EPTThere are lots of stories where normal people with normal lives decide to take their own lives.
Two students suicide after being late for exam - Page 2
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fearus
China2164 Posts
There are lots of stories where normal people with normal lives decide to take their own lives. | ||
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Kickboxer
Slovenia1308 Posts
Comfortable with being a quality professional at whatever it is you are doing, whether it be progaming or bartending or washing windows, instead of obsessing about "respectable" occupations like lawyer or manager, the huge majority of which are involved in dealings that are detrimental to society anyway and contribute to nothing but the stockpiling of capital. Admittedly, I have no idea how things work in China. Also, in no way am I saying anyone should drop out of high school or be unemployed. But it's the quest for trivial concepts like "prestige" and "status" that is wrecking the mindset of so many young adults in Europe nowadays, at least from what I am seeing around me. | ||
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koreasilver
9109 Posts
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Kickboxer
Slovenia1308 Posts
On June 09 2011 19:45 Sindri wrote: It really depends on location and circumstances, but as difficult as it might be for some of the more privileged to understand, in some areas, the average wage of people without a college education is lower than the bare minimum cost of living for shelter, food and utilities. In most areas, most of that stuff requires money and is a luxury most can't afford over necessities. Sad but true. Ok you are probably right and I didn't take this into account. I guess if your family is very poor and you live in a poor country then it's a whole different ball game. I just feel like people in developed countries are way too obsessed with things that don't really matter, to the point that they are miserable because they're not driving a beamer or something. | ||
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magicbullet
Singapore163 Posts
Not to mention, students spend a full year (i think) just to prepare for that particular exams. Being barred from the exams would probably seemed like the world crashing down. | ||
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Warble
137 Posts
On June 09 2011 19:58 Kickboxer wrote: What I listed is available to anyone who works an average job and isn't addicted to luxury goods or social competition. Which means you are comfortable with driving a crappy car, comfortable with wearing affordable clothing or counterfeits instead of designer brands, comfortable with eating healthy meals at home instead of hanging out in upscale restaurants. Comfortable with being a quality professional at whatever it is you are doing, whether it be progaming or bartending or washing windows, instead of obsessing about "respectable" occupations like lawyer or manager, the huge majority of which are involved in dealings that are detrimental to society anyway and contribute to nothing but the stockpiling of capital. Admittedly, I have no idea how things work in China. Also, in no way am I saying anyone should drop out of high school or be unemployed. But it's the quest for trivial concepts like "prestige" and "status" that is wrecking the mindset of so many young adults in Europe nowadays, at least from what I am seeing around me. Indeed, any employed person in a Western society today is wealthier in absolute terms than most of the upper classes before Napoleon. However, it bears a little perspective. Most of the growth in wealth took place over the past 200 years and localised within highly capitalist societies. Free time is a modern luxury and 12-hour work days were standard for much of even this period of globalisation. Not all countries are yet at Western standards of living. The "small" luxuries you think people should be content with are big luxuries elsewhere beyond most people's reach. China is currently the fastest growing, but the fast growth comes from good policies. It still has a lot of catching up to do. China's PPP-adjusted GDP per capita is $7,500. America's is $47,000. Do you think Chinese parents are pushing education just because they don't want their little emperors to settle for "crappy" cars? | ||
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Ravencruiser
Canada519 Posts
On June 09 2011 19:50 Warble wrote: Since it's a Chinese news link I assume this happened in China. In China, these exams are the be-all end-all. A kid his lived his whole life for this moment. What did you think happened to those who failed these exams? They take it again for a 2nd try, I personally know friends who received bad marks, studied at home, and took the exams again for a 2nd and even 3rd try. So no, it's not the end of the world. | ||
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Warble
137 Posts
On June 09 2011 22:11 Ravencruiser wrote: They take it again for a 2nd try, I personally know friends who received bad marks, studied at home, and took the exams again for a 2nd and even 3rd try. So no, it's not the end of the world. I wasn't aware of that. How many tries do they get? I take it they sit the exams the following year? | ||
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j0k3r
United States577 Posts
