The school is very exquisite discipline in China. Even in Elementary schools, Chinese schools had a lot of rules to follow. They believed that all people need to be trained as they were little because good habit determined destiny. The habit men had in his childhood would affect his whole life.

Most Chinese schools consist of the entire first grade through sixth grade in one large school. Our school had three big buildings. Two of them were teaching buildings. The first building had three stories which contained first grade to third grade. The second building had five stories, and it contained fourth grade through sixth grade, the library, and the music room. Each story had about four classrooms and two bathrooms. We do not have any lockers in the school to keep all of our belongings. Instead, we put everything in the limited drawer underneath the desks. The desks and benches we had were made of wood. Each desk sat two students with two drawers, so the students could place their material into the drawer. There was a school policy that students would not be able to leave anything in the drawer after school, so no matter how many things you had, you had to bring it home. The other building was for the teachers’ and principal’s office.
The students had a huge playground for the physical education. On the playground, there were two huge banyan trees. Under the banyan trees, there were couple stone-made tables and chairs which were for students or teachers to rest. It was a great place in the summer. Those banyan trees were at least hundred years old. A large, sliver flag station was located on the left side of the playground, about twenty feet from the banyan trees. This structure was square-shaped, and a ten-meter flagpole stood in the middle of the station. A red flag with five stars on the right corner, flapped in the wind on the vertex of the flagpole, like a dancer reveled in the soft wind, slowing twisted its body. Every class would be responsible for part of the playground. It was their responsibility to clean the piece of ground their class was assigned. There would be students from each class with brooms sweeping the ground every single day either before school or after school. This was a school policy for every class besides first graders. There was no janitor in the school. Besides the playground, the students were also responsible for their classroom. Every day, the teacher would assign two students to stay in the classroom, and about ten students went out to the playground. The students who were picked from each class needed to check for the task. Those students who arrived at school early and stayed school in late were responsible for everything in school. They needed to make sure everybody was completing their jobs, such as daily clean, appropriate language, correct routine, no food in school, not speaking any language besides mandarin, be sure to wear the red scarf, the safety yellow hat, and the school license. If students were in violation any rule, it would lower their participation points and also took points away from the entire class. There was a blackboard on the playground too. The blackboard recorded every single mistake each class has made. Every class had 300 points per week, and the students’ counselor recorded every student’s daily behavior. If any students had done something inappropriate, points would be taken from the class that the student was in. Those points had a huge effect on both the students and the teachers.

The red scarf, the safety yellow hat, and school license were three things students must wear in order to enter the school. The red scarf was in the shape of a triangle. It symbolized part of the Chinese Flag, the scarf represented the victory of the revolution. Its color stands for the blood of the Chinese and the painstaking effort of the countless heroes. The school license is to identify the students. It is convenient for school in order to manage the students.

The very first thing every student do in the morning class was reading. They were not allowed to sit and visit with his or her friends, not even able to walk around. A class president leads students to read. Everyone would read out loud, so the teacher knows students were actually doing the work.

After the first bell, all of the students would report to the playground. The students must stand in order, and girls and boys were separated. They would do their morning exercise altogether. When they finished the morning exercises, the students would then start to sing. It was like the Pledge of Allegiance in America. All of students sang the National Anthem towards the flag. There were three students on the front who carried the flag and raise it up to the flagpole. The first student carried the flag with both of his hands, and the other two walked straight, bent their right arm and raise the right hand directly above their heads. The palms would be flatted and faced downwards with the fingers together. They walked slowly, marched in steps. Every step they took were orderly. All of the students had the position of rose right hand above the head, followed the two lead students. Every student stood there until the song was over. The flag slowly rose to the flagpole and then all the students dismiss to their classroom.

The position of rose hand was from The Chinese Young Pioneers Team, which symbolized the interests of the people were more important than everything else. The Young Pioneers of China were a mass youth organization for children ages six to fourteen in the People’s Republic of China. The flag of the Young Pioneers Constitution was red, symbolizing the victory of the Revolution. The five-pointed star in the middle of the flag symbolized the leadership of the Communist Party, while the torch symbolized brightness down the path of Communism. The red scarf was the only uniform item the children are required to wear. Young Pioneers were often referred to simply as “Red Scarves” because of this. The red scarf was generally worn around the neck and tied. The pledge of the Young Pioneers was:

“I am a member of the Young Pioneers of China. Under the Flag of the Young Pioneers I promise that: I love the Communist Party of China, the motherland, and the people; I will study well and keep myself fit and to prepare for: contributing my effort to the cause of communism.” [1]

The song of the Young Pioneers was We are the Heirs of Communism. However, March of the Volunteers was the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China. It also was the song that students sang every morning. March of the Volunteers was formed in 1934, being one of the songs promoted secretly among the Chinese as part of the anti-Japanese resistance. It cheered the Chinese to fight against the enemy.

“Arise! All those who don’t want to be slaves! Let our flesh and blood forge our new Great Wall! As the Chinese nation has arrived at its most perilous time, every person is forced to expel their very last roar.”

Those were part of the lyric in the song. Some Chinese patriots during that time rather choose a noble death than an ignoble breath, this song truly exemplifies their rears to fight for independence from the invaders. [2]

Every class was forty-five minutes long. Students would stay in the same classroom for all of their blocks. Most of the time, first couple blocks were either Chinese or Math. After each block, there will be a ten-minute break. They were permitted to leave the room during the break, but they must be returned to the classroom when the bell’s rung. Usually, there were three blocks in the morning and three in the afternoon. Students received about two hours break after the third block in the morning. At this time, students were able return to their home for lunch. All the students must complete all the assignment that has always been given. Then the afternoon classes were from 1:40 P.M. to 4:25 P.M. Depending on the school, there might be a night school offer as well. Night school was normally from 6:00 P.M. to 8: 00 P.M. During the night school, teachers will help you get your homework done and help you study for the test that might be coming next day.

Chinese schools were all about independence and discipline. It had strict education for all the students. They made students’ growth under the pressure. Although this was not the way everyone liked, but it was undeniable that it worked very well.