The Pros And Cons Of Chinese Gaokao

In high schools today, most seniors are piled down with work and fatigued from after school activities and jobs. On average, most students spend 7-8 hours in school and most have after school jobs which they work for at least 6 hours. Most teachers and parents would say it’s because they’re in preparation for college and adult life. High school seniors are tensed and stressed because they are trying their best to succeed and make something out of themselves. But how can they do that if they have such busy schedule?

Allocating more time towards having fun rather than focusing on schoolwork or studying in general also affects student’s time management. Since they have every opportunity of flexibility with minimal boundaries involved, there is the urge to enjoy the newfound liberty, and as a result, neglect of assignments, deadlines bypassed and incompetent test results. For that reason, the commitment to study is only realized when exams are approaching thereby causing panic to the student as the realization that class materials have not been covered starts to arise.

Some activities may require an attendance of once a week, while some require three days a week. Activities that requires strong commitment, such as soccer and basketball, are not only time consuming but are also physically and mentally draining. For example, a student maybe required to attend training for four hours a day and three times a week. By the time the student returns home, he would be extremely tired after attending school for six hours followed by strenuous four hours of training. Furthermore, the student would have to spend another one to two hours completing assignments that are due the next day. Hence, teenagers would not have any time to sit back, be relaxed and be bored as they would be busy trying to balance the limited amount of time needed for both studies and after-school

year of his life. This year, Shao will take the National University Entrance Examinations, which

Play less and study more! Due to global increase in competition, kids today are forced to achieve very high grades or secure very high percentages. Students are so worried about grades and position that neither they have anytime for themselves nor for any extracurricular activities. They suffer from several disorders such as depression and emotional disorders. Academic subjects and extra-curricular activities complement each other and develop a well-rounded, socially skilled, and healthier student. There are so many possible extra-curricular activities that each student can choose one those appeals to him or her personality. Extra-curricular activities help to develop the whole student

The children’s whole future hinged on just one test. It is China’s version of the SAT’s, but in China it is called “GAO KAO” or “tall test”. The children prepare their whole life for this one test. If they do pass they get a pick at top

There isn’t much time for social area of their life such as interacting with friends, family, personal interest or they cannot stay focused as one is tired and starting to feel sleepy and they do not even have time to rest at all. To balance work with classes can cause a lot of problems for part-time students, no consultation time after the lecture to ask questions if a student does not understand the content, hard time to complete their homework, submit assignments very late, poor school performance which may result in poor grade at the end of the year. The number of part-time students dropped out or that are still struggling to finish is increasing day-by-day, because they face unique challenges that make it difficult for them to complete their

Students in America want to perform well during their school time, so they have a chance of getting a scholarship at best universities in the country. A lot of young Americans spend all their nights preparing for exams, because they can’t do it in the afternoon due to their sports and social life. Therefore many a night are spend studying hard for exams, so the teacher will not fail them and by that prevent them from getting their dream education. However, this tight and packed schedule causes the young Americans to get really exhausted and overloaded, and later on it might even cause cases of stress. In the meantime, this complex of problems seems to have got a solution. A solution that is so effective that most people never would have

Lin felt inferior to others at Shanghai not even being in the 50th percentile of his class his Sophomore year of high school. Lin did not go on take the testings to get into college because he knew that he would have a slim chance of getting accepted and due to the fact that the college in Shanghai would was so strict about accepting certain students, only 75 percent of nine million can get enrolled into a college according to statistics. Lin knew that he had a very slim chance. Getting into college was just based on the test called “Gaokao” which is known as the “ National Higher Education Entrance Exam” in America, it didn’t matter if you were a good student from preschool all the way up to your senior year of high school, Gaokao has no age restriction since 2001, this test is a nine-hour test that would last over a course of two days, Gaokao test you over many subjects like Chinese Literature, mathematics, English, social-science-oriented-area, natural-science-social area, history, politics, geography, physics, chemistry and biology.

