Here in England we always have a lot to say about the Chinese education system. On one hand, China regularly thrashes us in international league tables. On the other hand, the educational pressure and intensity in China is often criticised as excessive. I interviewed Emerald Wei, a year 11 student who emigrated to London from Wuhan in China in 2014, on the differences between the systems.
How would a student’s school day differ in both countries?
In China, a year 11’s school day is from 7 am to 8:10 pm and then most students do extracurricular activities, so have very long days with very little sleep. On top of this, in year 11 they get about 4 hours of homework every night and the work seems to be a lot harder. When I arrived in England in year 9 we had done so much of the maths work already!
Are the teaching styles different in England and China?
In China, there are fewer fun activities in the classroom like experiments, group work, or watching videos. I think the teachers are respected in both countries but in China, they are feared because of the strict discipline. If students talk in class, the teachers get very angry and tell the parents, while in England it is much more relaxed.
How does school discipline vary between the countries?
The school and the teachers have a lot more control over students’ lives in China. In primary school, our teacher said we weren’t allowed birthday parties because it would make people feel left out. In middle school, we couldn’t bring in cake on our birthdays because it was like we were boasting that we were rich. Relationships are also always banned; if someone is caught they may be told off by the head teacher. One time I saw a teacher slap a boy for having a girlfriend! There are also restrictions on students’ appearances: no jewellery, makeup, piercings, handbags, hair dying, or curling. Another difference is that punishments are a lot more severe; once my friend wrote the teacher’s name wrong and had to write it on the board 100 times!
Are there differences in what students learn?
I think in China we learn primarily for exams but here there is more learning of useful and interesting things for life. England creates more well-rounded and imaginative people, who are intelligent due to hard work and themselves, rather than pressure from other people.
How do exams work in China?
Students have exams very frequently and the ranking of all students is sent to parents, so there is no privacy of scores. Students then sit in classrooms according to their ranking, so the best students are at the front and the worst at the back, which can become really demoralising.
How far does this competitiveness impact student mental health?
The lack of sleep and amount of work, plus fierce competition in exams and pressure from parents, can accumulate to become too much for students. I always heard stories of students committing suicide. For example, I knew someone in my year who did badly on a test, which made his parents angry and led to him jumping off a 12 storey building.
Was there any restriction of information in school?
When we did history we were given different information to what I have more recently learnt from English education sites, especially regarding Mao’s regime and the cultural revolution. So, to some extent, maybe, since our history teacher would sometimes tell us information we weren’t meant to know.
How could both systems learn from each other and improve?
China needs to take inspiration from England and relax the amount of work and the difficulty of work, in order to make school a happier time for the children. On the other hand, England could take some of China’s tactics to increase students’ overall abilities.
Which education system would you want your own child in?
I think the ultimate education system would be a mixture of both. I’ve therefore been really lucky in having strict foundations of learning in China, then coming here and expanding my knowledge on things I’m interested in. I would love for my child to have the same experience.
By Imogen Duke
