Another student in my class doesn't actually attend this University. She is employed as a nurse to high ranking government officials between the ages of 60-90. Most Chinese kids choose English names for themselves. Only a few had no English names. The first day I gave the nurse the English name Brittany (the first name that came to mind). After I got to know her better, I realized that Brittany was an inappropriate name for her. Now she is Pearl (beautiful, mysterious, valuable). She is happy with her new name. Pearl is taking my class because her Chinese boyfriend is in the U.S. this year attending Cornell University. She knows his English will be very good when he comes home, so Pearl doesn't want to fall behind. Pearl's boyfriend thinks men should make the money, and he wants Pearl to be a stay-at-home Mom after they get married. A worried little frown comes over Pearl's face when she says this.
Most of the other students are freshmen or sophomores. Most have majors they did not choose. As the students put it, their majors chose them, not the other way around. In June after they graduate from Senior High School, students who want to attend a University take "the big exam." Their marks on this exam determine what's going to happen to them in this world. A really high score like 725-750 means they can go to a top University and choose their own majors. If their scores are lower, they can only attend second or third tier universities, and depending on their scores, they can only major in certain subjects. Many of them have majors that are their fourth or fifth choices. Some find their majors very boring (computer programming comes up a lot). Some find their majors far too difficult. Others luck out and get a good match. Cherry got assigned to architecture and finds she has real talent for it.
One day I suggested that we each think about our dream job. If there were no restrictions, if money were no object, if we didn't need to please our parents, if we could do anything, what would it be. Students made business cards for their dream jobs. The jobs were terrific. The surgeon David would like to be the CFO of China. Another girl chose the same job. I asked if a woman could ever be a top Communist Party official in China. "Maybe some day far in the future."
Most of the other students are freshmen or sophomores. Most have majors they did not choose. As the students put it, their majors chose them, not the other way around. In June after they graduate from Senior High School, students who want to attend a University take "the big exam." Their marks on this exam determine what's going to happen to them in this world. A really high score like 725-750 means they can go to a top University and choose their own majors. If their scores are lower, they can only attend second or third tier universities, and depending on their scores, they can only major in certain subjects. Many of them have majors that are their fourth or fifth choices. Some find their majors very boring (computer programming comes up a lot). Some find their majors far too difficult. Others luck out and get a good match. Cherry got assigned to architecture and finds she has real talent for it.
One day I suggested that we each think about our dream job. If there were no restrictions, if money were no object, if we didn't need to please our parents, if we could do anything, what would it be. Students made business cards for their dream jobs. The jobs were terrific. The surgeon David would like to be the CFO of China. Another girl chose the same job. I asked if a woman could ever be a top Communist Party official in China. "Maybe some day far in the future."
The dream job that surprised everyone was Farmer. A quiet boy named Bill said: "If I could do anything I wanted, I'd be a farmer. I'd live out in nature and be my own boss. I wouldn't have all this pressure to pass exams. I wouldn't have a job I didn't like. I could work outdoors. I told my parents I wanted to be a farmer, but because I got such high marks on the exam, they said I had to go to the University. [Chinese parents, especially rural ones, are counting on their sons, in particular, to help provide for them in their old age, so they are eager for their children to rise as high as possible in the work force.] Bill's final comment: "All this stress is not good for some people. That's why they jump off buildings."
These University students are nothing like American college students. They are much "younger," not younger in age but in experience. They are not allowed to date at all in high school. Their job is to study and pass the big exam; they pursue that agenda from early in the morning until late at night. With one exception everyone of the students I have is "sweet" (no other word for it), extraordinarily polite and respectful, and lonely for their parents whom they have not seen in months. The strong bond between parents and children is like nothing I've ever seen elsewhere.
These University students are nothing like American college students. They are much "younger," not younger in age but in experience. They are not allowed to date at all in high school. Their job is to study and pass the big exam; they pursue that agenda from early in the morning until late at night. With one exception everyone of the students I have is "sweet" (no other word for it), extraordinarily polite and respectful, and lonely for their parents whom they have not seen in months. The strong bond between parents and children is like nothing I've ever seen elsewhere.
The one student who is an exception is C.R. He is taller and generally bigger than all the other students who are very slightly built. C.R. is the class "bad boy." The other students try to avoid him even though he is smart, quite charming and good looking. C.R.'s dream job is to be a tramp and a recluse.
One day C.R. had to come to the front of the class to teach me one Chinese word that his team had selected. When he wrote the Chinese word on the board, he did not write the word his team had chosen. Instead, he wrote a word that is roughly translated "Get Lost." When he wrote the Chinese word, there was a collective gasp from the class. They knew he had done something very disrespectful. I just stood there smiling, waiting to see what would happen next. The entire class insisted that C.R. could not teach that word, and they "shamed" him into teaching me the word for getting help in an emergency. C.R. also turns every exercise or conversation to sex/women, one way or another. Fortunately, I have no trouble with C.R. His classmates discipline him for me.
One day C.R. had to come to the front of the class to teach me one Chinese word that his team had selected. When he wrote the Chinese word on the board, he did not write the word his team had chosen. Instead, he wrote a word that is roughly translated "Get Lost." When he wrote the Chinese word, there was a collective gasp from the class. They knew he had done something very disrespectful. I just stood there smiling, waiting to see what would happen next. The entire class insisted that C.R. could not teach that word, and they "shamed" him into teaching me the word for getting help in an emergency. C.R. also turns every exercise or conversation to sex/women, one way or another. Fortunately, I have no trouble with C.R. His classmates discipline him for me.
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