When we are students we either go to school for classes and/or have private tutorials at home or special institutions. What should we do after class? My advice to young people is to go straight home.

When we go to school or to tutoring, we need to consider the value of time. Our parents pay for our learning time with their hard-earned money so that we can get an education. So during class in school, we should pay full attention and listen carefully. When we need extra tutoring, we should be diligent. Even for interesting classes, such as in piano, dance, or languages, we should practice often. If a student only counts on going to class and does not review and study afterwards, he/she will not succeed.

After class, we should not go out with friends all the time. In making friends, we should make the right choices. As the saying goes, "One who gets near vermilion becomes red; one who gets near ink becomes black." We need to befriend benevolent people and not harmful companions and should not loiter about with friends after school. We can always go to the movies or concerts with our family or a group of people on the weekends. We should not be hanging out in bars, rave parties, or casinos. It is best to go home after school where it is safest.

Students do not need to carry a cell phone with them because there are not so many important and urgent matters for them to discuss with friends. With fewer distractions, students have more time to study. By letting go of inappropriate matters, they can concentrate on homework and studying.

At home we should help with housework, such as setting the table, tidying up the newspapers and magazines the family reads, or watering the plants. Household chores are a form of exercise and a way to pay back our parents for their hard work.

Over dinner, we can watch the day's news for a short while but not slouch in front of the television for too long. We can watch a good movie once a week, and while it is acceptable for grown ups to watch serials on television, it is a waste of time for young people.

Evening is a very precious time of the day. It can be used for review of the day's lessons in school. We should go over the notes we take and answer each of the questions. If we use two hours every day to review our schoolwork, there will surely be progress. When we write, we should not rush, especially with Chinese characters. We need to be clear and tidy.

Nowadays young people like to play on their computers and get on the Internet. They should do it in moderation because their schoolwork should be their priority. Extracurricular activities should not take precedent over their studies. Inappropriate content on the Internet should be disregarded because when curiosity gets the better of them, the resulting addiction can bring endless trouble.

Besides studying, we should also spend time reading classical writings, especially biographies and contemplating new theories on philosophy. We should also read up on arts and literature from time to time without indulging in anyone particular field. A good way for us to practice our writing skills is to develop the habit of keeping a diary. Our diary should not only include our daily events but also our ideals and views on different issues to improve our understanding and wisdom.

We should not stay up late to cram but go to bed and get up early. If we do wake up before dawn, we may get up to work on the problems we have had trouble with, read more classical writings, and practice a foreign language. By practicing in this way, we will get incredible results from our work.