<p>I go to Chinese school but I'm not sure if I should work hard it in (i.e. do the homework (around 2hrs a week)) they assign. I don't get credit or anything in the school and my parents pay for it. I'm just not sure how much effort I should put into studying it. I know Chinese is important but I'm loaded with AP classes, tests, and such. Should I try to squish at least 20 min every day just for studying chinese? </p>
<p>I just keep thinking that I will have more time in the future (college or when I grow up) to study it. Is that wrong because I still won't have enough time? I guess I should just study it because I'm already going to the school... What do you guys think? Will this hurt my SAT/ AP studying at all? Do you think I should put this on my transcript (even if I take not AP/SAT chinese tests)?Thanks.</p>
<p>i flunked out of chinese school. I think i would get ocnsistent 20-30's on the tests lol. Learning chinese is important though, but don't put TOO much effort into it unless you really enjoy doing. Otherwise, focus on more important things.</p>
<p>I enjoy learning but I've had too many inconsistencies... which is key if you want to remember what you're learning lol. Last summer I knew so many words but now I've forgotten a lot of them. It is just like vocabulary, you need to memorize, use them, and review them periodically. I'm not sure if spending less than 30 min a day doing so will make me remember though..</p>
<p>Only you know, based on your studying habits, whether taking 20 mins to study for Chinese every day will hurt your school work. That said, to answer your question, your AP classes and even extracurriculars are more important than Chinese school, at least in the short run. Colleges will not look at how well or poorly you performed in Chinese school. But if you have the time, definitely take that 20 mins a day because in the long run, it will only help you.</p>
<p>I went to Chinese School before...in Philly Chinatown till '01 and then transferred to a South Jersey one and graduated there last year. I never put much time into their homework and stuff...all I did was read the chapter once or twice. I was also top student but my Chinese isn't excellent or anything...far from, actually. I don't think you should take too much time out of your regular high school's work time for Chinese school...if you're concerned about losing your Chinese, remember that many people learn their Chinese watching tv shows/dramas and stuff..as for me, I used to translate lyrics to songs I liked, which definitely helped.</p>
<p>Why bother if you're not going to work toward it?</p>
<p>I'm white, but do you have any idea how much I'd want my parents to pay for Chinese school? I can see where you're coming from about your parents beating you over the head with Chinese, but seize the opportunity.</p>
<p>I know a lot of grown-up adults whose biggest regret is that they didn't learn Chinese. (I started studying the language at age seventeen, and it became my undergraduate major subject.) Yeah, sure, you have other demands on your time, but so do young people who take Hebrew, Latvian, Polish, or other heritage language courses. Chinese has plenty of usefulness, whatever your future career, and unlike some other languages people take in heritage classes, you can even get SAT II scores or AP scores in Chinese.</p>
<p>Can I be your chinese mother and say that since your parents are paying for it and they want you to connect to your roots that you should make an effort? I am chinese and I live in rural midwest where Chinese is not offered, sometimes I feel like I missed something huge in my life. Of course you won't feel this way but its good for you to at least put some effort in it and like tokenadult said; AP/SAT II. Its worth it in the long haul.</p>
<p>Chinese school, Hebrew school, Sunday school, Korean school, etc have reputations for being extraordinarily ineffective. Students go for years and get little out of it. Is it the heterogeneity of the classes? Low-paid teachers? That it's required by parents? Inconvenient scheduling? Or what?</p>
<p>depending on where you are, for most places its rare that a school offers chinese, however i believe that schools nationally are beginning to recognize chinese as a language that's very beneficial for the future so more and more schools are starting to offer it, as well as at the AP level. i actually took the first chinese ap test ever this past school year.</p>
<p>siserune >> they are repped to be ineffective mostly because a lot of the schools, the teachers are lenient. i don't know how much they are paid, however many students do go because their parents make them. its also a little ineffective because its only once a week for a few hours. many students see it as an extra thing thats not important so they dont bother with homework and putting effort into it..it's really mostly the atmosphere of the teachers and the students. the chinese school i went to in chinatown was kind of like a playground...the kids just don't appreciate it enough and some teachers arent too strict. however when i went over to south jersey, it was much better...more strict, smaller classes..</p>