At Georgetown Prep the mid-term exams were moved from after Christmas break to before Christmas break. Many students believe that this shift will help themselves in preparing for exams. Teachers on the other hand seem to struggle trying to fit in all the material needed for the first semester because less time is allotted. I believe that exams after Christmas break are best because the teachers have the ability to teach what they need in the first semester, and students have more time to study the material. Teachers, in this week before exams, have given us students more tests and homework than we have been given all year. The stress levels in the school have risen to the height of the Washington Monument. We students do not have enough

Taiwan has inherited the 乾杯 (Ganbei) or bottom up drinking culture from China. There is a saying in Taiwan, “Don’t feed a goldfish at the bottom of your glass” meaning that people should bottom up and don’t leave anything in the glass. Article “Look Through Ganbei Culture” concludes that there were many meanings behind Ganbei. First is to show the deepness of the friendship, that is “I can’t drink but for you I’m willing to bottom up so please consider me as your good friend.” Second, people use drinking to get others’ attention. To drink or get people to drink can both be noticed by others during the social events. Third one is to show the power. The higher ranking people ask lower ranking to bottom up to demonstrate the power over them,

    With these long school days children don’t have much time to go out and be a kid.  By the time children get home and finish all their homework, there really isn’t much time for sports or spending time with friends and family. Long hours of school put too much pressure on students.  According to the state, students are supposed to have three and a half hours of homework a night. Students are assigned about 17 hours of homework a week. There is a total of 168 hours in a week and 64 of those hours are taken from us by school and homework.  Out of the 24 hours in a day school, homework, and sleep take 18 hours, which leaves students with just 6 hours to do things.  Combine that with sports and after school activities, the average practice for most sports are 2 to 3 hours, which leaves the student with only 3 hours for themselves. If you add dinner into the equation which can take up to an hour ,then students only have two hours a day. Some students also have chores which can take up to an hour or even sometimes more.  What can a student do with only 1 hour of time a day for their personal goals.

China has about five thousand years history which is a very long period of time. Also, the Chinese civilization was growing with these periods of time and it will continues greater than ever. Many wars and unhappinesses were happening during this period. Although, the time has passed, the histories and the civilizations have not passed. These family virtues, serious, working attitudes, sense of justice and the great Confucian tradition have been deeply assimilated into the Chinese people. Some Chinese traditions are different from North American’s. The Chinese culture has many special characteristics which are very interesting for people to learn.

Traditionally, Chinese education has been measured on the basis of merit. Those who work hard, study the right facts, and pass the test, succeed. The test is China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, otherwise known as the Gaokao (高考- direct translation 'high test'). It is similar to the SAT in that it's a standardized test that determines college acceptance. However, the Gaokao is much more difficult than the SAT and is, for the most part, the only determining factor for college acceptance. The pressure adds up when companies in China only hire from the top universities, so scoring well on the Gaokao not only sets the path for college but also for one's entire career. The emphasis on the Gaokao promotes an academic system based on memorization, which means that students

The unique guanxi culture in Chinese society sets its societal framework distinctively apart from the West. Although guanxi is often portrayed as one’s social network, it is much different from the so-called “connections” in Western society. Guanxi is a special social phenomenon in the Chinese societal context. It has survived throughout history and continues to be a prevalent trend because it has its Chinese characteristics and attributes that are not found in other societies. The existence of guanxi in Chinese society originated from the core Chinese value of collectivism. Since centuries ago, Chinese society’s group life and social organization has been based on collective interests. “Familial sentiments and obligations, [which were regarded as ethical relations], extended from the family into society [later on]”. The unofficial, informal networks of familial and kinship obligations provided the social support mechanisms through which peasant families survived in the economy of transition and hardships” (Bian, 2001, p.276). The twin themes of guanxi and the sense of hierarchy mutually enhance each other because private networks thrive through the existence of the principle of giving and reciprocating, which highlights that there is a dependent on a more resourceful party in the relationship. The future of the twin themes in China will continue to be built upon mutual reliance and the looked upon generous favour giver in bridging the connections between multiple parties.