Blog 10: How China's New Love Affair with U.S. Private Schools Is Changing Them Both

            Chinese students are looking to American private schools to give them opportunity and a more positive future.   American private schools are offering greater opportunity, better education, and have more prestige than high schools in China.  Chinese families look at the expense of American private schools as a worthy investment into the future of their children.  Private high schools in America will lead to Ivy League colleges.  Those studying in American colleges and universities have increased even in the past year.  While studying in America provides a good opportunity for these Chinese students, the application process is extensive and can be geographically out of reach.  Many families in China work closely with education agencies in preparation for American private schools and to help with the application process.  There are both language and cultural barriers involved with the applications that the education agencies help with.  The problem comes when the American private schools are looking at the applications and having to question how much of the information is really from the student due to the language and cultural barriers.  One cause of these barriers is the great emphasis placed on the Chinese education system and the importance of standardized test scores.  As a result of the emphasis placed on testing, many of the Chinese students are uncertain of how to answer the questions on the American applications.  One reason for the push to study in American private schools has to do with the failure of Chinese schools in catering to individual students.  There is greater pressure to excel, and with American private high schools encouraging more independent thinking and allowing students to express their interests, the Chinese students are able to develop skills that will help them excel.  American high school diplomas provide the opportunity for Chinese students to move upward with regards to mobility.  Families are hoping that investing in schooling abroad will help provide greater success at home.  This is creating an increase in economic inequalities. 

            I think that it is very interesting that there is such a push to get an American education.  I realize that private schools are different from public schools, but from what I experienced throughout school, there was not much room to develop independent thinking or dig deeper into my own interests.  Chinese families have to sacrifice a lot in order to send their children to schools abroad.  Not only are they sacrificing financially, they are also giving up the opportunity to see their children grow in the latter years of their adolescence.  This emphasizes the importance of schooling for these children in China.  These families are sacrificing in hopes that their children will have a better future and be able to move upward in society.  The system of education in America, while there are issues, cannot be too bad if there is a great importance on studying abroad in American private schools. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/how-chinas-new-love-affair-with-us-private-schools-is-changing-them-both/255154/1/