Chinese SchoolDate of article unknown, BBC World
Taken from:
http://www.bbcworld.com/pages/ProgrammeFeature.aspxid=154&FeatureID=560This four-part series explores the unique issues and priorities facing a Chinese School. Life in a Chinese School shares all the delights and challenges of schooling throughout the world, with its unique issues and priorities. How has the One Child Policy affected parental expectations, classmate relationships and social values?
Chinese School – Episode 1
There are 350 million children enrolled in further education across China, but ‘Chinese School’ takes as its subject one small town in rural Anhui, and focuses on the lives of a group of families, teachers and children during the course of a single academic year. It’s a school like many thousands of others across this vast nation, but through the individual stories of hardship, joy and success, an extraordinary portrait emerges of a Nation, a town and a group of children in the midst of enormous change.We follow headmistress Mrs Zhang from Ping Min Primary School, as she heads deep into the Anhui mountains in order to recruit new children to start on their long march through the Chinese education system. As a charitable foundation, her school is able to offer a chance to some of the Province’s most disadvantaged children and give them the chance of a better life. For these very poor children, a good education is theirs and their family’s best way out of poverty, so the stakes are incredibly high.At Haiyang Middle School, 16 year old Liu Xiang is fighting to get the grades he needs to get him into the town’s best school, and equally desperate to learn how to drive his dad’s taxi. As an only child, the pressure on him to pass his exams is immense, but if he can get the grades, dad has promised he can also get behind the wheel.And at the town’s best school – Xiuning Key School – 17 year old Wu Yifei is also under enormous pressure of her own. She’s thought to be the smartest student in the school’s 100 year history, has the hopes of the town riding on her shoulders, and is the entire focus of her parent’s attention. Mum has given up her career in order to cook and look after her daughter, and her teachers all expect her to excel. But success won’t come easily, and studying until midnight and beyond is the norm.
Chinese School – Episode 2
This episode explores themes of exam pressure, the one child policy, new entrepreneurialism, relationships & gender, pollution & the legacy of Chairman Mao.In a country where it's rare to have a sibling, the pressure on school-age children is immense & never more so than at exam time. It's May and the heat of summer is setting in. In this episode the senior students face the all-important Gao Kao exams. Their results can mean the difference between poverty & prosperity for their entire extended family. For star pupil Wu Yi Fei the stakes are extremely high. Her School – Xiuning Key School - expects her to come in the top ten in the entire province – over half a million students.Meanwhile at Ping Min primary school 8 year old Chen Chao is looking forward to becoming a Young Communist Pioneer. China’s one child policy sets Cheng Chao apart from his classmates – he’s one of only 5 pupils at the school who have an elder brother, something his parents risked everything for.We meet Wu Lin whose concern about the future of her country sees her researching the polluted river near her school & striving to win an English speech contest in the process. Son of migrant worker parents Wang Jian Wen is over the moon when a broken arm brings a surprise from the city. Wang Ling Qi is too cool for school & is more interested in hanging out with his girlfriend, but he knows if he doesn’t knuckle down he’ll end up working in his Dad’s motorcycle component factory & not fulfilling his dream to be a designer in the city.
Chinese School - Episode 3
It’s the start of a new school year and for sixteen year old Liu Xiang all his hard work at Haiyang Middle School has paid off as he’s been accepted into Xiuning’s Number One School. We follow Liu Xiang through the first month at his new school – undertaking compulsory military training with his new classmates and his introduction to life at Xiuning School under the watchful eye of class teacher Mr He. For Mr He’s previous star pupil Wu Yifei it’s also a new beginning at China’s prestigious Qinghua University in Beijing. We follow Wu Yifei and her parents and her grandparents make the journey to Beijing to settle her into university and follow Wu Yifei starting her life as a student among China’s elite scholars. Finally it’s also a new start for 6 year old Cheng Liu Hui Mei at Ping Min Primary School. We follow Cheng Liu Hui Mei and her fellow classmates as they learn to live away from their parents for the first time and start their educational journey guided by Headteacher Mrs Zhang.
Chinese School - Episode 4
The series Chinese School continues, with the excitement of the Olympics taking a hold.China's first ever Olympic games are on the near horizon. Xiuning county may be 1000 miles from Beijing, but that hasn't stopped Olympic fever reaching its schools.It's Autumn and with the heat of summer and exams behind them, it's time for the students to hit the sports field.With 3400 students, Haiyang Middle school is the largest school in the county. For the deputy head teacher, sports day is a mammoth undertaking, while School Radio DJ Zha Yujie sees it as the highlight of the year. She takes to the stage to support her friends as they tackle the events of the track & field.At Ping Min primary school they're holding their first ever sports day. Young champion Dai Deli is the fastest runner in school and determined to take gold, but, as always, there are lessons to be learned all round.
INSIGHTS
This article shows strong Confucian values inculcated in the Chinese Society- as long as you study hard and you are a learned person, you can move up the social class. Many Chinese thus view education as the route to success so many parents have been pushing their only child to get into a good school and do well. This article has focused on some students who had been able to be admitted into top schools. So how about those who do not? Are they able to achieve what their successful peers are able to do? I believe so as long as they work hard. Another factor to consider is the psychological effect on the students due to the intense competition among the 350,000 students in China. With immense stress facing them, especially when they are the only child(in most cases), the suffering from a mental breakdown is imminent. Therefore, i was wondering whether is it better to have a more educated workforce or a healthier workforce? Well, personally i feel that it is best to have both. The scrapping of the one child policy might be able to reduce the stress level but the govt plans to prolong this policy for another 10 years. Hence, another solution would be to remove rote learning but it might be easier said than done.
Labels: articles, One-Child Policy, posted by Thomas
2 comments | comment?
