5 ms·

China's children buckling under the pressure of their parents' deferred dreams

33 points by crocus 18y ago

theashworld 18y ago
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.
- azharcs 18y ago
  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.
- chaostheory 18y ago
  academic pressure almost the same in Korea and Japan; except for the 1 child policy part
- mamama 18y ago
  I feel only a small fraction of them are actually smart... the entire K-12 education in India is little more that an exercise in rote memorization. College education isn't that great either, even in the elite universities.
13ren 18y ago
You know how only children have a reputation for being a little... ah... selfish? (I am one). Now, imagine a nation of only children.
mynameishere 18y ago
"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?
- arockwell 18y ago
  > At one top Beijing kindergarten, students must know pi to 100 digits by age 3. I really have a hard time believing that's even true to begin with, but if it is what a completely pointless exercise.
  - wvenable 18y ago
    Think back to how much of your western education was spent on completely pointless exercises...
    - arockwell 18y ago
      That's certainly true, but at the same time I rarely spent much time at home on schoolwork either.
  - ars 18y ago
    It wouldn't be that hard - 3 year olds commonly memorize entire songs and rhymes they hear. You just put the numbers to music or make a rhyme - how much you want to bet there is a little industry making CD's for this? But it is totally pointless. Learning to memorize stuff is useful, but learning to memorize a single thing isn't.
    - Spyckie 18y ago
      Its definitely a culture thing. Its best shown by the Chinese parent's desire for their kids to play the piano. Do you think Chinese parents make their kids learn piano because they themselves were inspired by Mozart and Chopin? No, they learn piano because it is something that the kid can show off (to relatives, colleges, etc). Those kids learn PI much in the same way.
      - mamama 18y ago
        Are you referring to Chinese immigrants? Because if China is anything like India, kids would actually be discouraged to play the piano, as it would prove to be a "distraction from their studies."
mrdorian 18y ago
Some stats are ridiculous! A monthly salary of RMB45 ?That might be true 30 years ago.
- netcan 18y ago
  I think they might be talking about 20 - 30 years ago. Wang (the child) is 29.
abcde 18y ago
"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.

33 points by crocus 18y ago

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.

azharcs 18y ago
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.
chaostheory 18y ago
academic pressure almost the same in Korea and Japan; except for the 1 child policy part
mamama 18y ago
I feel only a small fraction of them are actually smart... the entire K-12 education in India is little more that an exercise in rote memorization. College education isn't that great either, even in the elite universities.

13ren 18y ago

You know how only children have a reputation for being a little... ah... selfish? (I am one). Now, imagine a nation of only children.

mynameishere 18y ago

"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?

arockwell 18y ago
> At one top Beijing kindergarten, students must know pi to 100 digits by age 3. I really have a hard time believing that's even true to begin with, but if it is what a completely pointless exercise.
- wvenable 18y ago
  Think back to how much of your western education was spent on completely pointless exercises...
  - arockwell 18y ago
    That's certainly true, but at the same time I rarely spent much time at home on schoolwork either.
- ars 18y ago
  It wouldn't be that hard - 3 year olds commonly memorize entire songs and rhymes they hear. You just put the numbers to music or make a rhyme - how much you want to bet there is a little industry making CD's for this? But it is totally pointless. Learning to memorize stuff is useful, but learning to memorize a single thing isn't.
  - Spyckie 18y ago
    Its definitely a culture thing. Its best shown by the Chinese parent's desire for their kids to play the piano. Do you think Chinese parents make their kids learn piano because they themselves were inspired by Mozart and Chopin? No, they learn piano because it is something that the kid can show off (to relatives, colleges, etc). Those kids learn PI much in the same way.
    - mamama 18y ago
      Are you referring to Chinese immigrants? Because if China is anything like India, kids would actually be discouraged to play the piano, as it would prove to be a "distraction from their studies."

mrdorian 18y ago

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

netcan 18y ago
I think they might be talking about 20 - 30 years ago. Wang (the child) is 29.

abcde 18y ago

"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.