I met them at a job fair in Jiangbei District. My role for the day was to assess their English language competence and recommend the best of them to prospective employers.
In some ways, it was a sad experience. So many talented young people looking for a chance. Too many graduate camels trying to squeeze through the eye of an employer's needle.
An old chinese proverb describes the process better: "It is like a stampede of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses across a single log bridge”
I couldn't help but compare them with their peers in my own country, Australia. The same age, the same earnestness, and the same desire for a meaningful career.
Some of these folk coming from soft middle-class homes in Chongqing. Places of material comfort and emotional support. Not much different from the west.
Other students not so fortunate. Home for them is a crude dwelling in the countryside peopled by uneducated farmers in isolated rural counties. Dirt-poor inheritors of a little piece of the motherland from their ancestors. Plots smaller than some Australian backyards. Intensively cultivated gardens rather than small farms.
No handouts, no financial assistance, and no safety net for these students.
These children of the soil carrying a weight of expectation: the hopes of an extended family who want to lift themselves out of the poverty of their fate via the education of one of their own. Revolutionary thinking in the heartland of China where Confucianism has always counseled acceptance of one's fate and status.
In one generation, families are lifting themselves out of poverty and into middle-class status. Evidence of the Chinese Government's political desire to lift the standard of living for 800 million people who live in rural, undeveloped China.
These students. These wonderful young people who love their parents and families and who accept their responsibilities without complaint.
You have to admire them. If they miss out or fail at something, their response is to try harder. And if one foreign language (usually English) is not enough to give them a competitive edge, then they will tackle another (usually French, Japanese, or Korean).
Westerners have choices. These folk have one. Only one. And they will do whatever it takes to succeed.
They must succeed. Their extended family depends on them to do so.
China is in good hands. One day these hard-working, intellectually tough, responsible young people will be running their country.I met them at a job fair in Jiangbei District. My role for the day was to assess their English language competence and recommend the best of them to prospective employers.
In some ways, it was a sad experience. So many talented young people looking for a chance. Too many graduate camels trying to squeeze through the eye of an employer's needle.
An old chinese proverb describes the process better: "It is like a stampede of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses across a single log bridge”
I couldn't help but compare them with their peers in my own country, Australia. The same age, the same earnestness, and the same desire for a meaningful career.
Some of these folk coming from soft middle-class homes in Chongqing. Places of material comfort and emotional support. Not much different from the west.
Other students not so fortunate. Home for them is a crude dwelling in the countryside peopled by uneducated farmers in isolated rural counties. Dirt-poor inheritors of a little piece of the motherland from their ancestors. Plots smaller than some Australian backyards. Intensively cultivated gardens rather than small farms.
No handouts, no financial assistance, and no safety net for these students.
These children of the soil carrying a weight of expectation: the hopes of an extended family who want to lift themselves out of the poverty of their fate via the education of one of their own. Revolutionary thinking in the heartland of China where Confucianism has always counseled acceptance of one's fate and status.
In one generation, families are lifting themselves out of poverty and into middle-class status. Evidence of the Chinese Government's political desire to lift the standard of living for 800 million people who live in rural, undeveloped China.
These students. These wonderful young people who love their parents and families and who accept their responsibilities without complaint.
You have to admire them. If they miss out or fail at something, their response is to try harder. And if one foreign language (usually English) is not enough to give them a competitive edge, then they will tackle another (usually French, Japanese, or Korean).
Westerners have choices. These folk have one. Only one. And they will do whatever it takes to succeed.
They must succeed. Their extended family depends on them to do so.
China is in good hands. One day these hard-working, intellectually tough, responsible young people will be running their country.
Brian Hennessy. China Australia Consult. 2007
I met them at a job fair in Jiangbei District. My role for the day was to assess their English language competence and recommend the best of them to prospective employers. So many talented young people looking for a chance.
Graduates
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Too many graduate camels trying to pass through the eye of an employer's needle. An old Chinese proverb also describes this difficulty: "It is like a stampede of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of horses across a single log bridge.
In some ways, it was a sad experience. I couldn't help but compare them with their peers in my own country, Australia. The same age, the same earnestness, and the same desire for a meaningful career.
Some of these folk coming from soft middle-class homes in Chongqing. Places of material comfort and emotional support. Not much different from the west.
Many other students not so fortunate. Home for them is a crude dwelling in the countryside peopled by uneducated farmers in isolated rural counties. Dirt-poor inheritors of a little piece of the motherland from their ancestors. Plots smaller than some Australian backyards. Intensively cultivated gardens rather than small farms. No handouts, no financial assistance, and no safety net for these students.
These children of the soil carrying a weight of expectation: the hopes of an extended family who want to lift themselves out of the poverty of their fate via the education of one of their own. Revolutionary thinking in the heartland of China where Confucianism has always counseled acceptance of one's fate and status.
In one generation, families are lifting themselves out of poverty and into middle-class status. Evidence of the Chinese Government's political desire to lift the standard of living for 800 million people who live in rural, undeveloped China.
These students. These wonderful young people who love their parents and families and who accept their responsibilities without complaint. You have to admire them. If they miss out or fail at something, their response is to try harder. And if one foreign language (usually English) is not enough to give them a competitive edge, then they will tackle another (usually French, Japanese, or Korean).
Westerners have choices. These folk have one. Only one. And they will do whatever it takes to succeed. They must succeed. Their extended family depends on them to do so.
China is in good hands. One day these hard-working, intellectually tough, responsible young people will be running their country.
