Having gone through the security checkpoint at Xi'an airport, I started wandering about various duty-free shops before my departure to Beijing. A book was drawn to my attention - Never be afraid of re-curving one's life path again (人生不怕重来). Written by my favorite Chinese actress Liu Xiaoqing (刘晓庆), the title of the book explicitly demonstrated her extraordinary personality. Being a public figure, her ups and downs have never escaped the public eye. She is a legend to me as she has never stopped stretching herself to the limit, regardless of any challenges and difficulties. Age proved no obstacle to her, and she became successful in several different fields outside her successful acting career.

Holding the book, I found my strength. I am not alone, even though I cannot be on the same scale as she. Here I am, having made myself a Post Threshold Teacher of Science in the UK, returning to my native land to offer British A-level teacher-training courses to Chinese teachers. It feels like a dream to me as building a bridge between the two countries and training teachers to teach with a global view have been my desire for years.

Chinese secondary schools are very diverse these days in terms of regional economic differences. Bilingual schools, for instance, were absent back in my old days. Students now follow British IGCSE, IB & A-Level syllabuses, as well as the Advanced Placement (AP) programme provided by the United States and Canada, and their aims are to obtain A/A* grades at A-level in pursuit of places at top universities overseas. The size of class is small, and school facilities are outstanding. Students come from economically fortunate families, most of whom are from newly formed middle or upper classes.

Teachers are young and ambitious, speak good English, and are keen to get on with their native English-speaking colleagues. They display a strong desire to receive further A-level training, and wish to study PGCE in England. Students, for their part, are diligent, hard working, polite and well disciplined. Their work displays were first class. From fine art, calligraphy, woodwork, engineering to dance and drama performance, each display was nothing like amateur, absolutely professional. Impressed by this high quality of work, I realized why China has taken off and become more and more influential globally. China is never short of dedicated, intrinsically motivated young people who have the right attitude, are willing to work hard and are determined to achieve high no matter what. Furthermore, with the strong financial support from their families, who could compete with them?

During my stay in Xi'an, I had a chance to speak to the principal of an International School, who comes from Newcastle and speaks with a slight Northern accent. Talking to the English principal, I pointed him to my mother's flat, where I lived and grew up. It is situated within the campus, but on the other side of the school football playground. What a world! Is this the effect of globalization that I have experienced in person? An English man lives and works in the school of my hometown, and I, a Chinese woman, lives and works in London.

The role of education is driven by a complex set of political and economic processes under the theme of globalization in the 21st century. The growing integration of economies and societies in the world, due to the greater flow of goods, services, capital, technology and ideas, have increased economic interdependence among countries, reduced the barriers to population mobility, and offered opportunities for all nations. The new forms of social capital that have emerged in the global realm could potentially shake up the established stability of people's social identities, reform relationships, and offer opportunities to those who are well prepared for the radical changes. The world is getting increasingly flat!

Reflecting on England, an article in the TES suggesting "Learning through Gambling" drew my attention. It claimed that "Gambling pupils scream with excitement as they learn" and referred to "…children actually screaming with pleasure and excitement when tackling educational tasks," and "Classroom learning can generate the same thrill as gambling or riding a rollercoaster, when an element of chance is introduced, a new study suggests".

"Does this take the students-centered learning strategy one step too far?" I thought to myself. Yes, indeed, it is our teachers' duty to engage students, make lessons fun, and reward them when progress was made; but do students have to be praised and awarded for every little bit of work they do? Aren't they supposed to work hard to complete their work the best they can? Do they have to be stimulated in learning? Where is their intrinsic motivation?

In my view, a lot of young people do not need extrinsic motivation such as "if you do this, then you will get that" to apply themselves to tasks.

Such a notion for learning offers students little faith in their own independence, but misguides general public into thinking that all students have to be rewarded and stimulated in order to learn. It suggests that learning itself has no pleasure to bestow other than to get a reward and excitement to carry on. It fundamentally devalues the purpose of teaching and learning and turns deeper inquiries in knowledge into short bursts of tasks and activities in pursuit of excitement and stimuli as its end. I am truly worried about the directions in which British education is heading, especially when the idea and claim come from a scholar, funded by the Welcome Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation.

What is the purpose of learning? Education becomes meaningless if it does not help to create better human beings. The end is geared to get students learning 'stuff' needed to pass exams, no matter what method is used. Do we want people who are clever enough to perform tasks, capable of using modern technology to generate economic capital, but not clever enough to appreciate the gains from the cultural achievement of the past and act upon it?  

Learning through Gambling? Too much verbal praise and rewards while learning has become less meaningful and less appreciated by students. Being tough on kids does not seem to be the British way, and too much attention on them tends to have a negative effect.

While Westerners often conceive struggling as a sign of weakness, Chinese consider struggling as a sign of strength. It illustrates the spirit of not giving up easily, of continually exercising and practising repetitively until one masters the subject. "Struggle today, strengthen tomorrow" is the philosophy that makes Chinese students tougher. Besides this, respecting knowledge and those who possess knowledge, as a social cultural norm, has contributed not only to students' academic success, but also to their positive attitude and behaviour in classrooms.

The reason why British schools are popular with Chinese is their strong educational traditions. One of the Chinese philosopher Confucius's quotes, "treating others the way one would like to be treated oneself", can be seen through the prism of British politeness and good manners. Therefore, Confucian principles also reside within British traditional values that are greatly admired by the Chinese. We must understand that the reason why many Chinese spend a fortune sending their children to British schools is because of the strong attraction of traditional British culture and values, not learning through gambling.

As significant as globalization becomes, different cultural values and beliefs are getting blended with each other, necessitating teachers to teach with a global view, equip students with knowledge, skills and the right attitude to compete in the increasingly competitive global market.