Family education is more important than school selection

Should working class families spend all their money to have their children attend the best elementary schools and become the "phoenix's tail" (being at the bottom among the top students), or attend ordinary elementary schools and become the "rooster's head" (being at the top among the bottom students)? Recently, this discussion went up on the list of trendy topics of a knowledge sharing platform, and soon reached other discussion forums. Educational anxiety always attracts wide attention.

Evidently, this is caused by the inequality in educational resource allocation. But it is also related to various training institutions "stirring up" the problem. However, as our anxiety gets more extreme, we need to calm down and reexamine the so-called "phoenix's tail" and "rooster's head", figure out essential educational facts and logic, so as to avoid making false judgments.

Education is not omnipotent, let alone school education. A person's growth is extremely complex, where genetics, environment, education, and other factors combine to make their impacts. This means that we cannot simplify education and assume that choosing "top elementary schools" is the solution to everything. If we talk about the most quantifiable academic achievements for children, what are they related to? An influential conclusion comes from the Coleman report, which analyzed 600,000 students from 4,000 schools in the U.S. They reached the conclusion that among all the factors which have impacts on students' academic achievements, family is more important than school. Students with the most stable academic achievements come from middle class families. Coleman explains that in these families, confidence and achievement are rooted in the supervision and protection by the adults in the families. Whereas most children with poor scores lack the self-confidence that they can change and control their futures.

It is not hard to understand parents who expect their children to have bright futures. However, in my own perspective, compared with selecting a certain school for children, the characteristics of parents themselves, the attitude and practice they display are perhaps more important. After all, to children, what is most important is not the environment itself, but how to know and treat one's environment. Cultivating their interests, helping them building good habits, and stimulating their self-motivation can help children go farther compared to attending a renowned school.

We need to be more vigilant to the hidden environmental deterministic view behind the talk about "phoenix's tail" and "rooster's head". Education itself implies constant change. No one can guarantee that a child who ranks at the bottom of one school will become outstanding at another school. Furthermore, "phoenix's tail" and "rooster's head" reveals a thick competitive flavor. However, children's relationships in school are not purely competitive. Good school education should guide children to learn to cooperate and coexist with each other, reduce competition, and not do the opposite. In fact, suitable education is the best education. What is the most suitable education then? It is simply weighing the comprehensive healthy developments of children. Anything that is conducive to this goal is suitable. When selecting schools for children, some parents only consider the reputation, environment, teachers, peer competitiveness and other factors, all except considering children themselves. Parents needs to consider the thoughts of their children and make decisions together with them. Through the course of guidance and negotiation, this is also a process of respecting children and helping them grow.

Contributed by: Liu Qiaoli, associate research fellow at the National Institute of Education Sciences