Gaokao effect

A student had just finished reading his persuasive speech in one of my Speech and Debate classes, causing me to give a big, exasperated sigh.  Maybe if he came to class, he would have seen the grading rubric, and maybe even followed the directions.  Then again, probably not.  Instead, he put together this hastily written speech:

     As a college student, maybe you all think I always skip classes because I think college students should be allowed to skip classes.  Our school regualation hand book says no.  However in my opinion college students should have the right to do so.  It is necessary here to state the purpose of students attending classes.  They do this to gain more knowledge and skills.  In most cases going to classes is a very good and irreplaceable way for students to obtain knowledge.  In some cases, however, students can benefit more if they skip certain classes.  Some do so because they are not in the mood of classes at that certain moment.  Some do so because they have a need for sleep that priorities them with necessary energy for important things later in the day.  Some do so because they need to do something else that they can only do at that particular time.  Of course if they are not very familiar with the content of missed class, they should make up for it.     College students are most over 18 years old.  They are not children any more.  They can make this kind of dicision.  They can be responsible for theirselves.  So college students should be allowed to skip classes.

When he finished, I asked for his written copy because I didn’t know what else to say.  I was thinking, “Why are you wasting your parent’s money and my time?”        

I found this explanation in the PC China material:

Everyone will have students that seem lazy and uninterested in studying. The main reason for this is all the preparations they did to get into college, specifically the “Gaokao” (college entrance exam),the end-all-be-all of exams in China for most students and their parents. It’s basically the only thing that matters when students are applying for college, so once they are accepted their time in college may be seen as a “break” after the gaokao. Students in high school usually study at least ten hours in school and maybe add another three or more hours of self-studying after class. Before that, from their early childhood, students are required to learn different skills like instruments, writing, math etc. during the weekends. Students of all different ages have to go to private schools after class to supplement their studying. Even though it feels like a break in college, they have more exams to prepare for. For non-English majors, they must take the CET-4 and CET-6, and for English majors, they must take the TEM-4 and TEM-8. These exams matter more than any others and have a lot of weight when it comes to graduating and finding jobs after school. These aren’t excuses for their seeming laziness, but if you want to understand a Chinese student’s school life, it all resolves around these exams.

PBS did a fascinating documentary on the Goakao.  I'm often asked about how American students get into college.  They are amazed when I tell them that US colleges and universities consider test scores, grades, extracurricular activities, jobs, volunteer experience, and so much more.  In China, it's one test score that will determine where a student will go to school and their major.  No choice.  

Many Chinese students want to study in the US.  I hear this all the time.

Most of my students come to class, work hard, and are a joy to teach.