In a society such as America or Canada, which has many national, religious, and cultural differences, people highly value individualism—the differences among people. Teachers place a lot of importance on the qualities that make each student special. The educational systems in these countries show these values. Students do not memorize information. Instead, they work individually and find answers themselves. There is often discussion in the classroom. At an early age, students learn to form their own ideas and opinions.
In most Asian societies, by contrast (对比), the people have the same language, history, and culture. Perhaps for this reason, the educational system in much of the Orient (东方) reflects society’s belief in group goals and purposes rather than individualism. Children in China, Japan, and Korea often work together and help one another on assignments. In the classroom, the teaching methods are often very formal. The teacher lectures, and the students listen. There is not much discussion. Instead, the students recite rules or information that they have memorized.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these systems of education. For example, one advantage to the system in Japan is that students there learn much more math and science than American students do by the end of high school. They also study more hours each day and more days each year than North Americans do. The system is difficult, but it prepares students for a society that values discipline (纪律) and self-control. There is, however, a disadvantage. Memorization is an important learning method in Japanese schools, yet many students say that after an exam, they forget much of the information that they have memorized.
The advantage of the educational system in North American, on the other hand, is that students learn to think for themselves. The system prepares them for a society that values creative ideas. There is , however, a disadvantage. When students graduate from high school, they haven’t memorized as many basic rules and facts as students in other countries have.

	Students in the US and (71)__________	Students in China, Japan and Korean
What do they value?	(72)__________	(73)_________ goals and purposes
Ways of study	working individually	listen to the teachers
forming their own ideas and opinions	memorizing (74)__________
a lot of discussion in the classroom	not much discussion
(75)________	Learning to think for themselves	learning much more maths and (76)__________by the end of high(77)__________
studying more hours each day and more days each year
good for a society that values(78)__________ ideas.	good for a society valuing (79)__________ and self-control
disadvantages	students haven’t memorized many basic rules and facts before(80)__________	Information is forgotten easily

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