Related reading:
Top Gaokao scorers in
2013
Huang Yiqing has become
an Internet celebrity, not because he
earned the top science score in
the college entrance exam in Wuhan,
the capital of Hubei province, but
for what he subsequently wrote on
Renren, a Chinese website similar to
Facebook.
After learning his
score for this year's gaokao,
or college entrance exam, Huang wrote,
"I have received praise from people
all over the city, but I
can't win your love," on June
26, suggesting he had been turned down
by the girl he
loves.
The confession divided
netizens: Some offered understanding and
support, while others voiced ridicule
and criticism. What has interested
people more, however, is the
realization that gaokao champions are
no longer deemed high in intelligence
and good exam takers but lacking
in emotion or more mundane
interests.
Education experts said
schools, teachers, parents and all of
society have contributed to changing
these high-achieving
students.
"Different from the
past, now the whole of society
expects to see more versatile students
with distinctive personalities, thus making
teachers and parents pay more
attention to the all-round development
of students," said Cai Yanhou, a
researcher on education at Central
South University in Changsha, Hunan
province.
"Besides, experienced
teachers usually have a set of
effective methods, which will help
students master a huge amount of
knowledge in a short time and
get high scores in exams," added
Cai. "So students have time for
hobbies and other extracurricular
activities."
Huang is one
such example.
A graduate of
Wuhan Foreign Language School this
year, Huang earned a gaokao score
of 682 out of 750. Although he scored
well, he said he is not a
diligent student and had never
previously ranked first in an
exam.
"I'm a fast
learner and just studied efficiently
at school," he said. "After school
was my leisure time, when I
played basketball with classmates and
friends or listened to music, watched
movies or played video games at
home.
"If there is a
secret to my success, I think
it's my good attitude, for
which I have to thank my
parents because they seldom put
pressure on me."
Huang said
his school had encouraged students to
develop hobbies and skills and
organize student associations and activities.
He took part in groups that
focused on music as well as
environmental protection, which he credits
with helping him study.
For
students a decade ago, it was
another story.
Chen Lili, the
liberal arts gaokao champion of
Guigang, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region,
in 2006, remembers the hard time she
had then, saying she was extremely
hardworking, making full use of every
minute to study. So were her
classmates.
"At that time, we
got up at six o' clock in
the morning and studied till half
past ten in the evening," Chen
recalled. "Apart from some time for
physical exercise, all of our time
was spent on preparing for the
gaokao during the third year of
high school and we didn't have
much time to develop our own
hobbies."
Chen, who is now
employed by a well-known domestic
securities company, said she is glad
to see more gaokao champions succeed
with ease, but she said students
of different eras may have different
studying methods.
"I don't
regret the painstaking efforts I
took," Chen said, "after all, it
was the hard work in those
years that led me this
far."
Wang Sunyu, a professor
and educationist with Tsinghua University,
said thanks to a focus on
quality education in recent years,
there are now more gaokao champions
who are fully developed, both in
intelligence and other life skills,
rather than students who are only
good at passing exams.
"Quality
education as well as all-round
development is good for a student,"
he said, explaining that hobbies can
have a positive effect on study.
"For example, the ways people get
inspired by music and by math
are alike, therefore students who play
the piano often may find they
are not bad at
math.
"Also, students who enjoy
reading philosophy or literature usually
have a deeper understanding of
humanity, which not only enables them
to write thoughtful articles but is
also good for their
development."
Tang Shengchang, 71, a
former principal of the prestigious
Shanghai High School, said many
Chinese high schools have been
encouraging personal development among
students for more than 10 years and
the effects have been seen in
recent years.
"We have
witnessed a number of versatile gaokao
champions who are good at both
studying and playing in the past
several years," he said.
"But
the number of such champions is
really high this year, indicating that
the quality education in high schools
of our country is going through
a qualitative change."
More
high-scorers are setting such
examples.
Zhang Yunning, the
liberal arts gaokao champion in
Beijing, is good at playing the
piano. When the gaokao results were
released on June 23, China Youth Daily
reported she was enjoying a concert
in a theater. She also likes
baking at home with her
classmates.
Zhu Chenzhuo, who
came first in science in Beijing,
is reported to be a big
basketball fan who played twice a
week for his three years of
high school. He continued with the
sport even during his preparation for
the gaokao.
"It takes me
about two hours a day to finish
my homework," Zhu was quoted as
saying by China Youth Daily. "Then
I spend my spare time doing
what I like to do."