Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon?

The secrets behind China's extraordinary educational system- good, bad, and uglyChinese students' consistently stunning performance on theinternational PISA exams-- where they outscore students of allother nations in math, reading, and science--have positionedChina as a world education leader. American educators and punditshave declared this a "Sputnik Moment," saying that we must learnfrom China's education system in order to maintain our status as aneducation leader and global superpower.Indeed, many of the reforms taking hold in United Statesschools, such as a greater emphasis on standardized testing and theincreasing importance of core subjects like reading and math, echothe Chinese system. We're following in China's footsteps--butis this the direction we should take?Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? by award-winningwriter Yong Zhao offers an entertaining, provocative insider'saccount of the Chinese school system, revealing the secrets thatmake it both "the best and worst" in the world. Born and raised inChina's Sichuan province and a teacher in China for many years,Zhao has a unique perspective on Chinese culture and education. Heexplains in vivid detail how China turns out the world'shighest-achieving students in reading, math, and science--yetby all accounts Chinese educators, parents, and political leadershate the system and long to send their kids to western schools.Filled with fascinating stories and compelling data, Who'sAfraid of the Big Bad Dragon? offers a nuanced and soberingtour of education in China.* Learn how China is able to turn out the world's highestachieving students in math, science, and reading* Discover why, despite these amazing test scores, Chineseparents, teachers, and political leaders are desperate to leavebehind their educational system* Discover how current reforms in the U.S. parallel the classicChinese system, and how this could help (or hurt) our students'prospects

About the Author xiAcknowledgments xiiiIntroduction: Fatal Attraction--America's Suicidal Quest for Educational Excellence 11 Fooling China, Fooling the World: Illusions of Excellence 132 The Emperors' Game: A Perfect Machine for Homogenization 293 Governance without Governing: The Retreat of Authoritarianism and China's Economic Boom 494 Hesitant Learner: The Struggle of Halfway Westernization 715 Fooling the Emperor: The Truth about China's Capacity for Innovation 936 Hell to Heaven: The Making of the World's Best and Worst Education 1197 The Witch That Cannot Be Killed: Educational Reforms and Setbacks 1418 The Naked Emperor: Chinese Lessons for What Not to Do 165Notes 191Bibliography 217Index 225