The Yali School

While I was in Changsha, I had the pleasure of visiting Yali Middle School, which is one of the most selective high schools in Hunan Province. What's so special about Yali, you ask? Well, it was founded more than 100 years ago by Yale-in-China, now known as the Yale-China Association.

The school is known for its excellent English education, as the English teachers are Yale graduates who receive a two year fellowship to teach at Yali. I met one of the Yale fellows who graciously gave me a tour of the campus.

The School

Yali has an open campus, with a main gate and separate buildings for athletic facilities, libraries, classrooms, and dorms (it's a boarding school).

I already mentioned that Yali is famous for its English education. Recently, in addition to having standard English classes, it has also added specialized English courses such as theater and writing.

Yali is also unique compared to similarly ranked Chinese high schools because it offers an abundance of extracurricular activities. To my knowledge, the typical Chinese high school student does not really get to engage in many activities because he or she must focus on academics and the big college examination. However, Yali makes sure its students are well-rounded. There is student government, environmental clubs, etc.

Similar to other schools in the area, the students are divided up into classes by their grades (grades as in scores). Therefore, all the best students are in the same classes and the "worst" students are in the same classes. Though this is extremely controversial, I can see how it would make teaching instruction easier, as students are grouped by ability level.

Unlike schools here, students are in the same classroom with the same classmates the whole day while the teachers are the ones that have to shift around. Classes are 40 minutes each. Though the school day is longer, students have a lunch break of 2 hours.

The Students

No doubt about it - the students here are the cream of the crop! Many of them apply and get into the top universities in China as well as around the world.

The teaching fellow who gave me a tour told me his view of Chinese students. He believes that compared to American students, Chinese students are at a higher intellectual level (at least the ones at Yali). I can understand this - they spend so much more time on academics. They start high level math at a very young age. At my cousin's age, I would not have been able to comprehend the calculus she is now working on. Now, this does not mean that Chinese students are inherently smarter or quicker - just that at a younger age they have the capacity to understand more complex concepts because they have been trained this way.

However, the teaching fellow thinks that Chinese students generally are at a lower emotional maturity level than their American counterparts. For example, high school students in China would be comparable to middle school students in America. This also makes sense. After all, Chinese children receive so much more coddling and overprotection from parents as well as the school system. The parents cater so much to their children's needs that they do not allow them any room for independence. Schools prohibit students from dating, and teachers are a very big influence in a student's private and family life.

The students I met and saw wore the same plain blue school uniforms. They were all friendly and polite. The ones I did speak to had impeccable English.

The Teaching Fellows

I was surprised to learn that the Yale teaching fellows do not need any Chinese language or culture background at all before arriving in China. The fellow that gave me a tour explained that at first he actually was more interested in the teaching English part, not the China part. He arrived in Beijing right after graduation from Yale and had a crash course in Chinese and teaching. Then he left for Changsha.

I imagine that must have been quite a shock! Beijing may be a pretty cosmopolitan capital and a good transitional stage from the U.S. to China, but Changsha certainly is not. Changsha, located in the southern heartland, is a bustling, colorful city that certainly makes no apologies for being Chinese down to the core (after all, Mao Zedong did grow up here!).

The teaching fellows live on campus in a separate building from the other teachers. I was interested in the dynamics between the foreign teachers and the Chinese teachers, because, for one, there is an age difference, and the Chinese put a lot of emphasis on respect for elders. Apparently the two groups do not have too much interaction but the foreign teachers do instruct the Chinese teachers in English on a weekly basis.

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So I'm really excited because my cousin in Changsha got into Yali! Chinese students need to take examinations to see which high schools they can place into. Apparently you basically need all A's on six exams to get into Yali. Yali was her first choice and she is really excited! Her parents would rather her to go a nearby high school so she doesn't have to live away from home, but her heart is set on Yali, because 1) there are many extracurriculars, and 2) apparently the guys there are very cute. Oh, that would be on the mind of a 15-year-old girl.

Education, Part II

So the other day I had another look at the pressure-cooker environment of students in China. My cousin has just completed middle school. While she was at school, she basically had to do homework all night. I remember my middle school years - I would rush home and quickly speed through about half an hour's worth of homework so I wouldn't miss my favorite TV shows.

I took a peek at some of her past homework. She was learning complex algebra and calculus that we don't learn until upper level high school math class in the states. Crazy!

