Inside the (Chinese) Classroom

(Mel)

For the past four and a half (crazy how much time its been!) weeks we’ve all been attending classes with our host siblings whenever we don’t have classes of our own. Before coming to China I’d heard about how focused the kids are in a Chinese classroom and how well behaved they are and while that is a fine observation the factors that create such a dynamic are what’s really interesting. But- before I go any further I’d like to clarify that just because I say the students are well behaved does not mean that I feel like I’m sitting in a classroom full of robots. Highschoolers are still highschoolers wherever they live so in class here kids do still crack jokes, or text discretely under the desk or even fall asleep but overall the class seems to be a lot more orderly than I would expect a room full of 46 sixteen year olds to be. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly, in my opinion, it seems that there are three main reasons for this different class atmosphere.

The first is the role students have to ensure that the day runs smoothly. For example, in the mornings one student will lead the class in reading either English or Chinese texts depending on the day. Another student will be in charge of making sure when a teacher brings in a laptop that it is plugged in properly. Someone else will have the duty of cleaning the classroom at the end of the day while others organize special events. In addition to all of these individual tasks assigned to people two students from each class are given the job of “class monitor”. The monitors have the job of keeping the class in line, making sure the other students carry out their classroom duties and informing them of school wide events or announcements. Students who wish to take on these planning roles take time out of the periods given to them to do homework at the end of the day to attend meetings which means a real investment on their part. Having the students be so directly involved in the structure and ultimately success of their own school day definitely causes them to take it all more seriously and put in the effort.

The second reason would have to be the fact that the students stay in the same classroom all day and so the entire class is very close and they have a lot of class pride. The school uses this to its advantage rewarding/recognizing classes that are particularly well behaved and calling attention to those that are not. No student would want to jeopardize the reputation of her/his class by breaking the rules. Also, because the school day is so long the kids social lives and academic lives are conducted simultaneously at school. There are clubs that meet at school during the last period of the day once a week (and are thereby mandatory but nevertheless are clubs). In regards to socializing with friends there is a 10 minute break between each of the 45 minute classes as well as an hour and a half long lunch break during which the kids spend time with their friends. All of this makes the kids enjoy being in school more so they’re more likely to be respectful to their teachers and fellow classmates.

Finally the teaching style at Hangzhou high school consists of mostly lectures from teachers with the occasional student presentation. Because the teachers spend the entire class lecturing the topic isn’t opened for discussion amongst the students so you will never see the seeming chaos that can happen when students become very passionate about their interpretations or their feelings on a topic. Whatever the teacher says seems to just be internalized (though i suspect students do make their own judgments and just keep them in their heads). Every once in a while a student will ask a question in class but although I can’t understand what they’re saying the reply has never been longer than a few words which I take to mean they only ask clarifying questions not questions looking for more information.

If I were to simply end this blog post by repeating the three main reasons I discussed that would be majorly oversimplifying the scenario. Obviously the difference in culture also needs to be taken into account. Respecting teacher and adults in general is a concept that is strongly emphasized in Chinese culture. Moreover, education truly isn’t taken for granted. When I say this I don’t mean that it’s difficult for kids in Hangzhou to get access to education (though this is unfortunately not the case for many other parts of the country) but in order to get a good education kids have to work quite hard, and they have a lot of competition at every step. We’ve heard a lot about the college entrance examination but there are also exams to place into a good high school and even to get into a good middle school. When you’re whole life you’ve been working and taking tests for better and better education it seems it would be hard not to appreciate the one you receive.