Opinion / Liu Shinan
Youngsters must know importance of hard work
By Liu Shinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-21 06:25
In my column last week, I criticised the overindulgent care Chinese
parents lavish on their kids as typically demonstrated in the national
examination for college entrance.
The observation triggered enthusiastic discussions among readers. Some
wrote in defence of the parents, saying that hard-working kids deserve
the dispensation of having naps in nearby hotel rooms in between exams.
Others said we should put the blame on our education system rather than
on the kids.
I agree that adults rather than the kids are to blame for the problems in
our education system, but I do think that providing a rest place in
hotels and ordering aircraft to change flight routes are not necessary to
help students pass exams.
My argument is simple: students 10 or 20 years ago did not fail exams
because they lacked a nap in a hotel or a taxi ride or heard the humming
of a passing plane.
Antagonists may refute this by stating that times have changed, and
saying why should we not provide the kids with comforts we can afford?
It is not wrong to upgrade the convenience we give to our children, for
instance, computers and mobile phones, for they help improve their study
and broaden their horizons. But excessive ease and comfort may erode
youngsters' will to endure hardships.
The present generation of teenagers and youths in their twenties have
been growing up under the cover of their parents' brooding wings. In the
early years of their schooling, their parents escorted them to and from
the school. When they enrolled at university, their parents accompanied
them to the school, completed all the registration formalities for them
and cleaned the dormitory, made the bed and put up mosquito net for them.
There have been many reports that college students mailed their dirty
clothes home thousands of miles away every month and their mothers then
sent them back clean.
In recent years, college graduates have found it hard to land jobs. Many
choose to stay at home relying on their parents. A survey conducted by
the China Ageing Study Centre indicates that more than 30 per cent of
grown-up children depend on their parents for part or all of their living
expenses. Among these young people, 50 per cent were college graduates
who failed to find a job, or quit a job because "the work was too tiring."
These young people exist in Western countries too, where they are called
NEET (not in education, employment or training).
In fact, there are job opportunities for college graduates. But most hope
to stay in major metropolises, snubbing employers from rural or
hinterland areas.
In a job fair held for college graduates recently in Zhejiang Province,
14,000 job vacancies remained unoccupied, because none of them wanted to
work in private enterprises in small cities. Actually, these companies
were all located in economically developed areas, such as Jinhua and
Huzhou.
These college graduates would rather wait for an "ideal job" than take a
job in a grass-roots enterprise to start their career.
A successful career starts from solid work. No matter that the job may
appear humble at first, a person with endeavouring spirit, creative
thinking and a habit of hard learning will eventually achieve success.
The Chinese nation lagged behind Western countries in development in the
19th century and part of the 20th century. It was the spirit of endeavour
despite hardships that enabled several generations of Chinese to catch up
with the pace of global modernization. Our future will be worrisome if
the new generation loses such a spirit.
Fortunately, NEETs account for only a small fraction of the young
generation. But the trend merits serious attention.
Email: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 06/21/2006 page4)
Hot Talks
� Share Our Crafts: Naming contest
� The microprints of 1980s Shanghai
� The ceremony at the White House
� Do teenagers really need mobiles?
� China's Serious Environment Problem
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Alibaba is the largest B2B marketplace in the world. Source model ship,
wooden puzzle, one-piece toilet, RC hovercraft, photo album, prom dress,
pocket bike, Vaginal Speculum, Samurai Sword, String Panty and PVC Pipe.
Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
No comments:
Post a Comment