Childhood in a Foreign Country: England

04 Various aspects of British elite education - the path to the cultivation of aristocratic gentlemen

At the end of the film, there is a summary of the essence of British "elite education".

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"British educational philosophy as a whole pursues excellence and believes that social progress relies on the power of the elite. 'Be the best'. Unlike countries such as Northern Europe, which believe in equality and fairness , believes in 'leaving no one behind'.

Even so, the essence of British elite education is to make students become interesting people, full of curiosity, and become physically strong and socially responsible individuals. . ”

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So, what are the aspects of elite education in the UK?

Sports (Spirit)

On the playground of Westminster Public School, students are playing various sports.

The host walked and chatted with British education researcher Li Shuang.

"What do you think is the biggest difference between elite education here and what we generally think of?"

Li Shuang replied: Just give an example of a school. In the UK, especially in private schools, physical education is a very, very, very important subject. In terms of etiquette, it not only brings a good inner mental outlook, understanding of rules and teamwork concepts. Secondly, sports are also a good means of connecting with the "social circles" brought about by private schools.

Knutsford from Huatian Stables also gave a good explanation of British sportsmanship.

Knutsford was born into an aristocratic family, grew up at Eton College, and engaged in equestrian, a sport considered aristocratic by people.

He believes that riding a horse is not just a physical movement, it is only a small part. The important part is the relationship between man and horse.

The relationship is very complex. Sometimes the horse needs some paternalistic guidance, and sometimes you need to act like an older sibling and show understanding of the horse.

That’s what equestrian is like. It’s about teamwork, leadership, work ethic, patience and commitment, and more.

Sports is an important part of British education. Being physically fit brings a lot of confidence. (Art, drama... can also bring confidence)

Confidence is knowing how to express yourself.

Drama class

Dulwich College, a prestigious London private school with a long history.

A group of 11- and 12-year-old boys were taking a drama class under the guidance of two teachers. They do not need to follow state-mandated curriculum like public schools. They also have their own drama theater, where students can often come to practice and take classes.

The instructor said that as technology becomes more and more powerful in society, physical contact, feelings, and eye contact, such as face-to-face one-on-one or group communication, are becoming more and more important in society. Through drama classes, let them first build trust in each other and then work together physically. No matter what they do, they need to learn to communicate, learn to work as a team, and need to develop self-confidence. They will need these in the future.

Art Class

In the slightly messy art room, students are busy creating the works in front of them.

Mary Jo is the art teacher at this school. In art classes, she pushes kids out of their comfort zones and lets them take risks. Introduce something new that they have never been involved in before, and in the process of learning new things, they will learn a lot from each other, even more than they learn from the teacher.

In the school, there is also a display area dedicated to students' works. Each piece of beautiful artwork shows the students' unusual creative skills.

Literature class

In the literature class, the students sat in a circle and were discussing T.S Eliot's "Prelude" under the guidance of Teacher Angela.

The teacher kept asking the students questions about their thoughts after listening to this poem, what the poet emphasized and wanted to express, as well as various techniques, symbolic meanings and other specific details. Through thinking and discussing these issues, we can discover the social background, people's feelings, etc. behind the poems, which triggers an outcry.

In class, the host asked curiously whether the students would be required to recite this poem. Because in Asian societies (China), this approach is very common.

A student responded. He said that he learns a poem because he likes it. I want the interpretation to express it, not to memorize it in the brain.

From the answer to this question, we can get a glimpse of the difference in teaching concepts between China and the West. Obviously, the latter is more open and scalable.

Group discussion class

The primary school of Dulwich College is having a group discussion class at this time. The topic this time is: How to provide travel facilities for disabled people in the school community. Such an event takes place once a month. In addition to discussing people with disabilities, there are also many topics about politics. The winning team will present it to the whole school.

Francesca, a teacher in the primary school, told the host that the sixth-grade children will also go to the school in the refugee camp and will help them organize sports day activities. So not only do I stay in this comfortable campus, I also go out to see the larger world. There will be a lot of charity work and a lot of fundraising events. Thinking about connecting communities, not just donating money, but thinking about what can be done.

The teachers deliberately created many opportunities for the children to speak in front of the whole class and discuss with each other.

"If you go out into the world, you must learn to be complete in front of people. Express yourself confidently. This is a very important ability."

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< p> A conversation with Principal Patrick of Westminster School

Question 1: Are there any key questions you ask students when interviewing them?

Answer: What excites them? What they care about is whether students are enthusiastic and passionate.

During this period, the principal mentioned some of his past events.

