The Pressure of Chinese Education

I live in an apartment building with 7 other teachers and our fu wu yuan (housekeeper/cleaning lady/landlady/etc.) and her family. The family consists of the mom, dad, a 14 year old girl, and a newly adopted, yippy puppy named duo duo who goes back and forth between nuzzling up against us and biting our ankles. The daughter is a good student and her English is improving very quickly. I'm always surprised at her schedule: she leaves before I do each morning (prior to 7:30am) and returns home nearly 14 1/2 hours later at 10pm. This is her normal routine Monday through Friday, and on Saturday she has an English tutor come for a few hours before she starts her homework.
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And this is the normal schedule of any student. High school, a time that seems (relatively) very carefree in American education, is the most stressful time of a Chinese student. They have no social life and are constantly studying for the dreaded gao kao -- the exam that determines whether a student goes to college or not. When a student passes the gao kao, universities then select the student, and the student may choose which one of those universities he or she would like to go to.
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Once at college, everything changes. For the first time, students have the freedom and time to participate in social activities and they can relax a bit in their studies. It's interesting to watch my students, because, at times, them seem like high schoolers. But then I realize that they are just being introduced to what we call a "social life".
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To further illustrate this point, I wanted to share something one of my students wrote:
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"Nobody can deny the function of education. Education is the only way of saving a nation. But if it is carried out in a blind and narrow way, it’s negative effect can be destructive.
“What goal should edu achieve? Should it be the onlytool of getting a good job, living a decent life, or entering upper class? Should it’s objective focus on skills of earning a living?
“In my opinion, it’s definitely not! So what should be the ultimate aim of education? I think it’s first goal should be carrying forward and cultivating the free spirit, teaching next generation how to think and seek happiness of life, how to know about the world. China does emphasize the value of education, so parents push their children to study desperately at school. In China, middle school students have to stay in the classroom from 7am (even more early, say, 5am) to 7 pm (even later, say, 9:30pm). It is the truth. Students bury their heads into teaching materials – books and exercises. No activities. What’s worse is a large size of class, students’ voice couldn’t be heard in most of classes. Teachers control the class and is the only speaker all the time. Gradually, students care nothing, because nobody cares them. Even if they yell, who cares?
"Please free our students from being controlled both physically and mentally! Our nation needs real national spirit and strength. Let education be the hope of China. We need to think and step forward.”
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