Задание

Match the headlines with the paragraphs

Of the different beliefs about what education is for, Chinese schools lean very strongly towards the memorisation and retention of facts. This is demonstrated in the gaokao, the university admissions exam, which depends on what a student can memorise and repeat; analysis and critical thinking are not tested. This is one of the reasons why China excels so much in producing scientists, engineers and mathematicians — while these subjects do still require a good deal of critical thinking, rote learning is certainly more helpful here than in arts subjects. It's also been suggested that China's language, as well as its culture, has contributed to this style of education. To be literate in Chinese requires memorisation of thousands of characters, so while reading and writing in languages like English can be taught through other methods, some rote learning is essential for students of Chinese. While teachers in countries like Britain might argue that rote learning is antithetical to critical thinking, and encourage their students to question what they're being taught as part of the learning process, teachers in China believe that memorisation is an aid to understanding, and that the two work in tandem.

Students are able to attend classes even during floods.

70% of the total land area of Bangladesh is less than a metre above sea level. It's hit by a triple whammy of bad luck being situated on the Ganges Delta, prone to flooding during the monsoon season, and affected by rainfall from the Himalayas. All of this in combination means around a fifth of the country floods every year.

The country is demographically unusual, too — of Bangladesh's population of 165 million, 32% are under the age of 15, so the school-age population is huge and places a significant financial burden on state finances. Conventional schools have to close during flooding, leaving millions of children with no access to education, so Bangladesh has had to come up with an innovative solution: flood-proof schools on boats. Non-profits working in Bangladesh have played a significant role in providing these floating schools, often powered by solar panels, that mean children can get an education even when the floods are at their worst.

Of the different approaches to education outlined above, Japan's school system appears to prioritise producing good citizens. Moral education has been taught informally in Japan for decades, but it is gaining ever more prominence in the Japanese curriculum, being taught in some schools on a par with subjects such as Japanese or mathematics.

The subject covers many topics that seem uncontroversial, such as compassion, persistence, and some life skills. In this way, it isn't dissimilar to subjects such as Citizenship or Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in British school, except that much more classroom time is devoted to it. However, there is also an emphasis on diligence, endurance and generally working hard to an extent that might seem excessive in other cultures, as well as topics such as national heritage that could be seen to have nationalistic overtones when taught in the context of morality, rather than more neutrally in a subject such as history.