Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School and the Global Race to Achieve

An exploration of China's widely acclaimed yet insular education system shares insights into how their examples are shaping the future of American parenting and education.

China's widely acclaimed yet insular education system is held up as a model of academic and behavioral excellence. Chu, an American journalist of Chinese descent raising a young family in Shanghai, noticed how well-behaved Chinese children were compared to her boisterous toddler. Enrolling three-year-old Rainer in China's state-run public school system, the immediate results were positive. But Chu also noticed troubling new behaviors, and discovered a military-like education system driven by high-stakes testing.