No, it's not a problem of study. It's getting brain washed. As result, Chinese are not able to create anything or think independently, but just follow the commands, copy technology and so on.
- Dieter / Germany
Way too much, furthermore the content of what they study is not good: they ought to be learning how to study and ways of thinking, not just memorizing loads by rote.
- Bridget / China
I think the fact that they study hard is a good thing, but I do think that a greater study/social life balance needs to be achieved. I think you can certainly study too much, and for the sake of perhaps a few extra % in your grades you can lose the chance to experience life and mix with people. In the working world your grades will not count for as much as your ability to interact with people and understand the practical world around you. I am not suggesting Chinese students should go out and get crazy like many Western students, but perhaps they should relax and let go more often otherwise they can grow up to be very sheltered and inflexible individuals.
- Daniel / Ireland
Yes, they study very much. On one hand, it is nice that those studies lead students to learn how to think, but on the other hand, students should also have more time to relax and find their own interests and way of living. The problem of the study system now is that students don’t really have a way to find their own values. And personally I think the way of selecting talents is also a bit limited for Chinese students.
- Xue Li / China
No not really, they work very hard and have a strong work ethic. That said I don't think the Chinese or any other Asian are different from those of us of European background. During colonial periods Western nations i.e. England, France and Germany worked/studied extremely hard, hence our advancement. Unfortunately I believe most of us young people these days are living in a false sense of security, so we don't work as hard as we should. Furthermore you should see the foreign Chinese students in Sydney, lazy party-goers who often get into too much trouble.
- Richard / Australia
Absolutely. Chinese students study way too much. I was, and am, still one of them. All I can remember about my life in junior and senior high school is endless study. You don't have time to think about or do anything else. Even if you have some time to spare, you’re not in the mood to think about things other than your studies, because there is too much pressure from studying.
- Ashley / China
It’s not that it’s too much; it’s that the direction isn’t right.
- Robert / China
I'd have to say that given the bad economy, pressure from parents and teachers etc, young Chinese should use the precious few minutes they have walking outside between their various 补习班 [extracurricular] classes to study. Instead of talking with their friends why not listen to the books that they will be studying later that night for four hours on tape. There would be no question that they could get a higher grade on the 高考 [gaokao – college entrance exam] because of this, get in to a great college... and not be able to find a job when they graduate.
- Antonio / USA
I don't know if Chinese children study too much. I thought so before I came to America, but I noticed that a lot of my students study much harder than I did or anyone I knew back in college. Well, we could say Harvard is a not a typical example, but even in the extension school I taught here I found that the students work harder than our college kids.
- Summer / China
Of course, students are buried in too much school work so they don't have time to enjoy the most beautiful parts of childhood, can't play with friends, and so most of them feel lonely indeed. When I was a child in the 80's, we didn't have so much schoolwork, so we just played after school, I really feel grateful to have had wonderful childhood. The importance of childhood is totally underestimated.
Let me just show an example! One of my nephews is in primary school right now. Though he is just about 10 years old, he has studied tae kwon do, painting, ping pong, penmanship, writing, etc. just on the weekends. He has played violin for years, now he owns a certification of violin grade 5. His calendar has been full with all kinds of coaching lessons in the short winter vacation. His parents told me he has to do lots of work every day, too much to play, so he’s not allowed to watch TV. His parents just taught him to be lazy sometimes, for example, when teacher ask him to copy some famous composition 20 times, they tell him to pick short ones, otherwise he won't have time to sleep and go to expensive coaching lessons .Most children don't like coaching lessons, but they have to have some specialty, when they take gaokao, these specialties can bring them higher scores.
Yes, they study too much, but since the gaokao won't change, they have no other choice.
- Sara / China
