The Tragedy of Current Family Education Seen from the Prospects of College Students
Author: admin Date: March 13, 2011, 9:17:16 AM Popularity: Labels:
The current educational philosophy of most Chinese parents: Get good grades, enter a good school; enter a good school to obtain a genuine diploma; with a good diploma, get a good job; with a good job, earn more money. The competition in family education is not about physical strength, labor, or financial resources, but more importantly, it's about perspective! A wrong perspective leads to total failure.
This educational philosophy should be the main chain of thought for most Chinese parents. Behind this chain of thought is a series of educational words and actions.
To get good grades —— children must study happily, but schools and parents push them to do a lot of homework; even if parents have to find ways to send their children to high-quality primary, middle, and high schools, even if it means paying bribes for school selection fees.
To enter a good school —— children must attend prestigious key schools, and if they fail the first year, they can review for another year. (By this time, most children are already highly nearsighted.) However, the number of students admitted by prestigious key schools is limited each year. More tragically, when facing college entrance exam preferences, over 50% of parents and children don't know what major to choose, blindly filling out forms without much thought.
After graduation, obtaining a genuine diploma —— only to discover that finding a job is difficult, finding a suitable job is even harder, and finding a high-paying job is also tough. The expansion of universities has brought joy to some and worry to others, which we no longer wish to investigate further. However, the prospects after graduation for college students are concerning. Is it about getting a job? Companies not only require a genuine diploma but also work experience. Do our college students have work experience? The answer is negative. Is it about pursuing further studies? The number of people taking the postgraduate entrance exam increases every year, and various tutoring classes make huge profits. It enriches some people while burdening many innocent families. After completing postgraduate studies, what's next? You can't keep studying forever; it's time to find a job. But large companies still require work experience, and small companies fear they cannot afford to pay postgraduates. Confusion, confusion everywhere. Surprisingly, the confusion after completing postgraduate studies is even greater than the confusion immediately after graduating from university!
Pursuing further studies and finding jobs after obtaining diplomas are choices made by most students. Another group aims to become civil servants, so they take the civil service exams. Tens of thousands of people apply, but only hundreds are accepted, with a probability of 1%. Out of hundreds who pass the written exam, only a few make it through the interview, again with a probability of 1%. Multiplying these probabilities results in odds of one in tens of thousands. So, what about those who don't succeed? They continue to take exams, traveling across major cities in China, leading to the term "national touring exams." Those who succeed seem to have secured a stable job, while those who fail must borrow more money from their already exhausted families to fund the next exam trip. Media reports on such matters are abundant.
This year’s employment market is ironic. On one hand, companies struggle to hire workers; on the other hand, college graduates face difficulty in finding jobs, a problem persisting for years. These graduates feel deeply disheartened as their salaries are lower than those of migrant workers. Facing meager wages, high living costs, and skyrocketing housing prices, they feel lost about their future. With no other options, they continue to rely on their parents, transforming these parents from "child slaves" into the "elderly being supported," continuously paying the "down payment" for their children and pushing them into becoming "mortgage slaves."
In every university, there is a small portion of financially well-off students. They are not studying solely for a diploma or a job but aim to study abroad. Studying abroad relies on the foundation provided by university education. Returning from abroad elevates their status to a "priced overseas returnee." However, are there fewer returnees these days? Have you noticed? Some returnees come back after a brief stint abroad and end up earning less than a domestic undergraduate. Where exactly are the prospects for Chinese university graduates? This is a topic worth societal attention and exploration.
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