My husband is a smart cookie (and yes, I said ‘smart’ not ‘smartass’…although he is that too).
I mean, not only does he have an engineering degree, and speak two languages pretty fluently (one of them being Mandarin, a very difficult language to master), but he made it through school in China!
If you don’t know what that means or why it’s impressive, here’s the reason.
Pretty much whether you’re a student or a grown adult working a full-time job, Chinese kids work harder than you do. Don’t get offended; I’m sure you work hard (or not, whatever). But they work crazy-hard!
Uniforms and mandatory partner dancing during breaks between classes. Somehow, I don’t think this would go over well in Canada.
These kids get up at 6am to be at school by 7:30 to begin classes. Most of their classes are boring, lecture-style, with drills and rote memorization. They write exams like they’re going out of style (which, unfortunately for the students, they are not). High school students (or their parents) choose one of two streams in their final years – either a humanities stream, studying history, geography, and the sort, or a sciences stream, with advanced math, chemistry, and physics courses (guess which one is more popular?). To the best of my knowledge, they don’t get electives.
Students in one primary school made a nice timetable of their classes. I’m the lovely blonde head on Tuesday. (Also note, I don’t think 3 P.E. classes each week would meet the Daily Physical Activity guidelines from Alberta Education.)
Students finish school between 4:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon, at which point they attend other extracurricular classes to improve their scores in areas like English and Math, or to gain skills like art, music, and dance. Primary school kids generally make their way home around 9:00 in the evening, and middle school and high school students even later than that. Many of them still have a couple of hours of homework to finish before they can go to bed. They even go to class on the weekends. Most of the primary school students I see here carry backpacks that are larger and heavier than they are (hence the popularity of the little rolling suitcase backpacks). I often see middle school and high school students studying while walking or biking to and from school.
All of this schooling is necessary (in Chinese eyes) because of the high population of this country and the demand for limited space in the best schools. It is not just the best universities that are desired, but the best high schools, middle schools, primary schools, and even kindergartens. Students write exams and their scores determine which schools they can attend (though it’s becoming more and more common for the parents’ wealth to also influence this – if the parents can pay a large enough sum to school officials, they can ‘buy’ a spot in that school for their child).
And if you weren’t blown away by just how much time these kids spend at school, here’s something else. They’re learning harder stuff too. Seriously.
In my previous incarnation as a teacher in Canada, one of the things I taught was middle school math. My jaw dropped to the floor when I glanced at a math textbook used at one of the schools I teach at here in China. The textbook was a grade 5 level book, but the teachers told me they were teaching it to the grade 4 class. When I looked at the type of math, the concepts were the same ones I was introducing to the grade 8 classes in Canada.
That’s right, Canadian middle school students – Chinese kids half your age are doing the same math as you are. Imagine what the kids your own age are learning. Maybe you shouldn’t be complaining, huh?
Outdoor, winter assemblies and saluting the flag during the national anthem.
Anyway, back to my husband.
When I stop to think about it, I’m in awe that he managed to make his way through this system and succeed. I have nothing but respect for anyone who has survived this gauntlet of education. However, he freely admits that he was not exactly a go-getter throughout school; I’m pretty sure the actual words he used to describe himself were “smart, but lazy,” meaning he understood the material easily enough that he didn’t have to work very hard to do well enough.
I was relieved to discover, however, that university in China more closely resembles its western counterpart when my husband started telling me stories about his time there.
Having already been accepted into their chosen program, the pressure is off. Students no longer have to win a spot at a top level school, and their course of study has already been designed (most universities here are more targeted to specific degrees, rather than the broad offerings of those in the west). They can actually relax a bit and behave like proper young people. I’ve even heard a rumour that the course material is often easier in university than it is in high school, so the biggest learning hurdle is often behind them and some students even have the luxury of (the horror!) slacking off.
My husband even had the freedom to choose some of the classes he took, informing me that a couple of his choices were based on the number of first-year females who would be expected to take the class.
“When we were in our last year, my roommates and I decided to take a class or two because a lot of girls that were new to the school would be taking them. We knew they would be like, ‘Oh, I’m lost!’ and then we could say, ‘Don’t worry, I know the university very well. Let me help you,’” he told me with a naughty glint in his eye and wiggling eyebrows for effect.
What surprised me even more than the fact that my husband was such a smooth operator in university, were a couple of the specific classes he mentioned taking. Now, any of us who have attended post-secondary school have probably filled a few requirements for our degree with some fluff classes (I definitely enjoyed my “History of Rock and Roll” lectures!), but I had no idea that a Chinese university targeted towards science and engineering would even offer classes on such topics.
I’m not sure how they have helped him in his mechanical engineering career path, but my husband apparently also studied Greek and Roman Art History and…are you ready for this one…
The History of Make Up.
