Methods of education

Your Ad Here

. Methods of education

A teacher from a western country recently visited an elementary school in asian country. In one class,she watched sixty young childer as the learned to draw a cat. The class teacher drew a big circle on the blackboard,and sixty children copied it on the papers. The teacher drew a smaller circle on top of the first and then put two triangles on top of it. The children drew in the same way. The lesson continued until there were sixty-one identical cats in the classroom.each student’s cat looked exactly like the one the board.
The visiting teacher watches the lesson and was surprised. The teaching methods were very different from the way of teacning in her own country. A children’s art lesson in her own country produced a room full of unique pictures,each one completely different from the others. Why? What causes this difference in educational methods? In a classroom in any country,the instructor teaches more than art or history or language. He or she also teaches cultural (the ideas and beliefs of that society). Each educational system is a mirror that reflects the culture of the society.
In a society such as the United States of Canada,which has many national,religious,cultural differences,people highly value individualism-the differences among people. Teachers place a lot importance on the qualities that make each student specil. The education systems in these countries show these value. Student do not memorize information. Instead,they work individually and find answer themselves. There is often discussion in the classroom. At an the early age,student learn to from their own ideas and opinions.
In most Asian societies,by contrast,the people have same language,history,and culture. Perharp for this reason,the education system in much of the orient reflects society’s belief in group goals and purposes rather than individualism. Children in china,japan, and korea often work together and help one another on assignments. In the classroom,the teaching methods are very formal. The teacher lectures,and the student listen. There is not much discussion. Intead,the students recite rules or information that they have memorized.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both the these system of education. For example,one adventage to the system in japan is that student there learn much more math and science that American student learn by the end of high school. They also study more hours each day and the more days each year than North Americans do. The system is difficult,but it prepares students for a asociety that values discipline and self-control. There is,however, a disadvantage. Memorization is an important learning method in Japanese schools,yet many student say that ………..

(kirn and Hartman,1977:4-5)