A foreign journalist interviewing Harvard undergraduate applicants in China once expressed surprise at the level of ability among Chinese students. Unable to take the SAT, which is required of US undergraduate applicants, these high schoolers were forced to take the GRE, and still scored in the very top percentile. Some might argue that expectations like these, and the preparation required to meet them, is unfair to impose on young children. But the “superkids” we interviewed in Beijing and Shanghai were far from “studying machines;” they have wide-ranging interest in everything from art and music to comic books and sports.

Guzhao Xiaohan’s mother often takes her to parks on the weekends to practice sketching. Her mother’s attitude is somewhat different from that of Mo Fan’s parents. She feels that while children are young, they should study as much as possible, and make their knowledge bases as broad as possible. So she registered her daughter in a number of extracurricular courses, including painting, dance, calligraphy, and English, to name just some. But she consulted Guzhao Xiaohan for all of these decisions. And time has shown that she has, indeed, picked up a lot from her courses: especially English. She has even used English to give a speech to her classmates!

In China, it used to be that the very earliest a student would possibly begin to study English would be in primary school. But now, there are some preschools that have begun not only to teach English, but to do so with the help of native English speakers. These foreign teachers usually bring with them a more relaxed, flexible style of teaching, incorporating all kinds of games and songs into their lessons.

In many Chinese homes with young children, as a result of the “one-child policy,” it is not uncommon to find several adult caretakers responsible for one child. In many cases, the children become so spoiled that, the more coddling they do, the more the simplest requests of the child go unmet. Media around the world have labeled this period a new era of “little emperors” in China. Subsequently, all realms of society have begun to express concern about the so-called “flower buds of the nation,” and wonder if, perhaps, traditional methods of education should be re-evaluated.

Around two o’clock each afternoon, naptime at the preschool ends and business as usual resumes. But the process of waking up is none too simple: after putting on extra layers of clothing, students also have to make their beds and leave their areas tidy and waiting for the next day. In many schools, such character-building exercises are now mandatory. Specifically designed with the helpless selfishness characteristic of many only-children in mind, these exercises are meant to improve a range of personality traits by helping children start from problems, small and large, in their daily lives, and teaching them self-sufficiency and diligence.