
China's children buckling under the pressure of their parents' deferred dreams  - crocus
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20080623-000004&print=1
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theashworld
Almost exactly the same as in India. That's why people here in US think that
everyone in India is smart _and_ hardworking. Well, the truth is that they
encounter only those people who have survived all this. There are countless
millions who suffer.

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azharcs
Very true. When i see the kids in India today and the parental pressure they
have, it is scary. They have schools, tution's(so that they don't forget what
they study in Schools)then study time after they come home, this all happens
in a day. They take memory pills, so that they don't forget what they read. I
don't know, what will happen to this kids but I am sure they won't be creative
enough to create anything.

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abcde
"These kids have the same dreams as all middle-class kids: to go to college,
to get white-collar jobs, to own their own home, to have Nikes and name
brands,"

Wanting white-collar jobs and their own homes, I understand, but name brands?
Well, that's the problem. The whole purpose of name brands are to create
artificial scarcity. if the goal is to have a good life, that is definitely
achievable, but if the goal is to be better than everyone else, only some will
meet that goal.

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mynameishere
_"They've worked hard for it, and it's what their parents have focused their
lives on. But the problem is that the country can't provide the lifestyle they
feel they deserve. Only a few will get it."_

Ah, such economic ignorance! What is this "country" that "can't provide" if it
isn't the people themselves who are to be provided for. People both take and
create jobs.

 _the national college entrance exam—China's magnified version of the SAT_

The SAT is (or was) a covert IQ test. If the Chinese test is the same, then
these kids are wasting the vast portion of their energies.

 _At one top Beijing kindergarten, students must know pi to 100 digits by age
3._

Why would you send your kids to a "top" school in order to destroy them
intellectually? Who in the world thinks that such insane tasks could be
valuable?

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jessewmc
I don't know why this is being upmodded. These kids are NOT wasting their
energy. In China you can't drop out and move to the valley and start a company
with your computer savvy.

The system in China is simple: To even have a CHANCE of successful,
professional, middle class (by Chinese standards) life, you MUST get a
university degree. To get a university degree, you MUST score in the top Nth
percentile of the college entrance exam.

Students get sent to top schools because top schools produce results on this
exam, as absurd as the actual exam may be. You have to consider that despite
the fact that for the country as a whole these things may not be ideal, for
any individual student you would be stupid not to put everything you can
towards that test.

And if you don't get a degree, you end up as a laborer of some sort. And in
China these people work their asses off and are poorer than a homeless jobless
American. It's a different world.

The country has so many people there is far more competition for jobs and
resources, and because of the government the current rules are the only way up
through the system. Obviously there is a problem with the system, but it
should be abundantly clear that it would not be in your best interests to
rebel against it before getting through it--you would only hurt yourself
turning down the best schools and the entrance exam, and you would not be in
any position to effect any changes.

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netcan
Ironically, I have heard quite a lot of people say that many Chinese tertiary
courses are not actually very difficult.

~~~
rms
Sounds kind of like Harvard here... you have to kill yourself getting there,
but once you're in grade inflation is your friend.

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13ren
You know how only children have a reputation for being a little... ah...
selfish? (I am one).

Now, imagine a nation of only children.

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mrdorian
Some stats are ridiculous! A monthly salary of RMB45 ?That might be true 30
years ago.

~~~
netcan
I think they might be talking about 20 - 30 years ago. Wang (the child) is 29.

