Immediate Review | Canceling morning reading doesn't hinder learning—the "chopping wood" skill

“Canceling morning reading” is gradually becoming a trend. In the spring semester of 2026, from Chengdu in Sichuan to Ningbo in Zhejiang, from Nanjing in Jiangsu to Huizhou and Dongguan in Guangdong, many primary and secondary schools are postponing the time students arrive at school. Among them, Chengdu’s Liushi Middle School, Ningbo’s Qianwan New District Junior High School, and several middle schools in Dongguan and Nanjing have directly canceled morning reading. Although Huizhou, Hefei, Nantong, and other places have not explicitly canceled morning reading, they strictly enforce the requirements for student arrival times or the start times of the first class, which effectively amounts to canceling morning reading.

Morning reading can be said to have a “long history” and is one of the most familiar scenes for countless people during their student years: the sound of reading fills the morning classroom, with Chinese recitations and English readings, all carrying the symbolic meaning of “diligence.” Morning reading is revered because many believe that studying in the morning leads to better focus and higher efficiency; coupled with ancient sayings like “rise with the rooster” and “the morning is the key to the day,” it is seen as an unquestionable “standard for diligent study.”

However, these experiences and beliefs often remain at the level of intuition and cultural imagination and may not withstand detailed scrutiny: the notion that “morning efficiency is higher” does not hold true for everyone, and there is also a saying circulating on the internet that “waking up early ruins the whole day.” While the efficiency of morning reading is difficult to measure, one thing is clear: current primary and secondary school students generally suffer from a lack of sleep and insufficient rest.

Research reports indicate that the average sleep duration for primary and secondary school students in our country is only 7.74 hours per night. The Ministry of Education’s 2021 notice on “further strengthening the sleep management of primary and secondary school students” requires that elementary school students should sleep for 10 hours a day, middle school students for 9 hours, and high school students for 8 hours. It is evident that there is still a considerable gap between students’ sleep duration and the standards. Whether morning reading can improve learning efficiency is uncertain, but the lack of sleep is indeed “painful,” a sentiment that people of all ages can relate to.

Canceling morning reading is clearly aimed at addressing this issue. Students no longer need to rush to campus in the morning, allowing for more time to sleep a bit longer, have breakfast, and let their bodies and brains gradually start up, entering a day of learning in a more composed and alert state. While this may seem like a reduction in the “diligent” process, sharpening the saw does not delay the work; being more energetic and even in a better mood naturally allows for greater concentration on learning.

Today (the 27th), the Ministry of Education issued a notice on “initiating the action for consolidating the standardized management of basic education,” which mentioned among the 20 “strictly prohibited” measures: strictly prohibiting scheduling students’ activities in violation of national and provincial education administrative department regulations on sleep time, resulting in excessively long learning hours.

Of course, there are differing opinions on canceling morning reading. For example, some students and parents are accustomed to morning reading, recognize its benefits, and believe that extending sleep time by canceling morning reading is not as effective as going to bed earlier at night; some parents also feel that morning reading in schools is a way to facilitate their own schedules—sending children to school early without disrupting their own work.

These thoughts are very practical and should certainly be taken into account. Everyone has a different learning pace, and their perceptions and acceptance of morning reading also vary. Therefore, canceling morning reading should not be regarded as the sole means of allowing students to rest better; it should also be accompanied by other measures to reduce burdens: such as reducing homework assignments and reasonably arranging dismissal times. Only in this way can canceling morning reading avoid becoming “simply shifting the time back while keeping the burden the same,” turning the intention of reducing student burdens into a disguised pressure of “morning reading is canceled, but homework is still done much later.”

Additionally, for families that require morning reading or have tight schedules for dropping off and picking up children, localities may also consider flexible arrangements. For example, some schools in Hefei provide a safe environment for children who arrive early; when Hangzhou canceled unified morning reading in 2021, it also clearly stated that if students arrive at school early, they can choose to read independently or engage in morning exercises. These measures effectively alleviate parents’ concerns and are worth referencing by various regions.

In this regard, canceling morning reading targets not so much morning reading itself but rather aims to change the competitive and sleep-deprived learning methods and rhythms. It attempts to correct the path dependence that continuously shifts learning time forward and depletes energy in exchange for “starting early” to achieve “the appearance of effort.”

As for students who enjoy morning reading and families that need to drop their children off early, related policies might also leave room for autonomy. Rather than mandating morning reading in a one-size-fits-all approach, it is important to neither completely deny the value of morning reading nor enforce it rigidly, but rather to provide diverse arrangements based on ensuring sleep and respecting children’s choices.