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Tests don’t only waste students’ time, it’s torturous
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Long days force students to stay up late to study
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Teachers in Taiwan like to give students homework even after big exams
Taiwan’s education is very different compared to America’s. It really drives students nuts. Some students even have to go to bed at midnight! Here are some reasons why Taiwan’s education gives students so much pressure:
1. Tests almost every day
The Department of Education, teachers, and parents in Taiwan think that tests help students learn better. The truth is, taking tests not only wastes our time, it also tortures students’ minds. Adults think that taking tests makes Taiwan more competitive. However, the more tests they give students, the more lazy most students become. More and more students will hate studying and tests become a nightmare at the same time.
2. School starts early and ends late
School starts at 7:00AM in Taiwan. Since we have lots of tests that we have to take every day, people stay up late to study. We go to bed at 12:00AM or even later, so sleeping less than eight hours is definitely inadequate for kids. Also, in Taiwan, we finish school at 4:50PM or even later. Many teachers like to keep students until 6:00 PM to take tests after school. Other teachers will keep students until 9:00PM to study before midterms, finals, or other important exams.
3. Some schools compare students’ grades
In Taiwan, people emphasize competitiveness. As such, teachers in Jr. High like to give students class intervals so that students can roughly know their ranking in class. Teachers not only give students class interval for midterms, they even give them during meaningless practice tests. This puts pressure on students and makes it a habit for them to compare their scores on every test. Students that get a lower ranking may lose self-confidence and start to do worse in classes.
4. Less time to play because of cram schools
Since people stress competitiveness in Taiwan, parents like to send their children to cram schools. Compared to students in the US, students in Taiwan have less time for after-school activities like exercising. Taiwanese kids don’t only go to cram schools after school, they even need to go to cram schools on weekends! It gives us even more pressure because there are tests in cram schools too. (Cram schools are where most students in Taiwan go to after school or during weekends. In Taiwan, it is really common to see students going to cram school. We usually study math, Chinese, biology, etc…).
5. Lots of homework
Teachers in Taiwan like to give students homework even after big exams. We also get a lot of summer and winter vacation homework, or have to go to school during winter and summer vacations. Each day, we have at least three homework assignments and one test to review. Since we end school late and have separate classes after school, Taiwanese students have to stay up late to finish their homework. Teachers in Taiwan love to buy workbooks and worksheets because they think it helps us students learn and practice more. They also like to save it for the last minute before we take midterms and then pass a pile out for homework.
Someone has to do something before Taiwanese students go insane. The Taiwanese education system is screwed up. I really hope that someone can stop the Department of Education before they get even crazier. If I were to become the head of the Department of Education some day, I would definitely try to learn from other countries like Finland to make our system better.
Thanks God for homeschooling!
Hi Dorota,
Thanks for your comment. We do want to say, however, that we don’t think homeschooling is the answer. There are few things better for students than the chance to exchange ideas and learn from each other, and it does wonders for socialization. We just think both the public system and how international schools are operated could use a bit of retooling.
Thanks for reading!
Completely sympathise with the Dorota. Many teachers in Taiwan, especially foreign teachers like me, know that multiple choice tests and ranking students is not just useless but actively harmful. It’s just appalling how stupid constant testing is. It’s really mindless and wrong. One major problem is that education in Taiwan is driven by people who know nothing about education. Contrary to what people say here, teachers are not respected at all. Teachers are not allowed to associate or have a union here, for example. In Taiwan, public school teachers are civil servants and not professionals free to self-determine best practise. The folk beliefs of parents can also be very harmful. Would a Taiwanese parent tell a medical doctor what to do? Of course not. Why do they think my job better than me? And so it goes. Chin up 🙂
TW education system churns out students who are un-creative and do not love learning. Instead, they are drones with no social skills, duds without personalities who have an inability to hold conversations. TW ppl’s communication skills are robotic, short and abrupt, not articulate or skillful at conveying depth, meanings and details; they are horrible at giving directions. Since TW ppl cannot give you details, they keep you in the dark and expect you to blindly follow. Compared with America or some European countries, Taiwan has less exposures to global issues. People in Taiwan tend to be closed-off to and have less perspective on current events elsewhere. The education system doesn’t encourage discussion, debate of ideas or independent thought; teachers are opaque and un-questionable authority figures. TW education relies on rote memorization, over-testing and punishment by parents and teachers, evening cram schools and churns out students that are un-creative, and lack true understanding of knowledge taught; they are 3-4 years behind in terms of maturity compared to their western counterparts and are more naive. Their minds are programmed to conform and follow, they cannot analyze something deeply and critique a system, idea or a philosophy. They are made dependent on guidance, correction and control. As a result, this place hasn’t produced any notably great scientists, artists, athletes, writers, free thinkers, visionaries (with a very few outliers who’ve gone against TW society).
Excellent insights. Your comment hits the spot.