By Cao Baoyin

What Makes Chinese Children Fall Behind?

By Cao Baoyin

S unyunxiao,anexpertin teenagerproblems,published an article named‘A Summer Camp Contest’,indicating that Chinese children failed in the competition withtheirJapanesecounterparts. Through the years,however,Chinese children seemed to fail in making any evident progress as in a recent contest with Korean children,Chinese team were defeated again.

Different Attitudes in Training

On July 7,2015,I conversed with Korean art training agency‘C&K ACADEMY’about the business cooperation during the China International Children’s Culture and Art Week.

The chairman of board of directors, Li Chunri found that Chinese children are commonly spoiled and vulnerable. Many Chinese parents even had conflicts with Korean trainers because they think their children have endured much pains due to the strict training.

On the contrary,Korean children are generally able to endure hardships and theirparents also regard‘no pains,no gains’as their education value.Instead of tangling with them for the hard training,Korean parents felt more thankful to the trainers.

It finally proved that Korean children quickly made achievements in art while Chinese children remained at the level of amateurs in‘a(chǎn)fter school classes’.

In the competition between Chineseand Korean children,what makes Chinese fall behind?

Professional art training is certainly quite demanding.The old saying‘one minute on the stage requires ten years of practice off the stage’has explained this education concept well. Nevertheless,many Chinese parents usually ignore this point which makes their children hard to tolerant any physical or emotional pressure,disadvantaged in survival,anti-stress,anti-strike and anti-loneliness ability,not to mention their cultural creativity and innovation against authorities and conventions.

Parents are the first teachers as well as important supervisors of their children.If parents believe in an incorrect education value,their children are very likely to deviate from the track of well-being.The reasons that Korean children perform better in painstaking have something to do with their competitive society,but also deeply owing to the recognition of their parents.Korean parents believe that after the bitter comes the sweet;only if their children develop the strong character,outstanding capability,independent spirit and free mind could they enjoy the happiness of career success in adulthood.

Unusual"Left-behind Children"

It is hard to understand that many Chinese parents are unwilling to see their children getting any physical painstaking,but would rather let them suffer from pains of emotional,affectional and familial problems.One of the best examples is that many higher-tuition International schools have received a largenumberofunusualChinese‘left-behind children’who have been away from home and lodging in school all the year round.Whereas the perfect school facilities and excellent faculties are unable to replace the value of parenting in the growing process of children.

Lately,I was invited to the graduation ceremony for elementary school students in an International school.As an expert in child education and cultural creation,I regard this graduation ceremony as an adult ceremony in children’s own spirit.One student’s father said loudly that he is fully assured to this school so that he changed his visit frequency from every two weeks to every two months,and then becameeverytwotermsuntilap proaching the graduation of his child.

The assurance of this father aroused my great unassurance on the develop-ment of affection,emotion and family ethic of his child.In rural areas,the lack of parenting and psychological disorder of left-behind children have caused serious social problems;yet rural families have no options due to poverty.However,this father is a high-earner who has spent expensive tuition and fees to separate his child from family until the end of each term. We could imagine the blank under standing upon family from a child who lacks enough parental company.

Parents’company can be the best education for children.It is like breast milk that cultivates children’s physical,emotional,affectional and ethical development.Children with parental company will have a strong sense of security and higher rates on well-being index.Unfortunately,numerous Chinese parents are willing to let their children suffer from this pain;and still worse,this phenomenon has become a model of some high income families which indeedhurttheirchildren badly.

The competition between children from China,Japan and Korea is actually a competition between parents from three countries above in terms of education concept and values.The fact is,Korean children take pains for the sake of happiness;in contrast,Chinese children only take pains after pains.Many parents in China believe that‘Never let the child fall behind from the starting point’,but Chinese children suffering from the inappropriate pains might have fallen behind because of the education values of their parents. (FromChinaNewsweekVol.27, 2015.Illustration:Chi Xingcheng)