中美课外活动及兴趣班差异Interest Classes and Extracurricular Activities In China and America

Interest Classes and Extracurricular Activities In China and America

According to a research on teenagers' extracurricular interest classes in China, the popularity ranking of these classes is: Art(33.89%),

English(30.20%), Mathematical Olympiad(13.74%), Chinese(11.57%), sports(9.16%) and others. As for the aims of attending these classes, parents select the top three are improving children's academic level(54.92%), then developing hobbies and specialty(30.48%), and Expanding their social

circle(13.86%).

Another research shows that there are 51.8% Chinese students attending interest classes by their own will, 13.8% are influenced by outside factors, such as classmates attends those classes, and 34.3% students admit that they are asked by parents and teachers. As can be seen, over 48% students do this not from their own will but passively. As to the aims, only 23.6% students attend extracurricular classes to developing hobbies, and 52.3% students aim to raise test scores, other 24% students indicate that they just want to reach parents' request. This research shows the high pressure in study on most Chinese students, and which from parents is the major factor.

Let's have a look on American teens. According to a research by a public opinion research institute, 80% of American junior and senior high school students attend organized extracurricular activities after school and on weekends. Sports are the most popular activities, then art, music and dance, finally academic research. 92% children consider they make good friends by taking part in these activities, 86% children get harvests, 85% think they enjoy the fun. American parents letting their children attend extracurricular activities, the first is to develop their hobbies(41%), then let the children have something to do(27%), the third is in order to let the children happy, finally to improve children's performance at school. As we can see, American parents' peaceful mind is very different from Chinese parents' urgent heart to expect their children to be talented.

American teens' extracurricular activities are also affected by the admission criteria of university. American universities take much count of students' performance outside class, which is displayed by extracurricular activities.

Through analyzing extracurricular activities among Chinese and American teens, we can conclude that Chinese teens' foundation knowledge and skills are firm, but they lack enthusiasm to social practice, have poor practical operation ability and lack of independent innovation capacity. But American teens are just on the contrary. For Chinese students extracurricular activities are often the prolongation of examination-oriented education, witch let students focus too much on textbooks but not research-based learning methods, they often can't enjoy any fun in studying and extracurricular activities. Therefore, most

Chinese college students lack innovation consciousness and initiative to Learn, which is needed in social competition.

To solve the problem, we should advocate quality education and new conception of education about all round development, cultivation of innovative and practical ability. And it's high time to make the whole society especially parents realize the negative effect of examination-oriented education system, only then can ameliorate the bad status of Chinese interest class and extracurricular activities.