1. Education Matters 学校

2. Education Chinese, unlike other cultures, place a great importance on education. ◦ For example, on Saturday afternoons, 7 year old Lui Zhi-he attends a math class and a English class in his spare time. Chinese have been investing decades of time and money to re-do the educational system. ◦ The reconstruction of education has even hit the small Chinese villages. As a result, the literacy rate (the amount of people that can read) is over 90%. ◦ The US. Literacy rate is about 86%.

3. Chinese Classroom

4. How they view school. The Chinese believe “that there is no substitute for putting hours into their work.” A study shows that Chinese children spend double the amount of hours on homework than Americans do. Some big corporations claim that Americans coming out of U.S. Universities are just as bright as Chinese, but they are more creative. The majority of the children in school in China will have an impact on the economy.

5. Chinese School Subjects Primary School (six years)Secondary School (three years) Chinese Language English Language Math Natural Science Health Studies P.E. Arts Music Chinese Language Chinese History English Language Science Algebra Geometry Politics P.E. Arts Music

6. Chinese flag raising ceremony before school. Visiting a secondary school classroom. 学校 School, in Chinese, thanks to the help of Xin.

7. How Does Education Impact the Economy? "It (good, well-rounded employees) all starts with the emphasis families put on the importance of education. That puts pressure on the government to deliver a decent system." – A top executive from General Motors in Shanghai.

8. Chinese School System Chinese governments have laws about teaching. All primary school teachers (kindergarten to sixth grade) have to have a degree in the subject they teach. ◦ For example, a social studies teacher would have to go to college to major in social studies. There is a program there “Master Teacher” that mentors young, new teachers,

9. Summing it up…. Chinese have now placed an importance on the students learning other languages including English. China is constantly fine-tuning the education system. This will have a major impact on the future of China within the next 20 years.