This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
High school students in Asia often do better than American students on international math and science tests. Experts say part of this is because schools in countries like China and South Korea do better at preparing students to take tests. Yet some of these same countries want to learn what makes American students good at creativity and critical thinking.
亚洲高中学生通常在国际数学和科学竞赛中比美国学生表现得更好。专家表示，这其中部分原因是由于中韩等国家在培养学生应试上做得更好。然而，这其中一些国家希望了解美国学生优于创造力和批判性思维的原因。
Foreign educators often visit Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington. This past summer, seventy-five school principals visited from China.
国外教师经常访问弗吉尼亚州亚历山德里亚市的托马斯杰斐逊高中，这所学校邻近华盛顿。今年夏天，来自中国的75名学校校长访问了该校。
Evan Glazer, the principal of Thomas Jefferson, says the school combines science and math with literature and other liberal arts.
托马斯杰斐逊高中校长埃文·格雷泽（Evan Glazer）表示，该校将科学和数学与文学及其它文科相结合起来。
EVAN GLAZER: "Curriculum, when it's seen within one particular context, you're really just developing knowledge and skills. But if you want to look at the complexity of real problems and original solutions, it requires people to come at them from different angles. And so we foster a lot of team teaching, with pairing up teachers from different disciplines so that, when they're offering challenges to students, that they have a variety of perspectives as they approach problems."
格雷泽：“在某种特定背景下看教学课程，它只是开发知识和技能。但如果你想看到实际问题的复杂性和解决办法，就需要人们从不同角度来探索。所以我们通过将来自不同学科的教师进行组合，培养了许多教学团队。因此，当他们给学生提供挑战时，他们有各种观点来处理问题。”
The admissions process is intensely competitive. Thomas Jefferson is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools but serves a wider area. The number of students from families of Asian ethnicity at the school reached fifty percent this past year.
学校录取过程竞争非常激烈。托马斯杰斐逊高中是费尔法克斯县的公立学校之一。过去一年里，该校来自亚裔家庭的学生比例达到了50%。
The program was created in partnership with local businesses in nineteen eighty-five. The goal was to improve education in science, math and technology.
这些课程与当地企业合作，创立于1985年。目的是提高科学、数学和技术方面的教育。
Some students do university-level research in fields such as microelectronics, neuroscience and biotechnology. Students can also learn from working with professionals, says Mr. Glazer.
有的学生在微电子学、神经科学和生物技术等领域进行大学层次的研究。格雷泽先生表示，学生们还可以通过与专业人士共事学到知识。
EVAN GLAZER: "We certainly cultivate a culture of inquiry and research so that students can do original work. That's part of our mindset. But I think, as Americans, I think we pride ourselves in our ability to constantly generate new ideas for the benefit of humanity."
格雷泽：“我们无疑是在培养一种探索研究的文化，这样学生就能够从事独创性工作。这是我们的部分观念。但我认为，作为美国人，我们为能够不断带来造福人类的新创意而自豪。”
In East Asia, the focus of high school is often to prepare students for college entrance exams. But Mr. Glazer says in recent years China has been developing experimental schools. These offer more student-centered learning the way many top American schools do.
在东亚，高中的重点往往放在给学生准备高考上。但格雷泽先生表示，近年来中国已经发展了很多实验学校。这些学校师从美国顶尖学校，更多以学生为中心。
EVAN GLAZER: "And I think that's part of the American mindset that we've had pride in as a country for so many years -- of the idea that everyone can bring original ideas. And I think East Asia senses that, and they certainly see the benefit to our innovation as a country."
格雷泽：“我认为这是我们国家多年来为之自豪的美国观念的一部分，每个人都能带来独到见解。同时我认为东亚意识到了这点，他们无疑看到了这对美国创新的好处。”
He points out that as East Asian countries consider greater freedom for their schools, American education is headed in the opposite direction. Most states have recently approved common standards in math and reading.
他指出，正当东亚国家考虑给学校提供更大自由的时候，美国教育正朝反方向前进。美国多数州最近已经通过了数学和阅读方面的共同标准。
EVAN GLAZER: "In China and in Korea there is a strong interest in trying to get students to be more creative. And in America there is a strong interest in standardization. And, you know, the reality is we don't operate in one world or the other. It's trying to find that right balance."
格雷泽：“中国和韩国有浓厚兴趣试图让学生更富创造性，美国却有着标准化的浓厚兴趣。你知道，事实是我们并非背道而驰，而只是试图找到适当的平衡。”
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