WOW|The neglected “talents“——Heart-to-heart conversation

APD Columnist|HU Panfeng, Beijing Foreign Studies University

It’steno’clock.Thereistwentyminutesbreakafterthefirstthreeclasses.Abunchofeleventhgradersarepushingthetightlycloseddooroftheirclassroom,shouting,andthrowingtheirbodiestothedoor.“Wearein!Wearein!”Finally,thedoorthrustopen,theirrubyfacesbloomingwithvictorioussmiles.

Insidetheclassroom,theotherbandofstudentsistheonesblockingthedoor.Itisnotaconflict;it’sjustagameofpowerforfun.Theteachercomesbytoseethescene,halfangry,halffrustrated:“Easy,boys.Giveyourselfarest.”

That’sthemostrelaxedmomentduringtheschooldaysforZhengHe,aneleventhgraderatFuzhouNO.1MiddleSchool,oneofthethreebestschoolsinFuzhou,aprefecture-levelcityinJiangxiProvince,SoutheastofChina.Hisdayusuallystartsat6:30o’clock,arrivingschoolat7:30,endingupat22:00.

“Mymotherusuallygetsupearlierthanme,makingbreakfastandstaysuplateruntilIgotobed.”Thatmaybetheendofdayforhim.Butforthemorediligentothers,hesaid,therearemuchmoreextraexercisestoworkon.

Beforethehighestimperialexaminationwascancelledin1905,theendoftheQingDynasty,thereareinall2500successfulcandidatesinFuzhou,amountedtoaround30%inJiangxiProvince.

Nowadays,itscollegeentranceexaminationhasstillmaintainedtheleadinglevelinJiangxiprovince.

ThesecretofitssuccesscanbeboileddowntotheLinchuanEducationGroup,composedbythreekeymiddleschools:FuzhouNo.1,LinchuanNo.1andLinchuanNo.2.While,themostoutstandingonearetheLinchuanNo.1MiddleSchool.IthasthelargestsizeofstudentsandenrolmentatChina’stopuniversities,includingPeking,Tsinghai,FudanandRenminUniversity.ThelistofstudentsadmittedbythetopuniversitiesathomeandabroadinLinchuanN0.1MiddleSchoolin2014.

Eachyearanaverageof6000studentsfromsurroundingcitiesandprovincescometostudyinFuzhou,attractedbyitsreputationineducation.

Educationhaslongbeenthepillarindustryinthebackwardinlandcity.Insuchareas,manyhopetoembraceabetterfuturethrougheducation.

Students,parents,andteachers

However,thoseschoolseducationmethodshavelongbeencriticizedbysomepeopleasharshandrigid.

XuZhiyuan,ajournalistandwriter,oncewroteinhisbookafterhevisitedLinChuanNo.1MiddleSchool:Themanagementofstudentsisprecise.Boysshouldnothavelonghair;girlsshouldnotwearhighheels.Studentsarenotallowedtochaseeachother,crossthelane,smoke,gabblingordate.Anyonewhobreakstheseruleswouldbetheburdenofthewholeclass——beingdisqualifiedforthemost“civilizedclass”award.

Theparentswouldoccasionallybesummonedtotheschoolto“haveacupoftea”withtheteacherifthestudentisfoundabsent-mindedattheclass——chitchattingorusingmobilephones.

Thereareabout14000studentsinLinChuanNo.1middleschool,withanaverageof70studentsineachclass,occupyinganareaofonly50squaremeters.Pilesofbooksandstudentsstuffedtheroom,noplacelefttohavefun.

“Duringthebreak,wesitbeforethedesk,chattingwithclassmatesorkeepreadingbooksandworkingonexercises.”saidLiJiaqi,atenthgrader.

InsideoftheclassroomofFuzhouN0.1MiddleSchool

Lisaid,peopleburdenthemselveswiththegrades.Competitionandcomparisonisubiquitous.“Iamneitherhard-workingnorsmart.SowhenIstaywithmyfriends,Icallthemcurvewreckers,asenseofself-abasementisalwaysupsettingme.IfeellostatthethoughtthatIaminferiortothem.”

Hesaid,theworseexampleishisdesk-matebeingobsessedwithcomparingwithhiminstudy.WeusedtobefriendsuntilhefoundoutthatIgothighergradesthanhimatmosttests.It’sbeenalongtimehehasn’ttalktome.”

Emphasisonschoolperformanceleadstoneglectofthekids’innerworld,saidXuinhisarticle.

Whentalkedabouthisparents.Lihesitated:“Ifeelpainfulatthebarethoughtofthem.Theyarestubbornanddictatorial.”

“ThethingtheycareaboutiseithermyscoreorwhetherIeat,sleep,studyhard.”

