Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is round table.
What if kids spent less time studying for exams and more time learning by doing, by getting their little hands dirty outside of the classroom?
It did happen in a rural county in China, but years later today, the education the experiment has been labeled a failure.
But was it really a failure or a glimpse into a future that society isnt ready for?
And Chinas napping culture lives on, but not without twists.
Are we witnessing a shift from napping wherever one can find a moment of shut eye to powering through lunch breaks?
Coming to you live from Beijing, this is round Table.
Im he young for Todays program, Im joined by Steve Hatherly and Yoo Shun in the studio.
First on today's show in 2017, a small county in eastern China's Zhejiang province dared to dream big about education, imagining a world where students could thrive through hands on learning, creativity and exploration.
Instead of sitting in classrooms focused solely on boosting exam scores, students built bridges, designed school gates, and fueled their curiosity with practical projects rooted in their community.
Yet seven years later, this education experiment has been labeled a failure, with shrinking schools and dwindling student numbers.
Was the cost of this dreaming too big in a system that demands conformity?
Or is it a wake up call to rethink education beyond rigid test scores?
Perhaps the real failure isn't the vision itself, but how students and families feel trapped by the relentless pressure of the ultimate exam of gaokao, or college entrance examination, as the only path to social mobility.
So let's go to you first, Yu Shun.
Explain to us the education experiment in Jinyun county, eastern China's Zhejiang province, which is south to Shanghai, the mega city.
We all know what were the key goals and principles behind this experiment.
Yes, so this is kind of an educational experiment to promote the quality education mode instead of the traditional test oriented education mode.
So quality education is an educational model aimed at improving various aspects of a learner's overall quality, like moral and ethical development, practical skill cultivation, individual growth, physical health and psychological well being, aside from academic study.