A Comparative Study on Family Education between China and America

【摘要】：家庭教育是整個教育的重要組成部分，在整個教育體系中意義重大，是兒童啟蒙教育的主要部分。如今，世界各國都對家庭教育產生了很大的關注，但是在很多方面，各國家庭教育存在很大差異，如中國以血緣關系為基礎的人際關系，注重和為美。而美國則推崇個人中心，以理性的基本原則來處理家庭事務。

【關鍵詞】：家庭教育;集體主義;個人主義

Introduction

Family education is a process of cultivating the underage children by their parents and other adults of family. As we all know， it is an important part of education. According to the statistics of researcher， family education takes up 70%， school education takes up 20% and social education takes up 10% about education in China. Although it is existing the difference between China and America， family education also takes up the largest portions. As we all know， it is an important part of education. As Lu Xun once said， ‘you can predict the situation of next twenty years through observe the behaviour of the ten year old children; you can predict the situation of their children and grandchildren and then predict the situation of China in next fifty or seventy years through observe the ten years old children who will have the their own children in next ten or twenty years’. As the importance of family education has been realized in the world， the educators of all over the world are paying more attention to it. And now， the topic of how to do family education has become a worth studying area.

Reasons for the Different Family Education between China and America

Different Cultural Backgrounds

The culture of a nation is gradually accumulated in the long history. Different cultural background produces different views of life， world and values.

In ancient times， they have the self-sufficient agricultural life， so Chinese are fond of conservative and steady life. From this point， Chinese pursue stable and collective life. People rely on each other. However， American is an immigrant country which is influenced by the renaissance and the enlightenment， so Americans are more open and independent.

Different Ways of Thinking

Different social condition is one of the objective reasons for different family education between China and America. Different social condition means people have different views on family education and life.

Chinese stress moderation and euphemism. When they have different opinions with others， they are poor at arguing with others because they think they do not have to succeed in speech and fail in emotion. They believe friendship is more important， so they prefer showing their tolerance instead of insist on their own opinions. However， Americans follow their heart. Faced with different views， they do well in arguing with others and persuading others. They have their own opinions and they seldom give in unless others have enough evidence to let them believe.

Different Ways of Thinking

Ways of thinking is an important part of nation’s culture， which is stable and continuous. Different ways of thinking leads to different attitudes to life and ways of dealing with things. Thus， different ways of thinking between China and America produces the difference of family education.

Chinese stress moderation and euphemism. When they have different opinions with others， they are poor at arguing with others because they think they do not have to succeed in speech and fail in emotion. They believe friendship is more important， so they prefer showing their tolerance instead of insist on their own opinions. However， Americans emphasis truth and explore. Faced with different views， they do well in arguing with others and persuading others. They have their own opinions and they seldom give in unless others have enough evidence to let them believe.

Conclusion

Family is the first school and parents are the fist teachers for children. A man's personalities are shaped in the family environment. Parents need to change the traditional philosophy of family education. Parents should respect and trust children， respect their individualities and talents， learn about their opinions， and give them more space. Parents should also emphasize and encourage intellectual independence of children， allowing children to follow their own interests freely. In addition， parents should meet their interests when they discover their special talents， and view children in a long-term vision. Once children are confronted with unfamiliar situation or problems， parents should encourage them to face and handle them on their own so that the children can make a promotion on their interpersonal skills and obtain an all-round development step by step. All in all， Chinese parents should provide a warm and harmonious haven for children to stay， to release， to find and to help children grow patiently.

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