“Thereneverisaheart-to-heartconversation.Theydon’tcarewhatIamthinkingaslongasIlookhealthy.SowhenIsign,theyaresosurprised.‘Wetakegoodcareofyou,thenwhyareyoustillunhappy?’”

“IamluckythatIhaveanexcellentteacher.That’swhatkeepsmeon.”Li’smoodchangedwhentalkingabouthisteacher.

Lisaid,unlikehisparents,theteacherwouldattendtothefeelingsofherstudents.

Whilespeakingofhisteacher,ZhengHeisnotthatfortunateasLi.

“OurChineseteacherisgoodatbelittlestudentsthanteachthem.Hesaid:“Wehavetoreadaloudreviewsofourmistakesbeforethewholeclassifcrosstherule.Ineverforgotthemomentoneofmyfriendsshoutedpainfullyattheplatformwhenhewaspunishedthisway.But,hewasrecoveredthenextday,happyasusual.”

“Yes,weareaccustomedtoit.”

Newopportunitiesofbeingenrolled

Regardedbymanyasapassportforapromisingfuture,parentsareeagertosendtheirkidstothethreeschools.

Inthepast,noteveryonegottheopportunity.OnlythesewhopasstheMiddleSchoolEntranceExaminationandresideneartheschoolswouldbeenrolled.

In2015,theLinchuanEducationGroupstartedanewprogram——toestablishprivateschoolsunderthenameofLinchuanNO.1,LinchuanNO.2andFuzhouNo.1middleschools.

“Thedifferencebetweenthepublicschoolsandtheprivateonesisthatthelattercostmoremoney.Forexample,thetuitionoftheprivateschoolsamountsto18000yuan(2736USdollars)peryear.Normally,thepublicschoolsonlycostyou1600yuan(243USdollars).”saidLiuYinzi,aparentwhohasjustsendhersontotheprivateschoolaffiliatedtotheFuzhouN0.1.MiddleSchool.

“Peoplealsocallthemexclusiveschools.”Shequipped.

“Ifyoumisstheentranceexamination,inthepast,youhadtoofferextramoneytotheschoolinordertoberecruited.Theaveragecostwasaround24000yuan(3648USdollars)forthreeyears.Nowwiththeprivateschoolsbeingbuilt,thetotalpaymentisevenhigherthanbefore.”

Whatareyoudreamingforthefuture?

ZhengHesaidhebelievesinmuscles.

The14-year-oldeleventh-graderalreadyhasastrongbuilt.Butifyoulookathisphotosfiveyearsago,youwouldn’tbelievehewasthatskinnyboywearingtimidsmileonhisface.

Inthecornerofhislivingroom,thereisasmallgymequippedwithavarietyoffitnessequipments:theABbackmachine,thedumbbell,andthebodypowertower.

“Knowledgeisimportant,sodoesmuscles.AndIwantboth.”Zhengsaid,heusedtobeinferiortoboysofalargersize.Whenevertheyhaveafight,hewouldbethebulliedone.

“Iwouldliketoseethemtobescaredoffbymystrength…Youcan’tbeatanyonewithknowledgeofbooksbutknowledgeofKongfu.”

Zheng’smothersaid:“Whenhecomeshomeaftertheeveningclasses,hewouldspendsometimetodopull-upsorpush-ups.Thoughthereisonlyhalfdayoffinoneweek,hewouldgotothegymwhentimeallows.

Whenaskedwhathewouldbecomeintenyears,Zhengsaid:“That’seasytoanswer.Iwillbestrongandmakeittothetopofmycareer.”

ComparingwithZheng’sambitiontobecomethe“Popeye”,LiJiaqi’saimtendstobemoreromantic.

“Iwanttoroamthroughouttheworld.Onedayasthesunsets,Imaydieontheroad,withmybodycoveredbythepurestsand.”

Lisaidhelikescyclingandwriting.

“Cyclingindrizzlesisthebestwaytoforgetsorrow.”

Li’sidolisSanMao,aChinesewriterandthefirstfemaleexplorertocrosstheSaharaDesertwithherhusbandHeXi.

“Icanfeelthetelepathybetweenus.Wearealllonely.Besides,hercouragetotravelfar,farawayinspiredmetopursuefreedom.Ialsowanttobeontheroad,thoughtIdon’thavemoneyforalongjourneyatpresent.”

ThereissomethingtheChineseeducationcanteach,forexample,highscoresiseverything.ButthereisalsosomethingtheChineseeducationcannotdeprive,thatistheindependentandundefeatableidentityofthekidswhichmightalsorequirestheattentionandrecognitionofothers——theparents,teachersorthosepre-occupiedadultsaroundthem.

APDColumnist|HUPanfeng--communicationstudent,alwaysafreshman