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I do think, if they were given a second chance to rethink, more time to absorb it, they may not choose their end their life like this.
It is not like the China 20 years ago. The rate of entering college is over 70% already (if you take the exam); and you can take as many times as you want, someone even took it 15 years in a row.
On the other hand, graduating from college does not mean you can find a job now. Some even end up security guards with miserable wage.
This is so ironic as the whole idea of communism is to make it fair for everyone, you should still be taken care by the state even if you are not as good as the rest. Now China have become the most capitalistic, you cannot even go to hospital without money..... 
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It's not just the Chinese, unfortunately. An Inidan PhD student on my campus jumped off a building last year because their research was going terribly.
There's a bunch of Chinese students in my graduate program and none of them look back at their schooling very fondly. Of the 6 people I know, it comes easy for five of them while one of them has to put in extraordinary effort. In fact she's been battling depression since the age of 12 for what she claimed to be "family pressure". She's smart enough to make it, so my heart goes out to those who fall short...
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On June 09 2011 19:48 yosisoy wrote:
If something is important enough for you to kill yourself over being late for.. might as well sleep there the night before.
I blame the parents.
Seriously, I would think if this test is so important you would jump off a building if you missed it, then how the hell were they not like four hours early. There had to be extenuating circumstances, in which case the people responsible for administering the test should really have some prudence, if you know, or even think there is a remote chance the kids are going to kill themselves if you don't let them take the test, let them take the fucking test. I'm sure they didn't just oversleep for god sakes.
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My parents grew up in China and I actually don't think they've ever really talked about their experiences with this system. All I know is that they had to study and work tremendously hard to get where they are today. However, they do think that my brother and I have had it much better off living in the U.S. and I definitely agree.
This exam determines whether or not you will go to college. Your future literally depends on this exam. I can't begin to imagine how terrifying and stressful this is but it makes me incredibly grateful that my parents moved to the U.S.
All of my relatives live in China still. I have a cousin who didn't do well on this exam and now she's studying at Michigan State solely because her father is fairly wealthy and can afford to send her there. For the vast majority of people in China, not doing well on the entrance exam and simply studying in another country is not an option.
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Just got terribly owned by finals, but I guess I gotta count my blessings T_T
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On June 09 2011 19:52 fearus wrote:
These kids were most likely massively depressed before hand and missing out on the exam was the straw that broke the Camel's back.
There are lots of stories where normal people with normal lives decide to take their own lives.
This kind of stuff seems to happen more often in China though. Perhaps the depression was related to school.
The suicides were two separate incidents.
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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.
It's not just "the system" its the culture and upbringing within the family.
As cliche as it sounds do you realize how much shame there would be, coudl you just walk up to your parents after they raised you for 18 years in a certain way and tell them that you overslept, didn't get there early, etc. and missed the exam? The exam that they're talking about is vastly more important than anything that happens in the american school system. Not just your parents but how do your parents tell your grandparents that you have been raised so well for so long and now wont' be able to go to college because you missed the exam.
There are a million examples like this but in chinese culture, and maybe more specifically cantonese culture, there is an extreme amount of shame that would go around to your whole family, not just yourself.
I'm not justifying suicide here, but I'm saying don't post on how "the system sucks" or what not. This is something that is COMPLETELY understandable and undoubtedly happens on several occassions EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
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I don't think the exams were the reasons for the 2 suicides. I believe they were sad that they could not grow beards. This is infact understandable.
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On June 10 2011 17:30 Zlasher wrote:Show nested quote +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. It's not just "the system" its the culture and upbringing within the family.
Of course it is... those are the most influential parts of the system!
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EPT
