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    Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve
    Unavailable
    Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve
    Unavailable
    Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve
    Ebook436 pages7 hours

    Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve

    By Lenora Chu

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice; Real Simple Best of the Month; Library Journal Editors’ Pick

    In the spirit of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Bringing up Bébé, and The Smartest Kids in the World, a hard-hitting exploration of China’s widely acclaimed yet insular education system that raises important questions for the future of American parenting and education

    When students in Shanghai rose to the top of international rankings in 2009, Americans feared that they were being "out-educated" by the rising super power. An American journalist of Chinese descent raising a young family in Shanghai, Lenora Chu noticed how well-behaved Chinese children were compared to her boisterous toddler. How did the Chinese create their academic super-achievers? Would their little boy benefit from Chinese school?

    Chu and her husband decided to enroll three-year-old Rainer in China’s state-run public school system. The results were positive—her son quickly settled down, became fluent in Mandarin, and enjoyed his friends—but she also began to notice troubling new behaviors. Wondering what was happening behind closed classroom doors, she embarked on an exploratory journey, interviewing Chinese parents, teachers, and education professors, and following students at all stages of their education.

    What she discovered is a military-like education system driven by high-stakes testing, with teachers posting rankings in public, using bribes to reward students who comply, and shaming to isolate those who do not. At the same time, she uncovered a years-long desire by government to alleviate its students’ crushing academic burden and make education friendlier for all. The more she learns, the more she wonders: Are Chinese children—and her son—paying too high a price for their obedience and the promise of future academic prowess? Is there a way to appropriate the excellence of the system but dispense with the bad? What, if anything, could Westerners learn from China’s education journey?

    Chu’s eye-opening investigation challenges our assumptions and asks us to consider the true value and purpose of education.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 19, 2017
    ISBN9780062367877
    Author

    Lenora Chu

    Lenora Chu is a Chinese American writer whose work explores the intersection of culture, policy, and behavior. Her stories and op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Christian Science Monitor, and on various NPR shows. Raised in Texas, Chu holds degrees from Stanford and Columbia Universities.

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    Reviews for Little Soldiers

    4/5

    32 ratings3 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Fascinating description of what the differences are between an American kindergarten for 3 yr olds and the same thing in Shanghai.
    • 5/5
      This book balanced the personal narrative and the rigour of reporting perfectly. I learned more than I expected and laughed allot more than i expected too. A must read for anyone traversing the eastern and western cultures.
    • 5/5
      I teach Chinese students on an online Language Learning platform. I found this book to be insightful, enlightening, in addition to being entertaining, and at times heartbreaking. Lenora Chu's conversational writing style made the information delightful and compelling. It wasn't easy to put the book down once I had begun. Having read "Little Soldiers," I better understand my students and have a greater appreciation for their experiences. It makes me a better teacher and a more compassionate human being. Highly recommend it to anyone who is a teacher.

      1 person found this helpful