Interview: Global Leadership and Scholarship from someone who knows.

Fang is the kind of student academic institutions dream about. From a very early age, she has performed near the top of her group of extraordinary peers throughout her years of education both in her native China and now, most recently, in the US at a highly ranked research university.

Fang attended one of the top key high schools in China. ( Key high schools are the equivalent to magnet high schools in the US except they are much more selective to get into. The number of students who take the test to get into a key high school in China dwarfs the number of applicants to magnet schools like Stuyvesant High School in New York or Thomas Jefferson HS in Virginia.) While there, she ran for and won the office of head of the student union.  In addition to her leadership abilities, Fang is also an accomplished musician, artist, and calligrapher. She has played the piano since the age of 3 and has added flute, guitar, and the Gu Zheng, a traditional Chinese instrument.  It should not be a surprise to learn she has perfect pitch.

Fang playing the Gu Zheng

 The goal of every top Chinese student is get accepted to one of the top two universities: Beida (known to some in the West as Peking University) and Tsinghua. Beida is often compared to Harvard and Tsinghua to MIT.  Scores on a national exam, the Gaokao, determine entrance into Chinese universities. The test is a two-day marathon and is far more challenging than the SAT. The odds of getting accepted into these schools are almost unimaginably small. 

Fang, however, secured a coveted place at Beida. During her time there she was involved in many activities, but the taste she had of leadership in her high school encouraged her to continue on this path. She was elected the President of the student union for her entire university. This position is anything but ceremonial. She and her fellow student members worked closely with the administration on issues that match and often surpass any of those student leaders are involved with in the US.  

Beida

Her overall performance earned her a place studying economics in a prestigious PHD program in the US. For those who do not know, a Chinese national is at a significant disadvantage when applying to economics PhD programs. The reason, ironically, is mathematically simple and statistics based. Hundreds of the top economics students in China, as well as many of those Chinese students who have come to the US for undergraduate study in mathematics and economics, apply for the handful of spaces in PhD programs at top schools. Many of these students have grades, GRE testing, and activities that far exceed those of all other non-Chinese applicants. But schools do not wish to have only all Chinese graduate students, for reasons that are obvious, if not fair, to the individuals who comprise this group of students. Therefore, getting accepted into one of these programs as a Chinese national is an exceptional achievement.

Fang and other Chinese students at the Chinese Embassy, Washington D.C.

But Fang has not been satisfied to excel in her classes and as an instructor. Once again, she has taken on the role of a leader. In her university she has served as the President of the Chinese Student Association. She has set up visits with dignitaries at the Chinese Embassy in DC and has overseen a showcase that celebrate Chinese culture, through music, dance, videos etc. for her university and the local community.  I have attended hundreds of cultural events over many years, but this particular display of talent and cultural pride is among the most impressive set of talents I have been witness to at any place and at any time.

What follows is Part I of some of her comments during the course of a two and half hour interview. I am lucky to have been given the time to discuss with Fang a wide range of issues. Fang is not just a brilliant student, a great leader and teacher, but someone who cares deeply about her country and about issues that are not covered in classes or papers. I think you will find her comments instructive and inspiring. I certainly did.

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Can you describe your background?

I am a typical Chinese student, in that I am an only child. My mother started to take time to supplement my structured education when I was about 3. At that time she began teaching me the keyboard for the piano. She was very involved in my education through my high school years. She had high expectations and pushed me to always do my best.

Was she a tiger mom (the phrase tiger mom became popular after the book was published. Tiger mom’s can be defined as mothers who push their children very hard and have clear expectations for superior performance in all activities and academic efforts.)

I have not read the book but my mom did have high expectations and did expect me to meet them through hard work. At times this was stressful but it also made me successful.

What was the atmosphere of your high school like? Were the classes focused primarily on doing well on the Gaokao?

My school offered many activities and was supportive in helping us prepare for the exams. I would say that a great deal of the education at that time was focused on memorization of huge amounts of material necessary to do well on the Gaokao.

But isn’t this approach to learning similar to what someone needs to do in order to get great on the piano? At the introductory and intermediate level a music student must practice scales endlessly before moving on to the more interpretative and theoretical aspects of the instrument.

I think it is true that there needs to be a sound foundation in subjects and that much of this takes place through memorization and practice.

Why did you decide to run for president of the student body?

My mother has been a leader in her career and she encouraged me to try to become a leader too. She helped me learn ways to approach the process, with speeches and with other things too. I doubt I would have run without her encouragement. I learned many things that I did not learn in classes that have helped me since. Public speaking, networking, and developing a campaign strategy are skills I still use.

You attended the crown jewel of universities in China. What was it like?

The atmosphere at Beida is much different than in US universities. I have found that in the US students often begin to work their hardest once at university. In China, a number of students have worked so hard to get accepted to top schools that once they get there they do not continue to work at quite the same level. Although students who attend Beida may have more opportunities after graduation, the competition for jobs is incredibly fierce.  On the other hand, many students in China continue to work very hard in order to secure a place at the great research universities in the US. It is true that even now the facilities and opportunities at top schools in the US are superior when it comes to graduate study. I would say this is particularly true in the areas of the hard sciences and in some areas of engineering.

Science Lab Building at Chinese University

 But this is changing isn’t it? The Chinese government has recently pledge over a trillion dollars to education. The goal is to improve educational opportunities from rural China all the way up to top schools.

This is quite true. The government and our culture have a long history of valuing education. Given the rise in the economy the focus on increasing opportunities in education is now one of the top priorities for our government and our country. Universities and even some high schools are building state of the art labs and are beginning to learn more about incorporating research and even  the format of a liberal arts education in some places. In the coming years there will be many more educational opportunities for Chinese student in China. The investment in education will likely change the flow of students coming to the US.

I think what you say is true. Schools in the US are cash-strapped and many are facing cutbacks. There is little interest in increasing revenues for education by taxes or government subsidies. It may well be that the children of students graduating in the US now may be pursuing the best educational opportunities in China. On the other hand, would you say that there are still learning practices that favor study in the US now?

I think I would agree that students in the US often compete favorably with a number of the students in China because they have learned creative problem solving techniques that are still not the norm in many schools in China. Some of the top students in my program are from the US, not because they came in with higher scores or grades, but because they are more willing to take academic risks and search for innovative solutions. I do, however, see that students from China are aware of this and are doing more to incorporate the Western style of individual solutions while at the same time learning to work creatively with others.

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Part II  continues the conversation. Fang's answers to some pointed political questions may surprise and educate some of us in the US and around the world.

How tightly does the administration oversee the lives of students in China? 

What kind of power do student leaders have?  

How do students  react on campus when an international incident occurs that affects China's foreign policy?