One of the things that I have enjoyed the most about spending time at Golden Jubilee School, is that it's has given me the opportunity to look at some major differences between the Eastern and Western styles of education. I came into the experience knowing that there would be key differences, in particular I thought back to my Japanese teacher describing the rigours of an Asian education system. Though there are of course, some similarities which may be universal for effective teaching, in general I have been amazed at some key deviations from what I grew up with.
Another key difference is in the style of teaching itself. It feels as though the kids are expected to follow a ceaseless routine of memorization, something I never experienced as a child. I have started attending different grades of English classes, just out of my own curiosity, and without fail they begin each class with at least five minutes of nonstop repetition of various grammar rules, vocabulary words, or reading tips. Even with the Jubilee Kids, the children are given a lesson at the beginning of each day, which involves repeating everything the teacher says over and over again. Particularly for the younger kids, these call backs are simply to get them used to the sounds of English, and get them speaking it as much as possible. But it is also done in the hope that if repeated enough times, some of the vocabulary will eventually stick. This rote memorization continues through to the older classes as well, where they are expected to study and remember countless facts.
Then there is the difference in formality, which is initially one of the most noticeable things. I grew up with very relaxed schools, where it wouldn't even be unusual to call my teacher by their first name. But here, it is important from the very beginning that the children learn a sense of respect and formality with their teachers, and all those older than them. Teachers must always be referred to as sir or ma'am, and should be properly greeted each time you see them. The kids also need to ask permission for about everything they do, be it entering a classroom, sitting down, or taking a drink of water. This last bit seemed strange to me at first, as the kids would be carrying their water bottles with them, but still feel the need to ask before taking a sip. But it is all about a rigid rule which must always apply, to maintain perpetual discipline.
A while ago I asked to sit in on a tenth grade English class, because I was interested to see how this class in particular would be taught differently. As Golden Jubilee is a English medium school, the kids have been speaking English for a long time. But still, this is more or less the equivalent of a foreign language class for them, so it won't be exactly like your average American English class. The first thing that surprised me was that they never read full books. I remember starting in third grade or so, we would read novels and answer questions about what we read. But instead they have a course book with short stories and other activities, but never full books. The lesson itself was predominately concerned with comprehension- discussing the action of the story to learn valuable vocabulary and sentence structure. Towards the end they did start to talk a little bit about the tone of the story, but when I asked the teacher whether they ever discussed things like themes he told me that had been mostly revised out of the state-wide syllabus. But he did seem to agree that discussing the deeper meanings of stories were important, because he tried to work that into his lesson plan as well. But it does seem to me, that for the most part, analyzing writing the way I have been taught to from a young age, is not nearly as developed.
I think that is really the overarching difference actually- analysis vs. the acquiring of knowledge. In India you pour your effort into learning facts upon facts. Whereas in my American school I think the main things I was taught were processes like critical thinking and analysis. I think that is the best way to summarise the two systems actually. It's not really my place to pass judgement on which is a better system, but I will say that both produce uniquely successful individuals.
One of the major differences between your average American school and an Indian education is the rigour. Starting at an extremely young age, education is taken very seriously. That is not to say American schools aren't doing their job properly, I think it is just two different approaches to encouraging kids to learn. From the very beginning, kids are expected to handle huge amounts of work, both inside and outside of school. While I remember an elementary school experience characterised by little games and being read stories, the kids at GJS are expected to pay attention through full academic lessons, with far fewer breaks throughout the day. And starting at the very beginning of elementary school, they are assigned homework, given examinations, and even graded. I remember getting grades as the big leap when I entered sixth grade, not first.
Another key difference is in the style of teaching itself. It feels as though the kids are expected to follow a ceaseless routine of memorization, something I never experienced as a child. I have started attending different grades of English classes, just out of my own curiosity, and without fail they begin each class with at least five minutes of nonstop repetition of various grammar rules, vocabulary words, or reading tips. Even with the Jubilee Kids, the children are given a lesson at the beginning of each day, which involves repeating everything the teacher says over and over again. Particularly for the younger kids, these call backs are simply to get them used to the sounds of English, and get them speaking it as much as possible. But it is also done in the hope that if repeated enough times, some of the vocabulary will eventually stick. This rote memorization continues through to the older classes as well, where they are expected to study and remember countless facts.
Then there is the difference in formality, which is initially one of the most noticeable things. I grew up with very relaxed schools, where it wouldn't even be unusual to call my teacher by their first name. But here, it is important from the very beginning that the children learn a sense of respect and formality with their teachers, and all those older than them. Teachers must always be referred to as sir or ma'am, and should be properly greeted each time you see them. The kids also need to ask permission for about everything they do, be it entering a classroom, sitting down, or taking a drink of water. This last bit seemed strange to me at first, as the kids would be carrying their water bottles with them, but still feel the need to ask before taking a sip. But it is all about a rigid rule which must always apply, to maintain perpetual discipline.
A while ago I asked to sit in on a tenth grade English class, because I was interested to see how this class in particular would be taught differently. As Golden Jubilee is a English medium school, the kids have been speaking English for a long time. But still, this is more or less the equivalent of a foreign language class for them, so it won't be exactly like your average American English class. The first thing that surprised me was that they never read full books. I remember starting in third grade or so, we would read novels and answer questions about what we read. But instead they have a course book with short stories and other activities, but never full books. The lesson itself was predominately concerned with comprehension- discussing the action of the story to learn valuable vocabulary and sentence structure. Towards the end they did start to talk a little bit about the tone of the story, but when I asked the teacher whether they ever discussed things like themes he told me that had been mostly revised out of the state-wide syllabus. But he did seem to agree that discussing the deeper meanings of stories were important, because he tried to work that into his lesson plan as well. But it does seem to me, that for the most part, analyzing writing the way I have been taught to from a young age, is not nearly as developed.
I think that is really the overarching difference actually- analysis vs. the acquiring of knowledge. In India you pour your effort into learning facts upon facts. Whereas in my American school I think the main things I was taught were processes like critical thinking and analysis. I think that is the best way to summarise the two systems actually. It's not really my place to pass judgement on which is a better system, but I will say that both produce uniquely successful individuals.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete