为什么中国的学生缺乏创造力(Why Do Chinese Students Lack Creativity)

sometimes,whenisatwithmydormmates,chattingwiththem,oneofthemostexasperatingtopicsisthatalthoughweregardchineseasaveryintelligentnation,amongthosegeniuseswhosolvedtheworldsmostdifficultandconfusingmathematicalproblemsarefrenchpeople,germans,britishpeople,japanese,butnochinese.

itistruethatchinesestudentsoftencomefirstintheinternationalmathematicscompetition.butamongthoseyoungmasters,howmanywillgoondevelopingtheirtalents?veryfew.infact,someofthemonlyusethiskindofcompetitionasasteppingstone,whichcouldmaketheirwaytotopuniversitieseasier.andtheywillneverwanttotouchasinglemathematicalfigureagainaftertheirgoalisachieved.mostofthemseemtohavereachedtheirpeeksinhighschoolandbeforetheycouldpracticallycontributetotheworldofmathematics.

amongtheseventyyearshistoryofthefieldzprize,theonlywinnerborninchinaischoutongcheng,whoisnowaprofessorinharvarduniversity.onceafterchouinterviewedacandidateforapostinoneofthemostprestigiousuniversitiesinchina,hewasastonished,"ifastudentbehaveslikethis,iwouldnotevengivehimamastersdegree.itsnotthatiampessimistic,theproblemsreallyexist."

whyshouldtherealitybelikethis?ithinktheanswerisrootedinoureducationsystem.after12yearseducationinchina,thestudentsarefamiliarwithallkindsofquestiontypeslikelytoappearintheexaminationandmasteredcorrespondingmethodstoanswerthesequestions.thatswhyalmostallprizesofthosecompetitionsaretakenbychinese.butwherethechineseeducationfailsishowtoempowerthestudentswiththeabilitytofindproperproblemsolvingmethodsbythemselves.thoseyoungmastersspendmostoftheirtimedoingvastquantitiesofexerciseswiththeirdevelopmentofcreativeabilitiesneglected.theyworklikeacomputerwithapreinstalledprogram.theyperformverywellontheproblemstheyhavebeenprogrammedfor.butiftheymeetsomethingnew,theyjustbreakdown.

ifwewanttomakeourcountryapowerfulnation,measureshavetobetakentomakeourstudentsmorecreative.theeducationsystemshouldbelesspragmaticandmoreinnovative,studentsshouldbedevelopedindividuallyratherthanbemoldedintothesameshape.andmanygoodpracticesinwesterncultureshouldbeintroduced.thereisreallyalongwayforustogo.themosturgentthingis,tostarttoreformimmediately.