Thinking Critically about Chinese and American Education: Confucius Institute at Wesleyan College holds Teachers’ Day lecture

On the evening of September 9, 2015, in observance of Teachers’ Day, the Confucius Institute at Wesleyan College held a refreshing lecture to encourage critical thinking about the contrasts between the Chinese and American educational systems.

This lecture was the second in the educational lecture series on “Comparisons of Chinese and American Education” held by the Confucius Institute at Wesleyan College. The two lecturers, Dr. Virginia Wilcox, professor of Education from Wesleyan College and Ms. Suyan Tan, a teacher in the Confucius Institute, raised topics of interest to students and educational professionals. They made a contrastive analysis of the differences and similarities between Chinese and American educational systems in 10 areas, including curriculum provision, syllabi, classroom management, and teaching activities. The lecture was interactive, with listeners sometimes raising questions or engaging in debate. The discussion among the lecturers, teachers, and students continued long after the formal lecture had ended, demonstrating how deeply these ideas resonated with Chinese and American attendees alike.