Life's a drag for Shanghai kids: survey

By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-28 09:24

SHANGHAI: Schoolchildren here are not happy and the situation does not improve as they advance to the higher grades, a survey has found.

Their average rating of happiness on a scale from zero to 5 is 3.35, it said.

The findings were revealed in a survey conducted in February by the Shanghai Commission of the Communist Youth League of China, which involved 10,355 primary and junior high school students.

The happiness level moves from 3.39 to 3.4 on entry to junior high school, but drops to 3.35 a year later, and to 3.27 over a period of two years.

In the last year of junior high school the average rate is 3.1.

"Too much schoolwork is the main reason for their unhappiness," Yang Jiangding, director of the Shanghai Children Research Center, said.

About 40 percent of the students said they were not happy with life at school because of the heavy workload, and 20 percent were unhappy at home because of parental pressure to do well in their studies.

Most of the students said they "want to do well in their exams, want more leisure time, and more care and love from their parents".

Hu Tian'en, a fourth-grader at a primary school, put his happiness index at a relatively high 4.

"I love sports but do not have the time," he said.

Hu has English lessons every Monday and Friday after school, and computer science studies every Tuesday and Thursday evening.

"Many of my classmates are in a worse situation. They have to take extra lessons in Chinese, math, English, and music every day. Compared to them, I am lucky," Hu said.

Zhou Wenju, Hu's mother, said she and her husband want their only son to do well, and as a consequence, do place a lot of pressure on him.

"English and computer science will be helpful when he looks for a job in the future.

"We hope he will be able to gain entry to a quality high school then a top university," she said.

Tan Yiping, a second-grader, said she began to take piano and English lessons while still in kindergarten.

Tan's father, who did not wish to be named, said: "Every kid is taking extra lessons. Parents do not want their children to be left behind.

"That's how the society is. Since we have no way to change it, we have to adapt."

Zhou Jinyan, a chemistry teacher, said: "I feel luckier than today's students. Looking back, I think my school years were much happier than theirs."