少子化下的教育投資 Simpler            

在一胎化的教育體制下，中國大陸父母對小孩的教育支出十分捨得。根據調查，北京、上海地區夫婦所得的三分之一都花在小孩身上，由此可見大陸都會區對小孩教育投入的程度。

Under China’s one-child policy, parents are proving to be more generous in funding their children’s education. Surveys show that parents in Beijing and Shanghai spend about one-third of their income on their children. This shows the commitment to educating children that prevails in China’s cities.

台灣知識分子培養子女的態度雖然較多元，但是「望子成龍、望女成鳳」的心還是很殷切。根據《商業周刊》和教育部等單位的調查統計，台灣的父母培養一名碩士級的菁英人才，最少要花費新台幣三百五十一萬餘元，最多要花八百三十九萬餘元。如果兩個小孩都念私立學校系統，再到美國長春藤名校拿碩士，父母親必須準備一千六百餘萬元。

Intellectuals in Taiwan have a greater variety of attitudes towards their children’s education, but traditional beliefs in the value of education are still widely held. According to studies by Business Weekly and the Ministry of Education, it cost parents in Taiwan at least NT$ 3.51 million to bring up and keep a child to the Master’s level, and some spend as much as NT$8.39 million. And parents with two children who attend private schools then proceed to take Master’s degrees in Ivy League schools in the USA have to spend more than NT$16 million.

海峽兩岸的父母多不希望下一代輸在起跑線上，於是，三歲幼兒住校的故事也就見怪不怪。這是一場始於三歲的戰爭。究竟，培育未來戰士的競爭力在哪裡？智育與技能，是這場三歲戰爭的關鍵嗎？人格養成與前兩者相較，孰輕孰重？不同父母有不同教育哲學。

Parents on both sides of the Taiwan Straits want their children to be winners right from the starting blocks, and it is not unusual to see children as young as three attending boarding schools. This is a war that starts at the age of three. But what do these future warriors gain in terms of competitiveness? Are intellectual development and technical skills the critical elements in a war for three-year-olds? And what is more important – those two factors, or building character? Different parents will of course have different philosophies of education.

菁英群 the elite(不可數)   a member of the elite

據統計  statistics compiled (by the Ministry) over 3 years show that…