Students in China gain more freedom

For the last five years, Pitt students have visited China each summer, and the education… For the last five years, Pitt students have visited China each summer, and the education system there has become increasingly more westernized.

According to Wen Fang Tang, a political science professor at Pitt and the coordinator of the Pitt in China program, China has been rapidly westernizing.

“There is a growing sense of individualism in a group-oriented culture of China and is reflected in education,” Wen Fang Tang said.

Wen Gao, a research associate for the material science and engineering department at Pitt, went through the Chinese education system in the 1980s. Wen Gao took standardized tests given in “black July.” These tests decided his future.

Wen Gao had to fill out only one application for the university and major of his choice. His test scores decided his eligibility for his choice of university and major. Students chose their majors in high school and it was very difficult to ever switch majors.

“I think when a student is 17 or 18, making a decision on a major is very hard,” Wen Gao said. “For some kids, they have strong minds – for them it’s easier to make decisions.”

Two months before his own graduation from high school, Wen Gao decided he wanted to be an engineer. In China at this time, students who studied liberal arts and students who studied science and math were separated in high school. Wen Gao was unable to take classes like history, writing and geography.

Today, China wants to give people more freedom, Wen Gao said.

According to Wen Fang Tang, more and more Chinese students are visiting the West, and more are returning to China and to teach at universities.

“[Chinese students] are not taught to ask questions, they take notes and memorize them,” Wen Fang Tang said.

He said Chinese students look at American students and notice, “how free-spirited American students are.”

The Chinese educational system now allows students to attend a university without choosing a major until their first or second year.

“China is getting better and better,” Wen Gao said.

This summer, 21 Pitt students and four local high school teachers will visit China for four weeks. They will be exposed to the culture there while also exposing the Chinese citizens to their own culture.

Pitt students will be given the opportunity to see a quickly modernizing China.