Wang Chuanfu, head of BYD, the Chinese electric car company that Warren Buffett loves best, is famous for saying he does not understand the concept of leisure. He told the FT recently, “I enjoy working very much, if you ask me to go sightseeing for a day I probably wouldn’t enjoy it”.
He predicted that the next generation in China may adopt the post-modern Western habit of putting play before work – and he made clear where he thought that would land them. But now there are signs his nightmare is beginning to come true: elementary schools in one Shanghai district, which starts a new academic year this week, will abolish homework on Wednesdays.
On these mid-week “Happy Training Days”, Shanghai’s youth will learn to love learning – instead of having it shoved down their throats the rest of the week by a rigid public education system which, critics say, enforces rote learning and penalises creativity.
Shanghai’s Changning district is experimenting with reducing a homework load that keeps even 7- or 8-year-olds up doing sums late into the night. But some parents are not happy: a survey quoted in today’s official Shanghai Daily says nearly half of parents surveyed in the district said they are planning extra lessons for their children.
Spare a thought for the parents, though: with only one offspring to act as vehicle for all their dreams – and to support them in their dotage – small wonder they want every child to be Wang Chuanfu.
Additional reporting by Shirley Chen
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