On June 09 2011 19:58 Kickboxer wrote: What I listed is available to anyone who works an average job and isn't addicted to luxury goods or social competition. Which means you are comfortable with driving a crappy car, comfortable with wearing affordable clothing or counterfeits instead of designer brands, comfortable with eating healthy meals at home instead of hanging out in upscale restaurants. Comfortable with being a quality professional at whatever it is you are doing, whether it be progaming or bartending or washing windows, instead of obsessing about "respectable" occupations like lawyer or manager, the huge majority of which are involved in dealings that are detrimental to society anyway and contribute to nothing but the stockpiling of capital. Admittedly, I have no idea how things work in China. Also, in no way am I saying anyone should drop out of high school or be unemployed. But it's the quest for trivial concepts like "prestige" and "status" that is wrecking the mindset of so many young adults in Europe nowadays, at least from what I am seeing around me. This is not how things work in China. In a country with over 1.4 billion people, the things you listed as normal life are in fact rare rare luxuries, most of the population lives a meager subsistence oriented life. Education is viewed not for it's intrinistic value as knowledge, but moreso an opportunity for escape. People do not want to live in the villages and provincial towns because there are little to no opportunities besides physical labor, farming etc. Urban migration is at an all time high because the city has been glamourized for its opportunities which in reality become more and more lucrative. China is still growing and situations like these are part of it's growing pains. It is sad to realize the disillusionment of many young college educated people who cannot find jobs even in the cites and are forced to return to their rural hometowns fed up with life and the system. These students even if they got into college from their exams have a bleak future with endless hours of job hunting for minimum wage gigs. Only the best and brightest from Chinas top universities will have a chance to study abroad. The ones at my school are some of the smartest people I've ever met. To have failed one of the most basic steps of socioeconomic advancement puts you behind hundreds of millions of young people who passed their exams. I can understand why suicides happen. There's really not much else to do for a living besides labor or clerical min. wage jobs without a degree. | ||
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EchoZ
Japan5041 Posts
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ProjectVirtue
Canada360 Posts
Typically, you don't really get a second chance on that exam, and as mentioned earlier, it really is a be-all or end-all exam where your entire life is essentially put on the line. Glorifying the suicide aspect of the situation often makes readers oblivious to the underlying reasons of why they did it in the first place beyond "ah, late for an exam". Consider you were late for an evacuation ship where in the consequence is living in a quarantined wasteland. The pressure to do well on the exam is insane, missing your only opportunity can easily destroy your nerves. | ||
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quiong
United States268 Posts
On June 09 2011 23:55 ProjectVirtue wrote: Typically, you don't really get a second chance on that exam, and as mentioned earlier, it really is a be-all or end-all exam where your entire life is essentially put on the line. Glorifying the suicide aspect of the situation often makes readers oblivious to the underlying reasons of why they did it in the first place beyond "ah, late for an exam". Consider you were late for an evacuation ship where in the consequence is living in a quarantined wasteland. The pressure to do well on the exam is insane, missing your only opportunity can easily destroy your nerves. This is pretty much true. These aren't the SATs. When you "apply" to college in china, your scores on the college entrance exam is the ONLY thing that matters. American colleges care about other things like extracurriculars, research, sports, volunteering, leadership, etc etc. You write "personal statements" to tell the adcoms who you are beyond your raw numbers. In china, you get matched to a college solely based on the score. Your entire life's education comes down to this one exam, your only chance to prove yourself. Western society is much more fluid. There are more opportunities. But even here, while people can do well without an education, they tend to be the outliers. In china, if you don't get into a good college, your life WILL suck. It's basically why chinese parents continue to be "tiger moms" even in western society... they are convinced that grades are still end-all be-all. | ||
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Dfgj
Singapore5922 Posts
It's not a fun system. | ||
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The_LiNk
Canada863 Posts
When you fail the exam, it's not as easy as going "oh I'll just live the average life." The "average life" in China is pretty miserable, especially if you're from the rural areas. You work as a factory labourer for 14 hours a day (if you're lucky) for the rest of your life. It's not just the prestige, your quality of life is actually on the line. | ||
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ProjectVirtue
Canada360 Posts
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TOloseGT
United States1145 Posts
My cousin was able to take the test 3 times because my dad supplemented my aunt's income. My uncle was battling cancer during that time as well. | ||
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SpoR
United States1542 Posts
1- Ace the test and make it big. 2- Miss/fail the test and live a life of desperation. 3- Suicide. | ||
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Diglett
600 Posts
On June 09 2011 18:21 Severedevil wrote: Their system brainwashed them to believe the exam and its consequences were the be-all end-all. and if they are? | ||
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zZygote
Canada898 Posts
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matjlav
Germany2435 Posts
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