中国と日本における学校生活の違い
2023.10.14
The difference in school life between China and Japan
What do Japanese students focus on in their school life? There are a lot of things, such as studying, working part-time jobs, doing club activities, or spending time with friends.
In this summer vacation, I visited a university in China to study the culture of China and the school life in China. Actually, my mother work at the university I visited in China. Surprisingly, it is very different how the Japanese and Chinese seem to value education.
Chinese high school students, like my brother, usually start school at 6:30 am and finish school at 9:30 pm. They also can’t rest properly on weekends. In comparison, the high school life that I experienced in Japan has classes from 9 am to 4 pm, and after school, you can freely use your time, such as doing club activities, going to cram schools, and working part-time jobs. For Chinese high school students, the entrance examination into university is the most important exam that determines their life. Of course, entrance exams in Japan are important, but the stakes are higher in China. In Japan, most students go to school alone. But in China, quite a few people go to school escorted by their parents, who drop them off and pick them up.
The Chinese, who devote most of their high school life to studying, study a lot even after entering university. There were many students studying on university campuses and cafeterias, even during the summer vacation. According to a Chinese student I met who is in university, few students work part-time jobs, and in their spare time, many of them prepare for lessons, review previous lessons and study for particular licenses and qualifications. I think the difference between the school life in Japan and China is the ratio of “study” in life, and how much they place importance on studying.
In Japan, there are many universities with a school style that values autonomy, but on the other hand, if you want to be lazy, you can be as lazy as you want. I don’t like an excessive education system that restricts students from doing anything other than studying, but I was able to recognize the importance of learning by seeing their hunger for learning. Along with my major, English literature, I am also actively interested in fields such as history and politics and will study hungrily every day.
中国と日本における学校生活の違い
日本の学生は学生生活において、何に一番重きを置くだろうか。勉強、アルバイト、サークルや部活動、友人との時間など、様々あるだろう。では中国の学生はどうだろうか。
私は今年の夏休みに、母親の働く中国の大学に短い期間だが、中国文化や中国での大学生活を学びに行った。驚くことに、日本と中国では教育に対する価値観が全くと言っていいほど違うことが分かった。
私の弟は中国の高校に在学しているが、授業は毎朝6時半から21時半まで行われている。彼らは土日の休日でさえまともに取ることはできないそうだ。これに比べ、私が経験した日本での高校生活では朝の9時から16時までの授業に、放課後には部活や塾、アルバイトなど自由に時間を使うことができる。中国の高校生にとって大学受験とは、人生を決める1番重要なテストであるために勉強にすべてを捧げているのだ。また、日本の学生はほとんどが1人で通学をするが、中国の学生は両親が送り迎えをする場合が多い。
高校生活のほとんどを勉強に捧げる中国人は、大学に進学してからの勉強量も多いと感じる。大学のキャンパスや食堂などを歩いてみると、夏休み中にも関わらず多くの生徒が勉強をしていた。中国の大学に在学中の生徒に話を聞いたところ、アルバイトをしている生徒は少なく、空いた時間は授業の予習や復習、資格の勉強をする人が多いそうだ。日本での大学生活との違いはやはり生活の中の「勉強」の比率、勉強への重きの置き方であると感じた。
日本は自主性を重んじる校風の大学がほとんどだが、逆に言うと甘えようと思えばいくらでも甘えることができる。今回実際に中国の学生生活を覗いてみて、勉強以外を制限してしまう過度な教育はあまりよく思わなかったが、彼らの「学び」に貪欲な姿勢を見て、学ぶことの大切さを今一度認識できた。自分の専攻分野だけではなく、歴史や政治のような分野には特に積極的に関心を持ち日々学んでいこうと思った。