The principal's education system was very poor when he was a child, and later he went to Cambridge University through his own efforts. When he was 14 years old, his then principal told him: Never be ashamed of your origins, there is no limit to your future life. He said the most important thing is to be yourself.

On the last day of the principal's life, he sat down with Principal Patrick for a final conversation. The principal said that he hoped he would never forget that his life had changed, and what followed was the responsibility to give back to society. He said he hoped he would remember six words, what Martin Luther King said: What have you done for others.

These six words not only changed Principal Patrick’s life, they were also what motivated him to get up and start his day every day.

What he hopes to do is to make every student who comes to Westminster Public School understand that in addition to the important courses emphasized, they also have the responsibility to contribute to society.

Question 2: Education is a business card of British society. What do you think is the best part about British education?

A: I think all schools, private or top-notch public schools, focus on more than just the classroom, teaching, and testing. We encourage young people to fully participate in society. That's the special part. We should avoid rote learning and teach children to think critically and independently. (Social Responsibility)

Conversation with Dr. Spencer, Principal of Dulwich College

Principal: I believe that communication, especially verbal communication, is to maximize life and Experience is the key. I hope that Dulwich College students will not be subordinate to anyone, nor feel they are above anyone else. I don’t want them to feel like they can’t speak out because there are people above them. I also don’t want them to feel that some people are inferior and to belittle them verbally. The biggest innovation we have made in the past few years is to allow students to participate in interview discussions for recruiting teachers. We want students to realize that they are the ones running this school. I hope they have ideas and I hope they participate in everything at school.

From the above summary, it is not difficult to find that elite education in the UK seems to only exist in private schools. This naturally leads to the current practical problem of the solidification of the lower class in elite education in Britain.

So how do senior news editors Martin and Dr. Spencer view this and propose improvement measures?

Martin: There is indeed a huge gap between the public and private education systems. Of course, only a small number of people have the opportunity to study in private schools. Under such circumstances, I think it is very detrimental to society because ordinary people cannot obtain the best educational opportunities. Because people with wealth and connections can enter private schools.

They can afford the best education, go to Oxford and Cambridge universities, and then hold important positions across the country. They remain in the country's elite.

In the discussion on this topic, the host asked Principal Spencer this question.

Question: (Dulwich College) This is a private school, but not an elite school. What's the difference?

Answer: It depends on the definition of "elite". Words like "elite" and "elite education" carry a lot of weight. Elite means being very good at something, leading at something, so by those definitions, an elite school is a top school. But if elite means some closed class, then I would say we are not an elite school. We are quite top academically. The boys who enter our school are in the top 15% of their age group in terms of academic performance.

At some point in the past, British schools became very exclusive and favored social elitism. Perhaps financial resources, at that time, were a necessity for schools, keeping them open only to the very wealthy. But if you ask me where our schools will develop in the future, then I think aristocratic schools are no longer mainstream.

I hope that our school can become a place where people from all backgrounds can come, and that the proportion of students entering on scholarships can reach 50% (so far it is 30%).

Under the current situation where the British elite education class is solidified, where is the educational outlet for ordinary people. Dame Christine, who was once the chief inspector of British private schools, used her own story to tell what "the most suitable education" is.

"I was not a happy student and didn't like school at all. The curriculum back then was very monotonous, like no science classes for girls. When I was about 13, I stopped going to school. From then on. From then on, I will be completely self-study. I will study science, obtain qualifications, and then pass these certificates to become a qualified teacher.

I hope that my students will become better people than me and give them a better education. /p>

So one thing I’ve learned over the years in studying schools around the world, and schools in the UK, is that there are thousands of paths to excellence, and there is no one formula.

For parents, the secret is to know your children and make sure that the school they choose is really suitable for their children."

When the host further talked to Dame Christine about the importance of private schools. When expanding overseas, how to ensure quality, the Baroness said it is very difficult. Because in the UK, private schools are regulated by the government. If they are not up to par, watchdogs will use enforcement powers to make them improve. Once you leave this legal system and go to other countries, you will not be subject to the same supervision with law enforcement effectiveness. Another point is the international teacher market. The supply of international teachers is often more fluid than within the UK. This also creates some particular challenges for British schools set up outside the UK.

At the end of the documentary, the following three paragraphs are displayed on the left:

From this paragraph, we can judge that the fixed problems of the British elite education class are loosening. Perhaps they No longer just for the rich, elite education became universal.

* The series "Childhood in a Foreign Country" was published on the WeChat public account "Children's Gentle Homeland"

A warm public account focusing on the growth of children.