Chinese education leads to narrow career paths
- Source: Global Times
- [21:43 November 01 2009]
- Comments
Illustration: Liu Rui
By Gerald Schmidt
Chinese and foreign commentators, often at odds with each other, are of one mind when it comes to China's younger generation.
Raised as single children, the sole center of attention for the whole family, and in a society that values children very highly, they are seen as having become spoiled.
Moreover, growing up during a time of rapid economic growth, many hold that they did not learn to push themselves or to endure hardship.
Looking at my students, I must say that the picture looks very different. The comparison between younger people in Central Europe and in China is particularly interesting.
If one went by levels of development or cultural backgrounds, one would expect few similarities. In fact, however, the basic problems of the young generation are strikingly similar.
Take education and job prospects for example. There are obvious differences in education, of course. What is seen as the normal way of treating the young in China, pushing them to study hard and forget about most other things – love and relationships, in particular – would in Europe be seen as a form of coercion that infringes on teenagers' rights and personality.
Of course, this is a mixed bag: It gives more freedom and, as the younger generation and their parents are rather similar in many respects, causes fewer quarrels than might be expected.
On the other hand, it has resulted in some children and teenagers who can hardly be controlled anymore, even when it would be for their own good.
Where European teenagers are encouraged to start making decisions for themselves, especially in working toward a career of their choice, Chinese children are pushed along by parents and teachers.
Still, the focus on choice and individual freedom only hides that in both cases, the school often determines future education and (partly) careers. In China, parents use every resource to attempt to get children into better schools, knowing it will lead to better universities.
In Central Europe, whether a child attends a more academically-oriented high school (the German Gymnasium) or a standard Hauptschule usually determines whether he/she will get a university education or start working immediately – in a learnt job requiring less qualification, of course.
When it comes to choosing careers, there are again two very different – and yet somewhat similar – approaches.
In Europe (as in the US), the idea is to plan your career, to find something to study and then to work on that you are good at and want to do. In practice, it also takes a lot of knowledge and experience, and often comes down to who you know and whether you get a lucky break.
