Introduction
With the development of and competition in education around the world, students’ study pressure has increased tremendously. In some parts of China, high school students had to spend 9.8 hours on learning in the classroom every weekday (Wei, 2014), while the average time for finishing homework was 2.82 hours, which was the longest in the world (Guo, 2008). Under this situation, some people are arguing about whether the subjects taught in school will all be useful for the students when they grow up, and that is what this article is aimed at investigating.
Major subjects
Major subjects are the most important subjects that students need to learn during their high school life. There are three major subjects—Chinese, math, and English, which are all recognized as the most fundamental subjects that occupy 60% of the total score of the Chinese Gaokao, the entrance exam for universities (OECD, 2016).
Chinese language and literature
As Chinese is the mother language of the Chinese, it has undoubtedly been recognized as the most important subject for high school students. It is the foundation of all the subjects taught in China and of the Chinese students’ ability to understand and solve problems in their daily lives. Chinese is used to read and understand information on other subjects and is used to communicate and share opinions with others. Without Chinese, it would be much more difficult to study or even survive in China.
However, there are some opposite perspectives toward learning Chinese literature in high school. Some people are arguing that some of the content of the high schools’ Chinese literatures are not required and necessary in their future lives. Others believe that reading literature written by people from various cultures helps students understand the world better. It also helps students understand and speculate about issues related to diversity (Colby and Lyon, 2004).
Math
Math is another very important subject for high school students in China, as it has the same score as Chinese. Math textbooks teach the rudimentary math abilities, like calculation, understanding statistic tables, and solving daily problems, as well as relatively complicated topics like solid geometry, conic curves, and trigonometric functions.
The rudimentary part of high school math is very important in our daily life. For example, we can use the strategy of calculation to count the money that we should pay when we buy vegetables in the market. With the strategy, we can count the price both efficiently and accurately to both save time and avoid being tricked by the seller.
The complicated part of high school math can only be used in some specific major in the students’ future. The math that we study in high school can be used in science-related majors like statistics, economics, physics, engineering, biology, chemistry, and computer science. However, it is not useful for literature-related majors, like history, sociology, and philosophy.
English
The high schools in China require all students to choose a second language, including English and other kinds of language. With that said, most students can only choose English because most high schools only provide English classes. English is one of the most important languages all around the world, as it is recognized as the universal language of the world and bridges communication between people from different countries and cultures. Also, there are many countries that recognize English as their mother language like the UK, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, etc.
So, studying English is essential for students who want to study or work in foreign countries in the future or work in English-related fields in their home countries. Moreover, students who want to take science-related majors may need to read some professional English articles and papers related to their major. More than 75% of scientific papers are in English nowadays when they are published (Deng, 2015). But for students who learn literature-related subjects in their own language, like Chinese history and Chinese politics, studying English is not the most useful thing for them.
Conclusion
The ability to master the basics of the three major classes–Chinese, math and English–are all important for high school students in China. However, when it comes to the more advanced level, the level of importance depends on the major they want to choose in their university.
Minor subjects
Although minor classes appear to be less important than major classes, they are still required in Chinese high school curricula. The unified final exam held by the Chinese Fundamental Education Institute requires all Chinese high school students to finish the content of the exam on six subjects according to their nature – physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, and politics (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019b). These six subjects are divided into two categories: science-related and literature-related. In addition to the final exam, the Gao Kao also requires students to choose one of these categories and the three subjects they choose occupy 40% of the Gao Kao (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019b).
Science-related subjects
Physics, chemistry, and biology are all included in the ‘science-related’ category. They are all full of scientific knowledge and require logical, objective thinking. Physics in high school includes both basic knowledge of physical theories like classical mechanics and the interpretation calculation of physical phenomena (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). Chemistry in high school is basically aimed at letting students know the different reactions of different chemical elements and the results of normal chemical experiments. High school biology requires students to have basic knowledge of different cells and bacteria, components of the natural ecosystem, and the processes of other biological phenomena like photosynthesis (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019).
Although mastering this complex content can help students broaden their horizons, in fact, most of the content on these topics will only be useful in some specific fields when the students grow up. These subjects can provide students with basic knowledge of majors like information and computing science, applied physics, applied chemistry, environmental science, computer science and technology, and biological science, but will be useless for students who choose literature-related majors.
Literature-related
There is another category of minor subjects in Chinese high school, which includes history, geography, and politics. Chinese history includes important Chinese historical events, people, and culture for thousands of years and a simple introduction to other countries’ history (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). High-school geography classes are about improving high school students’ knowledge of different areas around the world, including the features of weather, topography, the related cultural and ecological features, some popular geographical phenomena, and basic knowledge of the earth (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). Politics includes basic knowledge of the law, personal value of property, philosophy, and features of Chinese culture (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019).
Just like the science-related subjects, mastering these complex contents can also broaden the students’ horizons but just suit majors in specific fields. Students who are good at literature-related subjects can choose majors, such as accounting, journalism, law, translation, logistics management, business administration, advertising, and so on.
Conclusion
The Chinese high school education system allows students to choose their general direction for their future studies, just like most countries’ educational systems around the world. However, students are forced to choose one of the two fields, science and literature. It does not give the students the flexibility of choosing their courses according to their own choices.
Reference list
Colby, S.A. and Lyon, A.F. (2004). Heightening Awareness about the Importance of Using Multicultural Literature. Multicultural Education, [online] 11(3), pp.24–28. Available at: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ783082 [Accessed 23 September 2022].
Deng, B. (2015). Why Is English the Language of Science? [online] Slate Magazine. Available at: https://slate.com/technology/2015/01/english-is-the-language-of-science-u-s-dominance-means-other-scientists-must-learn-foreign-language.html [Accessed 23 September 2022].
Guo, K. 郭凯 (2008). Homework burden eases for Chinese students. [online] www.chinadaily.com.cn. Available at: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201801/17/WS5a5ea5aea310e4ebf433e392.html [Accessed 24 September 2022].
OECD (2016). Education in China: A snapshot. [online] Available at: https://www.oecd.org/china/Education-in-China-a-snapshot.pdf.
Wei, K. (2014). Copying the long Chinese school day could have unintended consequences. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/copying-the-long-chinese-school-day-could-have-unintended-consequences-23398 [Accessed 23 September 2022].
Wikipedia Contributors (2019a). Education in China. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_China [Accessed 23 September 2022].
Wikipedia Contributors (2019b). Higher education in China. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education_in_China [Accessed 23 September 2022].
