not listening .This will affect teaching quality badly, bringing about a number of troubles.
Different cultures, traditions and values have brought about different educational systems, teaching ideas and methods. That’s why we can never copy others. However, no matter whether in China or in the UK, if you want to be a successful teacher,. You should spare no effort devoting your lifetime to improving yourselves. Only by doing this can you not fall behind , can you catch up with the pace of the information ages. Just like what our tutor Marriann said,“Teaching is a very challenging job. Teachers always face challenges. A good teacher must have a heart full of love, a spirit of devotion and never be too old to learn！”