Nancy’s Books
One in a Billion
Book Description
This powerful story immerses readers in the dramatic survival of one outspoken man who illuminates the souls of a billion ordinary Chinese citizens. An Wei—a stubborn, hardworking peasant who has lived by his values and stood up for his convictions—has succeeded against all odds in the authoritarian environment of China. Despite grinding poverty, hunger, reeducation campaigns, and attacks from jealous peers, An Wei continues to inspire with his daring achievements, such as launching a democratic congress in his own village. His compelling life provides a vivid backdrop for understanding the development of modern China from the unique perspective of an outspoken citizen. Through his audacious determination and survival skills forged in rural poverty, An Wei’s unstoppable drive to improve himself and rural China will captivate and enthrall readers.
“Combining lucid, concise descriptions of China’s history with intimate details of peasant commune life culled from a decade’s worth of interviews with An Wei, Pine presents an eye-opening portrait of how ordinary Chinese people can become driving forces for reform. Readers seeking to go beyond the headlines about China will learn much from this account.”
— Publishers Weekly
Educating Young Giants: What Kids Learn
(And Don’t Learn) in China and America
Educating Young Giants carries readers into Chinese and American elementary and high school classrooms, and highlights the big differences between schooling in China and the United States. Nancy Pine reveals how these two countries need to extract themselves from outmoded practice and learn from each other’s strengths.
I wish I had read Nancy Pine’s Educating Young Giants, What Kids Learn (and Don’t learn) in China and America before I went to China! It’s a thoughtful and thorough account that starts with classrooms in both nations that come alive in her telling. She has a familiarity with both, and a breadth in both, that makes her efforts to draw from them very credible. And she’s a good storyteller.
—Deborah Meier, Senior Scholar, New York University Steinhardt School of Education, and MacArthur Fellow
This useful comparison of primary education in China and the U.S. is a must-read for anyone involved with educational reform and assessment. Dr. Pine offers a well-documented, thorough, unbiased, and up-to-date report. Challenging current educational reforms to be more responsive to rapid changes around us, she provides insightful observations that should lead the way.
– Alice S. Huang, California Institute of Technology
中美基础教育大碰撞
中美两国在对待数学教育的态度和方式上有什么差异？教师的角色和任务有何不同？课堂教育是强调学生对于课本的深入理解还是侧重学生本身的独立思考？两国教育对勤奋和天赋的强调有何差异？学业和考试压力的不同在哪里？两国语言对学习的潜在影响是什么？教学环境与纪律的设定有何不同？大学入学的竞争差异在哪里？
作为资深教育专家，作者在二十年的时间里往来中美之间数十次，走访旁听了两国各地多所学校的课堂教育，与老师、教育者、家长、孩子们进行了广泛的交流。在本书中，她忠实记录了自己在两国课堂旁听的所观所感，充满了生动的细节描述。难能可贵的是，作者在差异比较中尽量保持了客观与公正，尽可能全面和深入地分析了中美两国的教育者、决策人和父母在教育实施中各自的优点和缺点。
Praise for Educating Young Giants
“I wish I had read Nancy Pine’s Educating Young Giants, What Kids Learn (and Don’t learn) in China and America before I went to China in 2007! It’s a thoughtful and thorough account that starts with classrooms in both nations that come alive in her telling. She has a familiarity with both, and a breadth in both, that makes her efforts to draw from them very credible. And she’s a good storyteller.” —Deborah Meier, Senior Scholar, New York University Steinhardt School of Education, and MacArthur Fellow
“Dr. Pine has spent twenty years studying educational practices in classrooms throughout China and the United States with observant eyes, clarity of description, and insight that allows us to see what we have not seen before: the strengths and challenges of each system. The brilliance of Pine’s book exemplifies how educators in China and the United States can learn from and with each other in an international professional community that she has nurtured throughout her career. This book is for academics in universities and practitioners in classrooms, school districts, and state departments of education.” —Dr. Christelle Estrada, Secondary English Language Arts Specialist, Utah State Office of Education
“A must read! Educating Young Giants is an insightful comparison of educational philosophies and practices between China and the U.S. This book has the potential to create a new learning experience based on the best from both countries.” — Alice S. Huang, California Institute of Technology
“Nancy Pine in Educating Young Giants: What Kids Learn (And Don’t Learn) in China and America provides a marvelous tapestry of experiences through which to experience teaching and learning in China and in the U.S. and to appreciate the realities and nuances of American and Chinese schooling. Pine uses her unique experiences with her research and teaching in both the United States and China to provide in-depth profiles of the historical and cultural influences on their education, to highlight their strengths and challenges, and to consider what each country can learn from the other.
“Through her personal narratives, she examines rich vignettes to document how each country’s education history continues to influence the education practiced in today’s classroom instruction and in the nature of their examination systems. Educating Young Giants is illuminating for all to read. And for those who teach or visit classrooms regularly there are careful considerations for pondering how what they are understanding may benefit education in China and the U.S.” —Yetta Goodman, Professor Emerita University of Arizona, College of Education, Department of Language, Reading and Culture
“A fascinating book about teaching, learning, and the contrasting styles of the Chinese and U.S. education and cultural systems. Pine finds a way to highlight the best features of each system from a deep, practical understanding of both, offering a pathway for global collaboration in the twentieth-century. Whether you are a parent or an educator, you will find this book difficult to put down. Neither China nor the U.S. can afford to ignore or put aside the concepts brought forth in Pine’s fascinating book about the underpinnings of the educational and cultural systems of both countries.” —Louis Carrillo, Elementary School Principal, Los Angeles Unified School District