Chinese views on education as seen in 女生日记, part 2

I didn't get to finish saying everything I wanted to say in my first post, so here's a second post.

梅小雅 (Mei Xiaoya) and Family

Mei Xiaoya's mum does something quite strange at the beginning of the novel which is revealed to be her plan to get Xiaoya into a good middle school. I think that her idea is that in a good primary school, such as the one Dongyang and her friends attend, the increased competition would compromise Xiaoya's chances of getting into a good middle school, whereas if Xiaoya goes to a normal school that still has had students go to a good middle school, then her chances might be increased. Mei Xiaoya isn't happy with the decision because she liked her friends at her old school, but she can't go against her mother's wishes.

When asked by Dongyang as to why Xiaoya's mum would force her to change schools when she clearly doesn't want to, Xiaoya replies, “我不怪我的妈妈。 她过得很苦，我是她惟一的希望，她说这一辈子的愿望就是要让我读大学，做一个有出息的人。” (I don't blame my mum. She's had a bitter time, and I'm her only hope. She says that her lifetime dream is for me to go to university and to have a future.) Here, at least, Xiaoya's mum's reasons for Xiaoya to do well are clear. Xiaoya's mum's desires are born out of poverty and of the misery of her own life and the innate parental desire for their children not to have to grow up the same way. However, she is not quite so pushy as Zhao Xiaowei's mum, as evidenced by the fact that Xiaoya's mum at least allows Xiaoya to help out in the family business. (I'm not sure what Zhao Xiaowei's mum's motives are, but they're probably quite different. It seems to me that Zhao Xiaowei's parents have a reasonable amount of money. In the chapter about the Teachers' Day gifts, Dongyang writes about what Xiaowei's parents work as, but I still can't work out what they are, not even with a dictionary. Something to do with being a Deputy Secretary and a Deputy Commissioner of some bureau. I don't know.)

舒老师 (Shu Laoshi/ Mr Shu)

Shu Laoshi, who the students initially loved for his good looks, eventually comes to be loved for other reasons. In the chapter “没有分数的试卷” (Exam papers with no [numerical] marks), Shu Laoshi gives out letter grades as opposed to percentages. His justification is that he occasionally hears stories about students being punished by their parents for not getting 100%. He believes that in using more vague grades, “压力不那么大，情绪也就不那么紧张了” (the pressure won't be so great, and you won't feel so nervous). He then goes on with what I perceive to be his trump card: “再说我们学习并不仅仅为了考试，分数不能说明一切。” (Besides, our study isn't only for exams. The marks don't tell you everything.) Not long after, he says, “总之一句话，考试不是目的，如果我是教育部长，马上取消考试。” (Overall what I'm saying is that exams aren't "eyes." If I was the Minister of Education, I would immediately get rid of exams.") This is greeted with much enthusiasm from the students, who say, “舒老师万岁！” (Long live Shu Laoshi!)

The parents aren't so thrilled though. In a later chapter, “所有人的难题” (Everyone's Difficult Question), 南柯梦 (Nan Kemeng) tells Dongyang that she's concerned that Shu Laoshi might lose his job, or at least won't be allowed to teach them any more. You see, many parents of students in the class went and saw the principal with their concerns that Shu Laoshi isn't using number grades and is assigning very little homework. They're concerned that their children will do badly in the all-important primary school graduation exam. Nan Kemeng's own grandmother, who used to be a school principal, is likewise concerned that Nan Kemeng isn't getting as much homework as her older cousin did when she was in Nan Kemeng's year.

The students are worried and plan to see the principal about it. Interestingly, 郝佳 (Hao Jia), the class leader, won't go and see the principal herself despite her classmates' assertions that, as the class leader, she should go and see the principal. She says, “如果老师让我去，我就去” (if the teacher asks me to go, I'll go), which epitomises the reason why student councils and whatnot don't mean very much to me. Back on topic, some students (吴缅 (Wu Mian) and 鲁肥肥 (Lu Feifei, which I'm guessing is a nickname as "fei" means "fat") eventually do decide to go and see the principal, who offers to have a meeting with their class at some point. I don't know what the outcome of the meeting is because I haven't read enough of the book yet.

At this point Dongyang's family are shown to be on Shu Laoshi's side. When Dongyang talks to her parents about the day's events, her dad says, “如果我有机会见到[舒老师]，我要对他说声 ‘谢谢’！” (If I ever get the opportunity to see [Shu Laoshi], I want to say 'thank you'!) After Dongyang talks about the other parents' viewpoints, her mum says, “我认为重要的是我女儿对数学有兴趣了。” (I think that it's important that my daughter has an interest in maths.) They then go on to talk about their comparatively more relaxed childhoods, with little to no homework and an earlier school finish time. Dongyang's dad said that he used to play on the beach while her mum said that she used to go to a special centre for children and teenagers where she could join a choir and do drama. It didn't stop Dongyang's dad from becoming an architect and Dongyang's mum from becoming an MC. In fact, perhaps their childhood activities helped them with their current careers. As Dongyang writes about her mum and her job, “跟她小时候的这些活动经历有没有关系呢？” (Is there a relationship with the activities she experienced as a child?)

So there you have it- an introduction to different viewpoints on education in China, courtesy of 女生日记。 I hope you enjoyed it!