And yes, that tidbit is being stored away in my brain to make fun of him for it at a later date, in case you were wondering!
Hey Kelly, like the article. You know what, and I’ve heard stories about high school in china too, I just cannot believe it works like this! What I’m wondering about the most is the lack of sleep for these poor kids. By the looks of it they definitely don’t get their 8 hours a day right, and isn’t that most vital when you’re growing up??
Keep up the good writing!
Bas
Thanks! Oh, I’m positive those kids don’t get enough sleep (even when younger – even kindergarten-age kids are up and about until 10-11 o’clock at night in our zone quite often). My husband has told me that it was quite common in his high school (and I suspect others as well) for students to lose quite a bit of weight during those years. Not enough sleep and not enough time to eat nutritious meals takes their toll on them. I thank my lucky stars I didn’t have to fight my way through this school system!
All this pressure piled on kids is not healthy. There is a high suicide rate among school-aged kids in China, because of all the work, and constantly being told that unless they get into a good university then their life is effectively finished anyway.
I’m very disillusioned with the whole school system in China. I work in a kindergarten where they are up at 7AM and still having lessons 7 at night. These are 4 year olds. I look at the little kids and think ‘my god, you have another 14 years of this’
Interesting post.
Not healthy at all – for any part of their development. Unfortunately, I don’t see attitudes changing anytime soon. I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with all of it, but do worry for my children (when we have them). It’s going to be a struggle for all of us, I think.
I wouldn’t be so pessimistic about the future prospects of education in China. In Shanghai, for example, they’re being very creative and they’re experimenting with different approaches to education. The authorities are especially interested in the Finnish education system for its ability to consistently produce excellent results without all the grinding hard work.
There is actually a broader trend emerging across East Asia to move away from the traditional education methodology. For example, in South Korea, another country that is infamous for its grueling education system, the authorities are in the process of implementing reforms so that assessment of students will be less test-oriented and encourage more critical thinking.
I certainly hope you’re right, but I don’t see it happening here. The emphasis is still very strongly on test scores, and parents still insist on sending their children to hours and hours of extra classes in the hopes of improving scores. I’ve heard whispers of reforms from time to time, but haven’t seen anything tangible come of it on the ground in our area, at least. But again, I do hope you’re right.
Wow, schooling must be one big slog for these Chinese kids! It is much the same here though definitely not so gruelling. But because of this kiasu (hokkien for not wanting to lose out) attitude every kid goes for one tuition after another. The kids at Chinese vernacular schools here too do very well in Maths. How are these Chinese kids going to have time just to be themselves?
My impression is that you’re right – school is just a drag and that there is very little to enjoy. As for how they are going to have time to be themselves, my opinion would be that they don’t. More than one person I’ve talked to has admitted that once they write their gaokao and find out which schools they can apply to, that they have no idea what they want to study. Many times, parents choose the university course of study for them (this was certainly the case for my husband and at least one of his cousins). My husband, who loves hip hop dance, didn’t even discover this until he began university – this shows how much free time he had for other pursuits.
But your significant half is doing well as an engineer now. Only pity him when he was a kid slogging away. I just hope the Chinese schools could find a balance for studies and fun.
He is doing well, though I wonder sometimes if this is the career path he would have chosen had he known more about himself and what he truly enjoyed doing (when I have asked him if he likes his job, his response is “We do what we must, so we can do what we want”).
I also wish they could find more of a balance – a lot of these kids are missing out on some crucial life skills because of the lack of unstructured play time, organized sports, etc. I see a lot of kids who are highly competitive (which is good to a point), but lacking any understanding of things like teamwork, how to get along with others, and how to solve problems themselves. Add that to the fact that because of the one-child policy, they don’t get these skills at home with siblings either, and it can make for an interesting adjustment once these young people hit the work force.
Wow…China’s education sounds pretty much like Singapore’s for a time at least. Waking up the early hours and then heaving on that huge turtle shell of a school bag.Though during my years in school..it was pretty much learning through pain..as in actual physical pain
Though what the kids are learning in the way of maths explains how come they are so good at it.
Ugh, I can only imagine and be thankful I didn’t have to deal with anything like that. Kudos to you! There are benefits (the advanced math) but I see serious drawbacks as well – finding a balance will be tricky for us for any kids we have in the future, that’s for sure.
Definitely…at least kids in school don’t get caned or slapped for every mistake they make now.Though i do see some serious drawbacks like you said,they are awesome in their academics but when it comes to talking to someone,they can lack that social skill and interactivity.
And no,facebooking isn’t considered talking face to face
Absolutely true. There is much to be said for learning through play, whether just with siblings or neighbourhood friends, kids on the playground or on organized sports teams. Teamwork, competition, cooperation, sharing, communication, problem solving, etc, etc. Sigh.