I went to middle school and high school in the United States.

Author: Gong Ang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: High school is not only a cradle for nurturing scientists and writers but also a fertile ground for cultivating engineers and accountants. The real world provides us with a vast examination hall, and we must achieve high scores in this hall. Why did the University of Hong Kong reject 11 top mainland college entrance exam candidates? Because world-renowned universities admit well-rounded individuals, not just those with high scores. From simple assignments to a massive 500-hour project, as we complete each task, we grow and mature. Reading Gong Ang's book "My Middle School Life in the U.S." from cover to cover was a great experience. It allows Chinese students to understand how American students learn and provides valuable insights for teachers. As China is implementing new curriculum reforms and promoting inquiry-based learning, many teachers struggle to understand it and don’t know how to design inquiry-based lessons. Gong Ang’s book offers numerous examples. Inquiry-based teaching may seem chaotic at first, lacking systematic foundational knowledge, but is the knowledge students gain through such exploration truly limited? In this engaging atmosphere, where they collect materials and explore independently, can the knowledge they acquire not be solid? Can their personality and innovative abilities not develop? I truly admire them for introducing first-year middle school students to Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Monet, and Picasso, and for helping them understand their styles and appreciate the beauty of their paintings—it’s truly remarkable.
"My High School Homework" introduces Gong Ang’s high school assignments across various subjects and how teachers’ requirements were met by students. In my opinion, this series is not only suitable for middle school students but also for teachers. In inquiry-based learning, many teachers don’t know how to design inquiry-based instruction or how to foster students’ subjectivity and initiative. I believe that reading this series will provide inspiration.
The author authentically records the learning and life of American middle school students through personal experience, vividly showcasing examples of U.S. quality education full of the times. It narrates the efforts of American middle school students in independently constructing knowledge systems and curricula, cultivating scientific literacy and humanistic sentiments. Middle school students can fully experience the process of nurturing innovative spirit and practical ability through the active, inquiry-based, and collaborative learning model. The detailed descriptions of quality education in the book offer great inspiration for broadening learning horizons, fostering communication, cooperation, and independent analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as preparing for comprehensive assessments. Middle school teachers can draw inspiration from the numerous problem-based, interactive, and collaborative teaching cases to enrich classroom organization and explore new inquiry-based teaching models that align with modern standards, cultivating high-achieving and capable students who meet the demands of the times and society.