In China, middle school students take national exams at the end of their middle school career. What scores they receive determine which high school they will be able attend. Which high school they attend will greatly affect what college they may be able to get into. Therefore, the pressure is on to get into a top high school in the district. This is why most high schools are boarding schools - because the students' homes may be all the way across the city.

I have heard that middle school and high school are extremely tough years but college is really easy. The students spend so much time and effort throughout their whole lives to get into a top college, that when they finally get there, they let loose.

This is my cousin's middle school. Each classroom holds about 60 students. Most schools are in the same "open" design, with no indoor hallways or passageways. There is no air conditioning so in the summer heat so attending class can almost be unbearable. I have heard stories of students fainting during class.

There is no such thing as discretion and respect for privacy in the Chinese education system. Where one sits in the classroom is determined by one's grades. My cousin told me that the best students sit in the second row, the next best in the third row, etc. The worst students sit in the front row. Grades are posted publicly for all to see.

This chart, I believe, publicly records the behavior of all the students.

The school environment is really strict as well. All students wear uniforms. Romantic relationships are frowned upon because they are looked upon as a distraction from academics. Students have to go behind not only their parents' but also their teachers' backs to date. I think it's really strange that personal relationships are included in the sphere of a teacher's authority.

Grades came out today and I am happy to say my cousin got top scores so she can have her pick of any high school in the city. I'm hoping she can finally relax, but nope - her parents enrolled her in an English class that meets for nearly 3 hours every night.

Here is the link for Education, Part I.

Education

In China, public education is free but competitive. There are examinations in middle school to determine which high school one will be placed into. In each city the high schools are ranked; the higher one’s scores are, the better high school one can attend. Many high school students live on campus because their family may not live nearby.


It used to be extremely difficult to go to college due to the huge pool of students and the small amount of colleges. During my mother’s time, only one or two students from a high school would be accepted into a college. Everything was determined by examinations taken at the end of the senior year of high school.

Now, though it is easier to get a college education, it still is rare to be accepted into a high-ranked college. Test scores still are the main determinant. This year, June 7-9 were the national testing dates for high school seniors. On these days, all the test takers in the nation gathered at designated testing centers to participate in the most important written examinations of their lives.

I went walking one afternoon and happened upon one of these testing centers. There were hordes of nervous parents waiting outside the gates to pick up their children. Police had to direct traffic and close down the road in front of the school to control the crowd. At around five in the afternoon students started to stream out of the school. Most were chattering with friends, relieved to be done with a hard day of testing.


In my opinion the Chinese education system focuses too much on rote memorization. There is little emphasis on creativity, leadership, or independent thinking. The importance placed on test scores and class rank puts too much pressure upon students. This is not to say that the American system is perfect either. After all, American students fall far behind Chinese students in areas such as math and science. However, a more holistic approach to education college admissions that look at the whole person instead of just numbers may lead to a more diverse and vibrant class of educated citizens.

Luxury Goods

Though China has a low cost of living, there are certain goods and services here that only the wealthy can afford.

Currently, golf is only a sport for the upper-class. My uncle designs golf courses for a living and has his own company. He designed this golf training course. Golf lessons can cost around 600 Yuan an hour, which is about $100. Luckily my uncle can be my private instructor for free! We went to this training course on afternoon. We were able to relax and practice in the special VIP lounge.

Golf is much harder than it looks! I kept swinging and missing the ball but in the end I could actually hit the ball with the accurate position.

Another expensive service? Most "extracurricular" activities for young children such as piano and dance lessons. My aunt takes her two little kids to this educational playtime class. It is run by Gymboree and is located in a nice mall.

The classes supposedly teach toddlers motor skills and coordination. They cost 200 Yuan per child each class, which is more than $30.

This place is serious. There is a security guard that stands at the doorway. Then a lady came and pointed some sort of scanner at us (the same one as in this post) to make sure no one is sick. Then we had to take off our shoes, store them in cubbies and put on special socks.

The place slowly filled up with toddlers and babies accompanied by loving mothers or fathers. When the class started, only one parent was allowed in the room with the child and anyone else had to stand outside the classroom.

My little cousins both come here twice a week. I think they have a lot of fun!

Another item I've noticed to be costly is ice cream! This is such a pain for me because I love ice cream. When my friend and I went out one day, the ice cream we bought for dessert cost more than the meal we had just eaten for lunch. I ordered a big bowl of spicy noodles for only 12 yuan and the tiny scoop of ice cream was 15 yuan. It wasn't even a special brand.