In a message dated 3/27/2008 6:51:16 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: At 09:29 PM 3/27/2008, you wrote: >Oopsy. So sorry for error. I'm curious about the comparison between >educational systems in China vs. US. Is Tian more educated than >children her age who have been attending US schools? > >Tink I can't answer the education item of here versus there. What I can say is what I learned while in China. Learning English starts at 3 years of age. Starting in the 1st grade in China, children have 3 hours of homework a night. School is from 7 AM to 5 PM with a two hour break mid-day for a nap. In the higher grades they get 6 hours of homework a night. Tim Tim It make our system look like what it is....a joke! Depending upon the teacher, and I should add that the Kent, Washington State school dist is considered one of the better in the US, the children have little to no homework. School starts at 8:45. The school day ends at 2:55. There are two recess and one lunch break. While we here in the US have English - at least for now - as a native language, it is not taught much beyond very basic spelling in first grade. Kindergarten is just glorified day care. There really isn't that much math or reading until 3 - 4th grade. My son went into kindergarten knowing as much as most second to third grade students but I could not get the teacher to teach to his level. In third grade he was playing chess and trying to teach others but no imagination from the teachers on this. Amazing. It's the DUMB DOWN system. I don't know what NY is like buy you may well want to look into home schooling. Laurence Lance **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolhom00030000000001)