I started working as a teacher in China. And I understood why this country has made such progress.

 

I work as a teacher in a Chinese school. And the methods of education of this country amazed me.

How is the average Chinese person formed from childhood? Looking at the Chinese children and teenagers I worked with, it was impossible not to sympathize with them sometimes.

And only after some time did I begin to understand that this upbringing is most likely a guarantee of their success in the future. I share some interesting observations directly from my work with Chinese children. 

It would be interesting to express your opinion at the end whether you approve of the Chinese approach to education.

I'll start with an incident that happened once in class, based on which you should already have some idea of ​​the parenting methods of the Chinese.

All or nothing

I taught children aged 10-14. We often used games in the classroom, in China the game-based teaching method is encouraged.

This time the game was easy - to repeat words from the materials taken, with the children pulling words out of a hat and if they said them correctly, they kept them for themselves, and at the end they counted how many words each person had collected.

To add some sparkle to the game and make it more interesting and engaging, I told the children that there were several cards with pictures of dynamite in the hat. Whoever got it lost a few cards.

I think I don't need to say how engrossed the children were and how closely they followed the game. Several children took out the "dynamite" card and reacted appropriately, but at some point it was taken out by a Chinese boy in whom I had long noticed the habits of a leader.

After drawing the wrong card, the child became very angry. He turned the table over, ran into the hallway, soiled the newly painted hallway walls with his shoe, and flatly refused to talk or return to class.

And this is not an isolated case. My colleagues constantly had similar stories, and in the end I realized that it was all about upbringing.

Chinese parents instill in their children from childhood that they have to be the best at everything. I think this is very different from European education, where the child is taught that they are the best and can do whatever they want. 

But not in China. Chinese parents are known around the world for their strictness and excessive demands on their children.

Imagine that every day your parents tell you that you simply cannot afford to lose or do something wrong! So much so that if you fail, you perceive it as the end of the world. What will your parents say if you come in second instead of first? What if you don't come in first?

Considering the size of China's population, it becomes clear what kind of crazy competition there is among adults who were taught as children to be better than everyone else...

More than once I have seen grandfathers waiting in the hallway, hitting their grandchildren on the back of the head because they didn't get good grades. And in general, it is typical for Chinese education for a child to be punished for grades. And sometimes even for A's, because they could have been A's!

A million lessons and courses

I was a little shocked when I realized how busy my students were.

Private lessons usually started after 4pm, which is when students finished their lessons and went to extra classes. Any self-respecting Chinese person would send their child to a million different classes if they had the money.

It is necessary for the child to be able to do as many things as possible and get used to the difficulties!

Besides English lessons, my students had a whole bunch of different subjects. During breaks, and sometimes during our lessons, they would secretly take out their notebooks.

Because they had a lot of homework. It's 7 pm now, I'll be home at 9 pm and they'll go back to school tomorrow morning!

I know that in our country, children also send their children to various trainings and courses, but in China, children are subjected to an unbearable burden from childhood. And school ends quite late!

Pros and cons

Of course, it is great that Chinese parents are willing to invest in various clubs and courses for additional education. What they choose are kindergartens with various programs (if finances allow), where children not only prepare for school, but also learn to sing, draw, have an English teacher...

But on the other hand, Chinese parents put a lot of pressure on their children. And they often force people to choose a profession not according to their heart's desire, but solely based on salary and career growth opportunities.

Talent is not the most important thing

Generally, Chinese parents praise hard work rather than talent. So it's great if you have talent, but hard work is more important.

Overall, taking into account all factors and the habit of working hard for success, instilled since childhood, we can understand why China surprises the whole world with its economic development.