Recently, I had students in my English Speaking (IELTS) class to describe their daily schedule.

They get up around 6 a.m. They are in their morning reading by 7 a.m. This is actually when their ‘school day’ begins.

They read for about 45-50 minutes before their first class. They have classes from 8 a.m. until noon. They get 2.5 hours off for lunch and a mid-day rest. They have classes again from 2:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. They get an hour for dinner. They go back into a self-study class from 7:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Even with a mid-morning break they are in class or doing homework (self study class) for 10.5 hours a day.

A typical day for a high school student in the U.S.A. is normally as follows. They get up at 6:30 – 6:45 a.m. Their classes begin at 8 a.m. or perhaps 7:45 a.m. They are in class from that time until around noon. They get no more than 30 minutes for a lunch break. They are back in class by perhaps 12:30 p.m. They usually go from that time until 3:30 p.m. or, at the latest, 4 p.m. Then, they go home. Liberal numbers would put their school day at less than 8 hours a day. More likely, they are in classes about 7.5 hours a day.

So, let’s look at these numbers and compare them.

The average Chinese high school student is attending classes 3 hours longer than the average high school student in the U.S.A. That’s 15 hours a week or 60 more hours a month. Many Chinese students are attening training classes or tutoring classes on the weekends. This is almost unheardof in the U.S.A. Students would attend training only if they are falling behind at school. Nonetheless, it is rare that students would attend trainings on the weekends in the U.S.A. It is common in China.

Now, you might think that because I’ve revealed these numbers that I’m being critical of China. But, you would be wrong if you assumed that. I like to take a fair approach to such comparisons and recognize the good and the bad with such disparity.

So what’s good about students in China going to school and attending classes 240 hours more than American high school students each term?

ADVANTAGES

1. Chinese students know how to study. Oh, I hear complaints from Chinese and foreign teachers that the students here can be lazy. But, I don’t believe that. They are TIRED; not lazy. By the time they’ve graduated high school, they have spent enough hours in the classroom that, had they done it in the West, they could have earned a Ph.D.

The big bonus for them is that if they decide to go abroad to the U.S.A. or a western university, THEY KNOW HOW TO STUDY. They are focused and have excellent study skills.

2. Chinese students don’t have the opportunity to be exposed to negative things like drugs, alcohol, partying, etc. They are in school. This is a very positive aspect of the education system here in China. These negative influences are a huge problem in the west. It not only affects students’ education but it negatively affects their lives.

These are the two biggest advantages for students in China.

THE DISADVANTAGES

1. They have no time to develop their social skills or explore their own creativity. Most students in China live in the school. They are, as we say, ‘boarded’ at the school. Their whole life is school. In effect, the teachers are raising these children. The parents are separated from their children from Sunday afternoon or night until the following Friday. This is not the case of more than 99% of students in the U.S.A. They usually only live at the school when they are in college or university.