Summer holidays give students so many options
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Huang Sinuo, 13
Huang Sinuo gets up at 6:30am, just like on normal school days. After tidying up, he practices trombone for three hours and piano for one hour.
Huang set a goal of studying at the Shanghai Music School when he was in the third grade, and has been working toward his dream since then.
“He is just a boy,” said his mother Yu Wenlan. “He can’t sit around doing nothing for long, but he also tends to procrastinate. I have to remind him of his timetable and keep him company while he practices. But he never gives up. He always says that he wants to play trombone.”
Huang was accepted into the music school, and he has used the summer holiday to hone his talent.
He went to Bremer in Germany to study trombone and had a solo performance there.
“My performance shocked the audience,” said Huang, who admitted he suffered a bad case of nerves before the performance.
“He’s a quiet boy, but with many hobbies, like dancing, video games and sports, so he wouldn’t be at a loss for things to discuss with others in Germany,” said Yu. “I think it was a good opportunity to improve his self-esteem and become more independent.”
Experience abroad is essential in a music career, she said.
Huang doesn’t necessarily agree but was very excited to be the first in his family to travel to Europe. Traveling alone for the first time, he managed to checkin at the airport and handle all his luggage.
“Many children don’t even go to school by themselves and that trend is growing,” Yu said. “I don’t want my child to be like that.”
Zhang Jiani, 17
Zhang Jiani had reason to kick back and relax a bit this summer. She has received an admission letter from Peking University.
For her, that means the first summer that she can just enjoy herself without worries.
“Now that I have a happy ending, I can really enjoy the holiday,” she said.
She planned a get-away trip with classmates, a family trip to Guiyang and a short internship before leaving for Beijing late this month.
“Normally, besides finishing homework from school, I also attended special tutoring courses,” she said.
Zhang is looking forward to starting a new and exciting life in Beijing. She admits to being a little worried about whether she can take care of herself, but the idea of freedom and independence thrills her.
As a high school Chinese teacher, her father Zhang Haiyan was instrumental in her stellar academic career.
“When she was little, I taught her about 2,000 characters before she entered primary school, and she could read novels without our help,” he said. “It’s important to cultivate good learning habits at an early stage. Parents won’t be of much use past junior high school.”
Unlike most parents who force their children to attend extracurricular lessons in summer, Zhang Haiyan doubts their worth.
“I don’t think you can learn more in two months than in the school, and besides, the cost isn’t cheap,” he said. “But, of course, I can understand the pressure when people around you are all paying for that extra schooling.”
He added, “Though I don’t like tutoring classes, my daughter does. We as parents should listen and respect our children’s choices. If they don’t want to go to tutoring classes, then no good comes of forcing them to go.”
Parents often drop children at grandparents’ houses for the holidays. Zhang said he doesn’t favor that course because parents are important in a child’s life.
Zhang Jiani said she likes to make a summer plan at the start of the holiday and spread the tasks evenly across the months. Leaving homework to the last minute is a bad idea, she said.
“This year. I had more free time so I wanted to do an internship,” she said. “Going to school is just routine work, but going to a job involves other responsibilities. I still feel I have a lot to learn.”
Yang Hao,
13
Summer camp is the highlight of Yang Hao’s holiday. He often attends two or three camps in just two months.
“I learn many things that I didn’t know before, like how a car is made and how to repair and preserve historical architecture,” said Yang. “I was an introvert before attending the camps, and now I’ve become more outgoing.”
The best summer holiday was last year, when Yang flew to Canada to attend a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) camp.
He said he learned a great many new things from activities like an autopsy on an octopus and chemistry experiments.
“It’s fascinating how 3D printing works,” he said.
After the Canadian trip, he flew to Guizhou in southern China to learn about historical preservation.
“The biggest transformation was in his personality,” said his mother Jiang Xiujuan. “He becomes more outgoing and makes friends more easily. Attending summer camps also makes him think more.
She said her son wasn’t very keen at first about a camp focused on historical architecture preservation, but it kindled an interest in him.
“Apart from achieving a good academic performance, he now wants to be useful to society,” she said. “These experiences inspire him to set higher goals for his life.”
Although Yang needs to catch up with his homework after returning from summer camps and spend a few weeks of high-intensity work, he said he still thinks the camps are worth it.
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