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Q: Do you think that Chinese high school students' schedule is efficient? (see inside)
I saw in one of the blogs the typical schedule of a Chinese high school student
5:50 a.m. wake-up time
6:10-6:30 a.m. breakfast at the cafeteria
6:30 a.m. morning reading
7:40-8:25 a.m. English class (grammar based)
8:25-8:40 morning exercise
8:45-9:40 a.m. chemistry
9:50-10:35 a.m. oral English class (low stress with a foreign teacher once a week)
(The time slot is also used for music and geography classes that are seen as less important.)
10:45-11:30 a.m. math
11:30-12:00 a.m. lunch
12:00–13:40 p.m. rest (usually sleep) or general free time
13:40-14:20 p.m. politics
14:30-15:10 p.m. physics
15:20-16:00 p.m. history
16:10-16:50 Chinese
17:00-17:40 (class activities consisting of morale boosters)
17:40-18:20 p.m. dinner
18:20-18:50 p.m. English listening exercises/biology
18:50-21:25 p.m. monitored study in classrooms
21:30-22:55 p.m. homework, wash clothes, etc.
That's 5 or 6 hours of sleep per day and a day packed of activities, but if you look closely there are only about 9 hours of proper study/homework. Obviously they study more hours than in many other countries, but I think that they could easily alter the schedule to keep the hours of study and the learning quality without having to sacrifice their life outside school.
What do you think, is it really necessary to focus only on your studies to obtain good results?
10 years 46 weeks ago in Teaching & Learning - China
Most of my students had that schedule and they were noticeably vacant during their class time with me (though perhaps I am to blame!)
It is completely depressing but unfortunately that is the way of things in the Chinese education system. The competition is so intense that parents have to push and push and push their kids more and more so they can get ahead of the game.
I'm often wondered if the authorities are happy with this is it basically leaves China with a generation of braindead (albeit super good at exams) youths who will never question authority and don't have any extra-curricular thoughts.
It looks absolutely barbaric to me. Too lengthy, no motivation whatsoever and just 25 minutes of physical activity that probably consists of nothing more than those silly school /courtyard stretching exercises.
It's a zombie farm.
In my opinion nothing should happen before 8am and the 2 hours and 10 minutes lunch/free time is a great waste of time that could be cut substantially so the day could end sooner for the students.
crimochina:
sorry i accidentally thumbed you down, i really don't know how (i'm drunk) and when i tried to thumb you up i couldn;t
Coincidentally, this is the time for Gaokao (Chinese college entrance examination). 9.12 million students have taken the exam during these days.It brings me back to my high school time, the schedule you have shown above is like mine back then. More than 60 students studied in one classroom in my school, we didn't have enough time to sleep, Cuz we knew Gaokao was the biggest chance to change our life .Kids like me who lived in small town was afraid of it , but also excited about it. What was the true happiness at that time for me ? I think the answer is very simple, the good relationship with classmates and my teachers. We lived together and studied together .Gaokao was like a battle , and I was a tough girl 
I passed the exam, and then entered my college in Beijing, Thanks to that hard time I had in high school!
I think it's too much and certainly not optimally organised. However, you have to be careful about what you compare it to; remember that schedule is for a student living at the school, (which is the majority case in China) so would have to be compared to a boarding school in your home nation.
sleep deprivation is key to making the brain moldable. and you can get people to accept this by making them think there is hyper competition in china. also that schedule is designed to burnout their brains to make them more effective drones. if you put them in a situation where they would have to make a decision for themselves they would spin around in circles. their entire childhood is micro managed, this is how you control 1.5 bil prople
The brain is still developing in these children. 5 hours of sleep is not enough, adding nap time does not help this.
I'll bet anything (or a beer) that if you test these kids against kids from a comparable school in, say Germany, the Chinese kids will not do better in traditional subjects such as math and physics, but they will do significantly worse in anything that require creativity or teamwork.
Mr. Rection has a point in it being a boarding school, but doesn't boarding schools in the rest of the world allow kids to be kids (I mean, sneak out and acquire cigarettes and alcohol, have a girl/boyfriend you see after class, have a hobby etc.)
crimochina:
boarding schools allow you free time after 4 or 5 they do not micro-manage your non classroom time.
you are right scan and anyone with a brain should know this. that sched is no where close to a sched at a regular boarding school. they may sched activities/ trips after 4 but not classes
t91camp:
Based on personal observations, most Chinese kids aren't even good at math and related subjects, especially word problems, because those actually require thinking skills. If you can solve a complex equation but can't figure out a simple word problem, then you're no better than a calculator, useless without intelligent input.
Here is a typical schedule from a UK boarding school (Blackrock College) for comparison:
Sixth Year Daily Schedule
DAILY SCHEDULE
6.45am - Students rise
6.55am–7.55 am - Morning Study
7.50am-8.15 am - Breakfast
8.45am-12.30 pm - Morning Classes
12.30pm-1.30 pm - Lunch
1.30pm-3.40 pm - Afternoon Classes
5.00pm - Tea
6.00pm-7.30 pm - Evening Study
8.00pm-9.30 pm - Evening Study
10.15pm - Students go to their rooms
10.30pm - Lights out
On Wednesdays school ends at 12.45 p.m. to facilitate involvement in sports (all boys are expected to participate in some sporting activity).
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
8.30am - Students rise
9.00am - Breakfast
9.30am–10.30am - Morning Study
11.00am–12.00pm - Morning Study
12.30pm - Lunch
Afternoon Sport or arranged activity
5.00pm - Tea
6.00pm–7.30pm - Evening Study
8.00pm-9.30pm - Evening Study
Many of the students will be involved in representative sports matches on Saturdays. For those students not participating, special arrangements will be made.
• Lights out for 6th Year at discretion of Housemaster but usually circa 11.30 pm after Match of the Day.
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
8.45am - Students rise
9.00am - Breakfast
10.00am - Mass
Following Mass students may go home until 8.00pm
(Those who cannot leave will be facilitated by a trip to the cinema or some other recreational activity)
8.15pm-9.45pm - Study
10.15pm - Students go to their rooms
10.30pm - Lights out
http://www.blackrockcollegeboardingschool.com/dailyschedule.htm
Hugh.G.Rection:
I don't know GR, I've never attended either as a student or member of staff, a boarding college, I just downloaded this from the internet as a comparison, after Crimo was so fast and loose with his generalised insults.
Just to put more perspective on this.
from http://www.bbis.de/
07:15Breakfast in the boarding facility, room check08:00 - 14:55School day including a warm midday meal at school15:00 - 16:30Extracurricular activities at or outside of school18:00 - 18:30Evening meal in the boarding facility19:00 - 20:30Supervised study session in the boarding facility20:30 - 22:00Group evening or free time22:00 - 22:30Room check and saying "good night"22:30 - 06:00Nightly quiet time Sundays through Thursdays
This certainly seems more humane than both the Chinese and British models. (and we know how evil Germans are)
Scandinavian:
I thought it would seem apt to find a school in one of the most robust economies in the world.... what am I saying... is that not China...... shame on me
