> I think probably the single worst thing about Chinese culture is
> their education system, which emphasizes wrote memorization, with
> very little critical reasoning or problem solving skills.
American students can use a little more rote memorization and far less emphasis on writing, writing, writing (everything from "personal essays" to term papers). Students shouldn't be compelled to write when they have little to nothing to write about. Otherwise, the only tangible result of endless scribbling is to bore teachers to tears.
The very idea that "critical reasoning" is a "skill" that can be taught in school (of all places), as if it were accounting or something, is revolting. You reason when you have a reason to reason -- i.e., when you are up against a social problem you are interested in solving in the real world.
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>