Saw a Post, Remembered My High School Life

Today I saw a post on Tianya titled “Shandong Students’ Schedule”:

This is the schedule for most middle/high schools in Shandong:

Wake up (Grade 9/12): 5:00 Wake up (Grades 7,8,10,11): 5:20 Morning exercise (4000m run): 5:35 Pre-class self-study (Chinese/English): 5:50-6:25 Breakfast: 6:25 Prep: 6:55 Period 1: 7:00-7:45 Period 2: 7:55-8:40 Period 3: 8:50-9:35 Period 4: 9:45-10:30 Period 5: 10:40-11:25 Lunch: 11:25 Nap (at desk, usually doing homework): 12:00-1:20 Prep: 1:30 Period 6: 1:35-2:20 Period 7: 2:30-3:15 Period 8: 3:25-4:10 Period 9: 4:20-5:05 Self-study (actually lecturing): 5:15-6:00 Dinner (usually in classroom): 6:00 Prep: 6:30 Evening self-study (usually 2-3 hours of lecturing or exams): 6:30-10:30 Mandatory lights out (Grades 7,8,10,11): 11:00 Mandatory lights out (Grade 9/12): 11:00 Students finishing homework: 10:30- Actually sleeping: after 11:30!!!!

Seeing this post reminded me of my own days. Middle and high school were pretty much the same.

Wake up at 5, sleep at 11 (now waking at 9 feels early, sleeping at 11 feels early too). Back then: 4 morning periods, 4 afternoon periods, 3 evening periods, plus an hour of morning reading after the run. No weekends. One day off every month, mainly for boarding students to go home and get money.

About morning runs: we’d run a big loop around campus, at least 3km, but with walking in between. Every day, weekends included. Many girls skipped the run — I know now why I didn’t understand back then. Six years of this through middle and high school. Now I’ve got a belly, but my calves are still rock solid — six years of积淀.

When I got into university, I was determined to make something of myself and go back to save the struggling students in my hometown. Now, by some twist of fate, I’m in education myself, but that idea has slowly faded. Maybe I’ve become what people call a “vested interest.”