All For Education, Education For All?

This is a bit of an odds and ends post.

Firstly, it looks like we may no longer need to teach at the little English-language school round the corner. Old Mr Li told Anthony today that he needn't come in tomorrow, and that he'd 'call us' if he needed us again. Sounds like we've been let go - from the job we never asked for nor wanted. Excellent! That place was just weird. I still don't know what we were doing there. All we did was come in for 9am, sit around for an hour while odd parents came in and out of the office to look at us, then finally go off to see the classrooms, walk in, say 'hello!', sit down, listen for 5 minutes then move on to the next. 3 classrooms later we were on our way home. As 'advisors' we were never asked our opinions on the teaching (which we couldn't have given anyway as we're too polite) and we couldn't talk to the kids as they don't learn conversational English.

What they do learn is pretty pointless. They're taught a story. The very youngest get:

'-Look! Beauuuutiful F-looooowers!
- Hello Bees!
- Let's...make...honey!
- Lu lu-lu lu lu, lu lu-lu lu lu'.

It comes complete with flapping of wings and dancing. The middle class gets the story of Snow White, which has been seriously messed up. I don't remember it being so violent when I was younger:

'-Mirror mirror on the wall, who is beautiful?
- Not you, Snow White.
- No, no, no!
- Kill Snow White!'.

I love that of the very few words these kids are being taught, one of them is 'kill'. And who is the mirror talking to anyway? It's a bit harsh. The oldest kids get Little Red Riding Hood or, as they have been taught to say it, 'Leetle red-uh riiiding hoood-uh', complete with actions that involve a curtsey and are seriously impairing some little boys' chances of asserting their masculinity later in life.

That is one pointless exercise I'm glad we'll not have to endure any more.


Secondly, we were today told all about the Senior 3 graduation exams. Over lunch we were chatting with two friends in the top class of Senior 3. One of them mentioned that they had some exams later that afternoon. The explanation was that some of their classmates had failed the exam a few weeks ago so had to do them again, and our friends were doing the resits for them.

"- You're doing the exam for them? Why?

Because they did badly on the exam last time.

- So why can't they do the exam this time?

Because maybe they won't pass.

- Maybe...

And then they would have to pay 50 yuan.

- For what?

To pass the graduation exam.

- They must pay 50 yuan to pass the exam?

Yes.

- Right... So, if they do badly on the exam they can still pass anyway if they pay 50 yuan?

Yes. And then they will get the graduation certificate.

- So even if they fail, they can still get the graduation certificate?

Yes, but if they fail, they will have to pay 50 yuan for each subject.

- And what happens if they can't pay the 50 yuan?

Well, then they won't be able to get the graduation certificate, and maybe they won't get good jobs."

My God. I could tell Anthony's thoughts were running the same path as mine as we phrased our questions carefully and repeatedly to confirm that, our top students were going to take exams for the poorer students, posing as absolutely anyone, male or female, and going unchecked as long as they wrote the correct examination code on the paper in order to enable these dumb-ass students to pass an exam they never had a hope in hell of passing, all so they could avoid paying a fee that would see them receive the same certificates in the end anyway. The sincerity with which these students revealed all this told us that they honestly believed there was nothing wrong here.

It is madness!! No wonder so many of these kids just don't care about studying at school. What's the motivation? It's pointless reiterating what it's like back home, but the point is that you get rewarded for your hard work, and likewise receive certain life-long disadvantages if you don't. I guess it's fairly typical of this culture for everyone to come out the same in the wash ( I mean the general 'middle class' population here, not the elite university-going students, for whom the quality of university they get into is life or death, who study so hard and who I've heard groan 'oh, only 196 days left until the university entrance exams, not enough time...', and not the really rural farming classes for whom life is a simpler, but harsher affair) but it explains soooo much about China's shortcomings. From an early age it is second nature to cheat. There is no need to earn anything. It will all be provided for you. There is a real lack of responsibility and hardly a care for consequences.

And all this is illustrated so succinctly in these stupid exams.

At dinner we spoke again to the students who'd sat the exams for their friends. One had even been asked by Vice Principal Tang, no-less, to retake one of the exams for some student who was obviously a relative or child of a friend. It meant he resat the exam for two different people at the same time. During the exam the invigilating teacher came over to where he was sitting and told him he didn't need to finish the rest of it, taking the paper from him and passing the answers round the entire exam hall.

Unbelievable.

This is the reason why the school can hire in two foreign teachers at 3-4 times a normal teachers' salary while it goes without glass in the windows or a place for students to sit and eat their meals; why the only historic monument with the potential to be an attraction looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but with more trees growing out the roof; why simply being able to handle your drink gets your foot on the promotion ladder; and why you get the fourth large, overpriced supermarket in town built with a beautifully pedestrianised shopping street that leads absolutely nowhere. Oh, and how do you spell 'street' anyway?

God I'm critical this evening. I'm not moaning really. I'm just telling it as it is. This is why I really am very glad I'm living in rural China right now. It's cliche'd to talk about seeing the 'real' China, but I really do believe I'm seeing everything, warts and all. I don't think everyone is as lucky.


Thirdly, something more personal. Most of what I write is observation, less is about what I'm doing and feeling right now. I thought I'd bring you up to date with certain events in my life, for those I haven't told already.

You may or may not know that I came out here with a plan. The plan was to bring about a change of career (or to actually get one). While I was here in the winter I applied to several universities in the UK for courses in Nutrition and Dietetics, with a view to eventually becoming a Dietician. I applied to six unis, but only really ever wanted to go to one, King's College, London.

Life being what it is, I didn't get into King's. I had a phone interview about a month ago and it just didn't go too well, so I wasn't surprised when I found out the news. Disappointed, but not surprised.

So now I face a tough decision. Do I go for one of my back-up universities? Or do I have another try?

The back-up is Leeds Met. A decent uni, with a good course in a city that I already like and know well. The problem is that it will never be London. I was drawn by the chance of living on the cheap in the capital and experiencing something that I probably wouldn't later on in life. This plan was all about getting the very very best from all opportunities and situations. Leeds is fine. Just fine. I wanted a little more than 'fine'.

However, to try again means waiting one more year before starting a course that already takes 4 years to complete. I'd be 30 before I graduate. Can I wait that long to finally get started? There is also then the dilemma of what to do in the meantime. I know I won't be staying in Lanshan, but what would I do back home? Would I go back home?

Dilemma. If I knew that I'd done my very best this time round and was just unlucky then I'd make my peace with Leeds. But there's this horrible 'what if?' hanging over my head and it won't go away...