Shengliver’s Note: High school in China is all about grades. The other aspects of high school, such as character building and life experiences, are thought to be by-products of the three-year education. However, for a teenager himself, he grows in all aspects, academically, mentally, physically and many more. In this revised entry, the readers will read about four Chinese teens’ moments of growth in their lives. All of them are adults now working in different places of China.

 

This term, the makeup of the student population has changed very much. YYHS used to recruit its freshmen from the satellite counties of Shiyan City. This year, however, a large proportion of the newcomers are from the city proper as a result of changes in the recruitment policies laid down by the local education authority and of the reckless promotion the school did of itself.

 

In the past, a lot of my students were of underprivileged backgrounds. Some had trouble paying their tuition fees; some even could not afford the expense of staying on campus. In contrast, the majority of the newcomers are just the opposite. Some have parents who run their own businesses; some say their parents work in the municipal government, the hospitals or banks. They do not worry about their weekly budget for they get a lavish allowance from their fathers and mothers. They have access to the Internet at home and in the school. They do not study because university would offer them a way out of poverty.

 

The new arrivals have made me aware that they need new motivations for learning. I have been figuring out my new ways with them. At the same time, day by day, week by week, the teens have been growing and learning. I have noted a couple of moments of growth as follows.

 

A Ruined Weekend

 

Zhang Chengyue comes from downtown but she opts to board in the dorm. She feels free in the school without her parents telling her to do this and that all the while. She goes back home on Saturday afternoon after the third class. She comes back to school on Sunday afternoon for a new week.

 

The competitive learning environment at YYHS has raised the girl’s awareness that she should improve herself if she wants to stand out from the peers. She determines to improve herself in some ways.

 

Usually on the weekend when she is home, she spends loads of time on computer games and TV. One Saturday, she thought it was time that she cut down on entertainment and gave more time instead to her homework and serious stuff.

 

After supper, she laid her eyes on her computer. She said to herself, “I will play only two hours. Only two.” Then she sat down at the PC and the gaming kicked off. The next time she checked the timer, it was already midnight. “Oh, Lord!” Chengyue exclaimed.

 

She went to bed, and did not arise until 11 am on Sunday. After a brunch, Chengyue took a shower and had her hair shampooed and blow-dried.

 

Time flew. It was already 4 pm before she knew it. Her mother cooked dinner for her. After dinner, she had to head for school. The first evening class began around 6.30.

 

Homework left undone, Chengyue was remorseful. She learned a lesson from the weekend: Change does not come easy, and she has yet to change herself for the better.

 

Waking Up

 

Li Shuang the girl comes from the county town of Zhuxi. Her parents are probably government officials. In pre-high school years, she lived at home and her parents took good care of her. She did not need to do any washing then. Nor did she need to cook. When she came home from school, dinner was already on the table. She even did not need to wake up by herself in the morning. Her mother roused her on time like a clock. With helicopter parents hovering around, Li Shuang felt comfy and secure.

 

Everything changed when she started high school. Home far away from campus, she had to be a boarder, sharing a dorm with seven mates. A brand-new life was in store for Li Shuang.

 

Because she could not wake up herself in the beginning, she asked her dorm mates to help her up when the time was due. For the first few weeks her mates did it every morning. She was grateful to them for their favour. Two months into high school, Li Shuang resolved to set the alarm and get herself up, without bothering the mates any more.

 

One morning she finally made it. She woke up with the alarm going off. “This is progress,” Li Shuang beamed, congratulating herself on the achievement. One of her mates, Miss Liang Yawen, used to shake her out of sleep in the morning. Amazed by Li Shuang’s change, Yawen hugged her and pecked her on the cheek.

 

Miss Li Shuang will be staying here for three years. This little step forward is to be followed by strides towards an independent lifestyle.

 

A Webaholic

 

A Chinese teen in the 21^st century might not do maths well. He might not write good Chinese essays. He might not get straight A’s on his school report. However, there is one thing of which he is a master—the Internet and the computer. A lot of teens know more computer stuff than their teachers do. They take to the Web like ducks to water. Familiarity with digital technology does give them an edge. Nonetheless, the flip side of the coin is that some teens are addicted to the Internet and gaming. Obsession with video games disrupts their life and leaves their existence in a mess.

 

Ye Chacha comes from a town called Mt Wudang. He is not bad at English, but his failure to turn in his journal and assignments many times arouses my suspicion that something preoccupies him.

 

He got home one Saturday afternoon for the weekend break. As with all the other students, he had to come back the next evening for a new week. During the one-day break he had to do his homework. He also had to take care of his personal stuff—taking a bath and washing his hair, meeting former friends, and catching up on his games.

 

No sooner had Chacha got home and dumped his backpack on the floor than he booted up the machine. Not having done his favourite games for a week, he started to quench his thirst straightaway. There was no time for a proper dinner, so he nibbled some snacks instead while gaming. Before he realised it, it was 6 o’clock Sunday morning. He was so spent that he fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. When he woke up, it was already Sunday afternoon. He had to take a coach back to school, hair unkempt, bath not taken, and homework undone.

 

Ye Chacha wrote later in the journal that he would never again play games throughout a night. “It sucks,” he reflected. “I have many missions to accomplish.”

 

I am afraid that a lot of Chinese teens, without any discipline, would turn webaholic. May those hooked on games learn to control themselves and put their gaming into perspective.

 

A Botched Meal

 

Miss Guo Weiwen commutes to and from school every day. Though not a boarder, she is learning fast too.

 

One Sunday morning the girl was sleeping late. Her father had to do overtime on the weekend. While Weiwen was still in her dreams, her father called in. Half dreamy half conscious, she took the call on the cell phone. The father asked Weiwen to do lunch herself for he would have to come back later than usual. She agreed before she went back to sleep.

 

Around ten am the girl awoke with a start. The father’s call drifted back to her mind. She was getting a little panicky because she had never cooked a meal before. She had agreed on the phone to cook because she, not fully awake at the time, did not know consciously what she was mumbling.

 

Weiwen shot out of bed. After washing and brushing, she dashed to the supermarket. Weiwen sometimes has lunch in the school canteen, where one dish—tofu and ham cooked together—impresses her. She decided to try the same dish at home for her father.

 

It was time to cook. She sliced and diced the ingredients first. Then she flicked on the stove and poured cooking oil in the wok. The oil got hotter and hotter but Weiwen had no idea which to put in first, tofu or ham. Oil sizzling, smoke billowing, she could no longer hesitate. She threw both tofu and ham simultaneously into the wok.

 

The dish turned out to be a disaster. It looked ugly for one thing. When her father sat down and dug into it at lunch, he said too little salt had been put in. So more salt was sprinkled over the dish.

 

The meal was botched up, but did Miss Guo Weiwen learn from her first ever cooking experience? Definitely.