The hours are pretty typical for Asian schools. My 11 yo Thai niece has about the same schedule and school is only a 5 minute drive away. Other kids that have to take a school bus get up before dawn.
BTW, I never hear any complaints about the hours from her or her friends.
Well, we like to have family time and not just ship the kids off to school and have them come home and do homework, eat, maybe talk to a friend and go to bed. But that’s basically what it’s become before the community service hours are even added in. If it’s a winter sports night, sometimes she gets home between 10:00 and 11:00 if it’s an away game, and she loves her sports! There are only so many weekends left before college, and between homework, sports and music practice we want to spend time with our daughter. No wonder families aren’t as close these days.
My guess is if you lived with your niece you would hear the complaints. Trust me, my kids ONLY complained in the privacy of home where they could vent the frustration at what is expected these days.
Childhood comes ONCE, the race to the top these days is far worse than 20-30 years ago.
And to the poster who started this thread, this volunteering is mandatory here in IL. Forcing the top tier kids to seek a project they can spent even more time on is another example of unintended consequences...I’ve watched enough of these kids take a completely different attitude of the ‘needy’ after being forced to participate.