Wilderness survival (荒野求生) skills were necessary in the past, but now, people hardly use them. Teachers at the Deep Green Bush-School in New Zealand think this might not be right. What if one day people have to live a primitive (原始的) life? So, the school hardly teaches reading, writing or maths classes. Instead, students go out to learn how to find food, cook and learn about plants and animals.

Teachers and students at the school believe that if you can survive in the wild, you can survive anywhere. But are these wilderness survival skills really important? After all, we now live in a modern world.

In today’s world, people need to learn many other skills to be successful, such as how to find a job, drive a car or speak a foreign language. It seems that most of us don’t learn survival skills because we don’t need them anymore.

In fact, survival skills change along with time and the development of society. And it’s useful for people to have many skills. So why not learn some wilderness survival skills? At least, you will learn more about nature and yourself.

How many days in a week are schools open in your country? How many long holidays do students have? Is it good to have a long summer or winter holiday? Do students forget a lot when they have a long holiday?

In the United States, students go to school 180 days in a school year. This is the same as Sweden and Mexico. In Canada, students go to school 195-200 days in a year. In South Korea, students go to school 220 days in a year. In Japan, students go to school 228 days in a year.

What is best? Most studies（研究）show that students learn more when they spend more time in class. Studies also show that many students forget school lessons during long holidays.

Not everyone likes the idea of a long school year. Some children want more time to stay with their parents. Some students want time to relax. Some schools say that a longer school year is too expensive.     

In July, 2021, China introduced the “double reduction (双减)” policy. It hopes to reduce students’ schoolwork pressure by reducing homework and after-school classes. One year and a half has passed, how do students feel about this new policy?

“Our homework is clearly less than before,” said 13-year-old Shen Yuzhe from Beijing. “We are not encouraged to buy workbooks (练习册) anymore. The exercises are mainly from the textbook. ”

According to Shen, teachers now teach at a much slower pace (节奏). Students have enough time to process (处理) new knowledge now. “Our teachers are also giving us more chances to do experiments and learn from real life,” said Shen. “For example, we went to research earthworms (蚯蚓) in a field during a biology class. (3) This is a much better way to learn things than just learning from the books.”

For 13-year-old Zhang Hangming from Tianjin, the best thing about “double reduction” is the increased time in after-school activities. “We can now spend more time taking part in clubs and activities, such as dancing, volleyball and drama. I have joined a group called ‘leadership development’ (领导力发展) where I can learn all kinds of skills except schoolwork,” said Zhang.

Both Shen and Zhang find there are fewer exams now. But they think it’s not necessarily a good thing. “Exams push me to study harder. Besides my progress, more importantly, each exam shows my weak points as well,” Zhang said.

Shen also pointed out that when pressure is reduced, self-discipline (自律) becomes the key. “Some students now spend more time having fun when homework is finished early. (4) But if you use all the free time to relax, you might fall behind other students,” he said.