Finding China

The Avengers after reading 'Finding China' by Eva Wong Ng compared going to school in Shanghai, China and going to school in Auckland, New Zealand.

Have you ever thought what it would be like to go to school in China? After reading “Finding China” by Eva Wong Ng we discovered that there are many similarities and differences between going to school in China and going to school in New Zealand.

Languages - Michael and Joshua L

Both schools in China and New Zealand teach languages. In Ping He bilingual school in Shanghai two languages are taught, Chinese and English. As well as learning Chinese the students also learn English. They learn how to write Chinese characters as well as write in English. At Halsey Drive school and others in New Zealand we get taught Te Reo Maori. We believe it is more important for Chinese students to learn English than it is for New Zealand students to learn Te Reo.

Time - Samarah

Ping-He Bilingual School is tough when it comes to starting school. Ping-He Bilingual  

School starts at 7:00am and finishes at 5:00pm. On the other hand in Halsey Drive School, school starts at 8:55 and ends at 3:00pm. Ping-He Bilingual School only allows students to have 1 hour to get their homework done. In my opinion I would rather go to HDS because it is only 6 hours and not 10 hours.

Subjects - Kristy

In Shanghai some of the subjects taught are  calligraphy, history, PE, English, art, science, maths and music.  They got taught the old fashioned way.  However here in New Zealand some subjects we learn are the same like English, art, science, maths, music and PE.  In New Zealand it is very rare that you will be taught history.  In New Zealand we have subjects we believe are more important for life in New Zealand.

Board - Ella and Emily D

Boarding schools are built so children can stay and sleep at school. In Shanghai children mainly board because both their parents are busy and tend to work late. But on the other hand in New Zealand children mainly board because their home is far away from local schools. Some children are difficult to handle too and may need to board.

Pe and Fitness - Ethan

In China their fitness is really hard they have to do 100 push ups, 100 sit ups and run around the  track 50 times everyday. On the other hand our fitness is fun and easy we do jump jam, shuttle runs, running (etc). I believe that  it is much easier and fun at our school to do fitness.

Conclusion -

Overall we think it is better to go to school in New Zealand, life is much easier here because we don’t have to go to school for 10 hours and our fitness isn’t that harsh. Going to school for a shorter time allows us to have more free time for hobbies and spending time with friends.