I read an article that discussed how stressful children were in Korea. The article brought up the notion that these children were stressed because the parents and government are more focused on education rather than children being children and having fun. In the article, it stated that "The average child attends not only regular school but private after school academies." As a child, I can't fathom the idea of going to school and then leaving to be shuffled off to another school. The article mentions that going to school at 11 p.m. has been deemed illegal, yet the children must attend. As adults, we tend to think that a child's life is happy and filled with excitement all the time but we see that this is not true. Some children have taken on the same responsibility as adults and no one asked them how they felt about it; the responsibilities were just thrown on them. The article continued to expound upon the cruelty inflicted upon this nation's children by saying that "Psychologists blame this culture for all manner of ills, from poor social skills to the nation's unacceptably high rate of youth suicide, which is now the leading cause of death among those aged 15-24."
After reading this, I think about what I have always heard over the years as a teenager. People say that Asian children are extremely smart. I don't doubt that they are but the article helped me to realize that these young children are being pushed too far in order to compete in today's society. I am all for getting an education but I think that this is harsh and a bit extreme.
Refer to this website to read further: http://www.economist.com/
The priority on education in other countries is something I often feel envious of. I believe the United States needs to focus more on education. I think that there is a point when children need to be children and going to school at 11pm is very extreme. Perhaps an education system somewhere in between would be beneficial for children.
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