Hello Steem Blockchain!

I'm sure most of us know that the education system is China is quite different from the West. It really is. So how does our differences in the education system affect the behaviours of the teachers in their respective countries?

Allow me to explain.

Students in China spend a lot of time in school. I teach at the top school in the city of Qinhuangdao so I have definitely been able to learn how teachers are compared to back in Canada when I was a student.

Students have to come to school before 8am for independent studies and they commence their classes at 8am. From 11:45am to 2:15pm, they have their lunch break and then from 2:15pm to 5:45pm they have more classes.

Is that all?

Nope!

They will have dinner from 6pm to 6:30pm and then continue independent studies until 8:20pm!

But wait, there's more!

If the student does not live on campus, they are finally free to go home at 8:20pm, otherwise, they must continue their independent studies until 10:30pm! At 10:30pm, they must go back to their dorms and go to sleep and the cycle continues.
students lunch.jpg
Students literally see their teachers more often then their own parents. That is why I have noticed that the teachers in China also act very much like the students' parents. Since they are around them for so long, they often times act like parents or babysitters.

Back in the West, I don't think teachers have this same relationship with the students. From what I remember, when I was a student, everybody would go to school and learn from the teachers, but after school, we generally didn't communicate with each other anymore until the next day. Teachers in the West have a more professional relationship while teachers in China are like caregivers.

Chinese teachers are strict.

But they are strict like a caring parent. They are strict because they care about the success of the students and don't want their real parents to feel disappointed in them.

I have been invited by students to go with them to karaoke as well as to eat lunch and dinner. Initially, I felt a little awkward because that isn't too common in the West. Students in the West don't even want to see their teachers outside of school hahah.

But here, it seems to be more normal because you can't spend the whole day with someone almost 24/7 and not get to know them as a person instead of just a teacher.

I don't see this is better or worse. It's just different. When you spend so much time around someone, it's hard to maintain this professional relationship. But back in the West, we usually go home at 2:30-4:00pm, so we don't necessarily need to bond to the teachers as much.