No summer relief for kindergarten pupils
Updated: 2013-07-25 09:08
By Wu Ni (China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Pre-primary training has become a matter of course,Wu Ni reports in Shanghai.
Although there is still a year to go before Nie Jiayi leaves kindergarten, the 5-year-old girl is busy preparing for primary school, which she is due to start in September 2014.
Jiayi practises piano at home. Wu Ni / China Daily |
Jiayi had been dreaming about the perfect summer vacation and was looking forward to traveling outside her city with her parents, but has just discovered that her holiday is unlikely to be a relaxing experience.
Her days are full. Every morning, escorted by her grandparents, she leaves home well before 8 to attend a one-hour pinyin course, where she learns to spell Chinese in roman script. The two-week course costs 1,000 yuan ($163).
A selection of Jiayi's books. Wu Ni / China Daily |
Jiayi also attends an hourlong English class twice a week. She is making good progress, but is a little shy about demonstrating her US accent. The class costs 160 yuan an hour.
In addition, she has a "logical thinking" class once a week, costing 220 yuan an hour. The tutor claims the course can develop children's ability to think in a structured and logical manner.
Meanwhile, a piano teacher visits Jiayi's home in Shanghai's Xuhui district once a week, charging 160 yuan an hour. And, as if all that were not enough, the girl has also been enrolled for classes in dancing and drawing at the kindergarten.
Jiayi confessed, "I don't want to go to the courses. My mother wants me to go, but I would like to go traveling instead, or watch Balala, Little Magic Fairy (a popular Chinese animation), that's my favorite!"
- Death toll in Spain train crash rises to 56
- Royal baby named George Alexander Louis
- 'The Grandmaster' takes center stage
- Fewer Chinese consumers picking Apple's iPhone
- Yuan: Financial capitals vying for top spot
- Little princes and princesses
- Obama lauds Louisville in White House visit
- PLA special forces hold military contest
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
No summer relief for kindergarten pupils |
Safety worries mount |
Giving ancient Lhasa a facelift |
Families feel the pull of 'gravity' |
Party seeks to boost ties with the public |
Conundrum over sexual bribery |
Today's Top News
Snowden's hopes of leaving airport dashed
US extends review of Shuanghui, Smithfield merger
'Few hundred' at Manila anti-China rally
Obama, Congress both losing public support
Abe seeking to 'contain' Beijing
Li points way for railways reform
VP visits Pyongyang for 60th truce anniversary
Palace: Royal baby named George Alexander Louis
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |