The current issue of The New Yorker has an interesting article on the growing popularity in China of Waldorf Education, a progressive school system that offers an alternative to the country’s rigid method of rote learning.
Waldorf, which emphasizes individualism, creativity and idealism, was developed by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s. The movement is centered in Europe, but also has devoted followers in the U.S. (The name comes from the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany, whose owner asked Steiner to start a school for his workers’ children in 1919.)
Now Waldorf is booming in China, especially among wealthier families seeking a better education for their children. The country’s first Waldorf school opened 10 years ago in Chengdu, a central Chinese city best known for its panda breeding center. Today there are about 30 primary schools and more than 100 kindergartens in China that use the Waldorf system. Demand is so strong that most have long waiting lists.
I don’t know much about Waldorf, but I understand the desire for alternative education in China. After teaching English for a semester at Henan University of Technology in Zhengzhou and talking to many teachers and students about the Chinese education system, I’m convinced that major reforms are needed.
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Chinese students are taught to memorize and spew back information on standardized tests. Their textbooks are dull, their schedules are overloaded and most of their classes are nonstop lectures with no student participation. While students are solid in math and science, they’re taught a heavily censored version of history and are not encouraged to think independently or critically. Almost all my students say school is boring, pressure-packed and unrewarding, which is why they appreciate foreign teachers who try to make learning interesting and fun.
So it’s no surprise that parents and students are looking for a better way. I don’t know if Waldorf is the answer, but the current system isn’t working very well. While China may be cranking out college graduates at a record rate, many aren’t prepared for the demands of the modern workforce. (Yes, I know you could say the same thing about U.S. college graduates.)
Don’t be misled by a recent study showing that teenagers from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau are among the smartest in the world. They are atypical Chinese cities, far richer and better educated than the rest of the country.
My school, located in a poor, unsophisticated province, is a far better barometer of Chinese education. And many of my students can’t name a single country in Africa, don’t know who Albert Einstein was and can barely speak or understand English after taking it as a second language for 10 years.
