BBC: Math education in China

fabrizio
Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:42:44 +0000

The Chinese question tests solid geometry, a topic which was not even covered in my high school geometry class. (It wasn’t even in the textbook. Actual solid geometry is a lot more than just calculating volumes.)

I wonder what the critics of Chinese education (the “it’s not creative enough!” crowd) think regarding these two questions. I don’t think they appreciate the amount of creativity necessary to solve the first question.

The second question is far more representative of what mere memorization, a common criticism of Chinese education, does.