Annie's corner: My American Life-Exploring the Chinese Education System
I chose to go abroad when I finished middle school. Many people ask me why I choose to spend so much money to go abroad instead of going to the normal Chinese High School. I would like to say that I don’t think I can be a survivor during the competition in the normal Chinese high school.
Competition is especially severe throughout every Chinese student. If you want to go a private primary school or kindergarden, you need to take a test and afford the tremendous fee. The social levels start to divide when you are in the kindergarten because children from different families will go to different schools. And of course, every kind of school has a large amount of children. In Primary school, I had 48 classmates in my class.
The real competition between Chinese students starts in middle school. We only have the three grades in middle school and the final exam in the third year named Zhongkao is significant for all students. You only have one opportunity to take that examination, which almost decides your destiny and your future social level. Depending on how high your score is, different students will go to different high schools.
Only almost half of Chinese students will have the opportunity to go to the common high school. Those students can take Gaokao to test in order to get into a university. Other students who get out will go to technical schools, which are not appreciated by most Chinese parents. In the stereotype of the Chinese people, students from the technical schools will be looked down by others.
For the city in which I lived, the best student will be accepted by Liangfeng High School (the best high school in my city). The most important subject which can affect your score in both Zhongkao and Gaokao is math. Math is the subject which can best show the gap between you and other students. That’s why I always failed in my middle school, because I don’t really do well in math.
Unluckily, I didn’t do very well in the Zhongkao, and I just got the criteria of a low-level high school. After discussing with my parents, I decided to go to the international high school and then go to the American college. Although choosing to go U.S costed a lot of money, I still think it is an awesome opportunity for me to widen my horizons.
The final examination of the normal Chinese High School is very horrible. Students wake up usually at 5:00 a.m and are heading back home at 9:30 p.m. The whole thing for them is to study, study and study. I am happy that I didn’t choose to go to normal Chinese high school, because taking that exam will wipe out all of the creativity out of you, and make you become a machine.
Everyone in China thinks Gaokao is one of the most essential stages for you to change your life. If you go to the top colleges in China, it means you get a pass for the wonderful future. Twisted thinking, like failing the Gaokao means you will fail in your next life. Some Chinese high school students even choose suicide if they fail the Gaokao. Some students choose to take the third year of high school again, and take Gaokao again to get a better score.
What I appreciate about the American Education system is that every student can find what they are good at and have a lot of options for going to college. Gaokao and Zhongkao is necessary for China, a country with 1.379 billion people. We need a horrible and not personal system to choose the best students.
I am thankful that my parents can afford for me to go to the U.S to do whatever I want for my future. I escaped the Gaokao and having a different life compared to the students who are in normal Chinese high school.
Competition is especially severe throughout every Chinese student. If you want to go a private primary school or kindergarden, you need to take a test and afford the tremendous fee. The social levels start to divide when you are in the kindergarten because children from different families will go to different schools. And of course, every kind of school has a large amount of children. In Primary school, I had 48 classmates in my class.
The real competition between Chinese students starts in middle school. We only have the three grades in middle school and the final exam in the third year named Zhongkao is significant for all students. You only have one opportunity to take that examination, which almost decides your destiny and your future social level. Depending on how high your score is, different students will go to different high schools.
Only almost half of Chinese students will have the opportunity to go to the common high school. Those students can take Gaokao to test in order to get into a university. Other students who get out will go to technical schools, which are not appreciated by most Chinese parents. In the stereotype of the Chinese people, students from the technical schools will be looked down by others.
For the city in which I lived, the best student will be accepted by Liangfeng High School (the best high school in my city). The most important subject which can affect your score in both Zhongkao and Gaokao is math. Math is the subject which can best show the gap between you and other students. That’s why I always failed in my middle school, because I don’t really do well in math.
Unluckily, I didn’t do very well in the Zhongkao, and I just got the criteria of a low-level high school. After discussing with my parents, I decided to go to the international high school and then go to the American college. Although choosing to go U.S costed a lot of money, I still think it is an awesome opportunity for me to widen my horizons.
The final examination of the normal Chinese High School is very horrible. Students wake up usually at 5:00 a.m and are heading back home at 9:30 p.m. The whole thing for them is to study, study and study. I am happy that I didn’t choose to go to normal Chinese high school, because taking that exam will wipe out all of the creativity out of you, and make you become a machine.
Everyone in China thinks Gaokao is one of the most essential stages for you to change your life. If you go to the top colleges in China, it means you get a pass for the wonderful future. Twisted thinking, like failing the Gaokao means you will fail in your next life. Some Chinese high school students even choose suicide if they fail the Gaokao. Some students choose to take the third year of high school again, and take Gaokao again to get a better score.
What I appreciate about the American Education system is that every student can find what they are good at and have a lot of options for going to college. Gaokao and Zhongkao is necessary for China, a country with 1.379 billion people. We need a horrible and not personal system to choose the best students.
I am thankful that my parents can afford for me to go to the U.S to do whatever I want for my future. I escaped the Gaokao and having a different life compared to the students who are in normal Chinese high school.