The Hardest Test in China

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[@cy9987]

My dad, a 50-year-old oncologist, told me he still occasionally had nightmares about failing the Gaokao..

[@amad980]

imagine studying for 16 hours a day and then being deemed a failure by everyone around you...

[@conradkai9705]

I think I would too

[@zhijianjiang7359]

PTSD..

[@الحمدلله-ه3ع5ل]

kzbin.info/door/I_Py_3mShSDQqv2sRxJzRg

[@backyardaviator2920]

But hey you guys are lucky to have these kinds of tests,here in PH,most of them just gets passed whether theyre skilled enough or not

[@ericwang7959]

My father was able to go to a university by being the 8th of the 8 students that scored high enough in his school in Gaokao, became an engineer and moved to one of the tier 1 city in China. My uncle (my father's brother) did not make the cut and eventually became a worker in the local factory, in a small town in rural China. We went back to visit them from time to time, and the quality of life is literally night and day. They are the living proof that Gaokao can either make or break a person, and why people value it so much.

[@steveronese]

U are incredibly lucky. I could not imagine being the son of a factory worker

[@Tokito935]

@@steveronese what's wrong with that?

[@usmanyounas5181]

@@Tokito935 Not much pay and u know money is everything is this world

[@yousof8546]

@@usmanyounas5181 what a flawed way to look at life

[@RdyToMingle]

@@yousof8546 money isn't everything but it makes most aspects of life easier.

[@KersheckStudios]

When I asked my parents why they emigrated to Canada one of their top reasons was so I wouldn’t have to take the gaokao 🙏🏼

[@syzikiy4450]

*Immigrated

[@canadaehxplained77]

@@syzikiy4450 Emigrate means 'to leave one's own country permanently' - no correction needed.

[@yuvanishm5167]

@@canadaehxplained77 Emigrate from china. Immigrate to Canada

[@dr.woozie7500]

Username fits

[@ArthurRTK]

Gaokao is not that hard. The problem is, you can't take it easily since you can't fail. It's all or nothing.

[@charlesren8377]

My dad's gaokao result sent him to one of the best major (chem engineering) in the best uni (qinghua) from the hardest province (jiangsu) and just imagine the stress me and my brother got. My brother went to wuhan university which is already most students' dream but my dad was a bit disappointed. At age of 17 i chose to not do gaokao and went abroad, eventually got admitted by a medical school in Australia. My dad said:“not bad” lol

[@bjap1563]

Not to mock you but I just remember a scene in Family guy. Dad:"You Doctor yet!" Son:"Dad! I'm 10!" Dad:"Talk to me when you're Doctor!" *Dad Slams Door.*

[@asdfghjkl12349]

My dad was from a poor rural area, but his gaokao also sent him to qing hua

[@lily.liuller8825]

Omg,seemingly the whole family are straight-A students😂

[@verballyconstipated]

holy frick tsinghua

[@charlesren8377]

@@lily.liuller8825 not really. My grade was below average before med school and i couldnt figure out why that med school decided to take me. Well now im working on becoming a neurosurgeron, trying to forgive my younger self for not working as hard as my dad lmao

[@yunyao3182]

The gaokao itself was not that hard for me, but everything around me was nightmares. Before entering high school, I was doing well in the volleyball team, chorus, Olympic math and physics, I was confident and optimistic. But in high school, nobody cared if I had passions, if I had good characters or anything, they only valued you by your mark and rank. My mom didn't let me eat nice food or buy anything just because she expected me to rank 50/1000 however I only ranked 70/1000... We had 2 hours break at noon for lunch and sleep, however, everyone in the dorm studied and discussed, which made me unable to sleep. My roommates didn't feel guilty, they judged me for not studying instead. I became sensitive, negative and introvert. But fortunately, I did it. After gaokao, I felt loss and extremely tired, I didn't feel like to do anything, I lay on my bed for a month and a half, no talking, no eating, no phones, just drinking water, dazing and sleeping. I lost 15kg during that time. After that, I suddenly became normal, shopping, singing, playing games like a normal person. It sounds strange, but yes, everything about gaokao looks like have never happened to me, it is like a long long dream, or, a nightmare.

[@hochigaming14yearsago90]

Damn. Just damn.

[@vitas75]

You don't become introverted. People are born either introverted or extroverted. It is hereditary and can only be slightly affected early on in life, when your personality is still developing.

[@Lucas-sk5iy]

@@vitas75 Lmao you're a good example of someone who wants to sound smart but has no idea what they're talking about; introversion/extroversion is not a binary. People are not one or the other, and their tendency towards behaviors that could be described in terms of introversion/extroversion are dependent on a variety of factors, the most important of which is the context of the social circumstance.

[@atticuskoch2965]

@@vitas75 If all you're taking away from what they said is "oh, they're not a TRUE introvert", then you aren't paying attention to what they're saying. Staying in bed for a month and losing 15 kg is indicative of a major depressive episode. In that case it doesn't matter whether a person is an introvert or an extrovert, functioning can be extremely difficult and draining, let alone interacting with other people. You really dont know what you're talking about

[@m.moonsie]

@@vitas75 You sound smart, but actually are not. Sad

[@ashaazsy3467]

I'm scared of failing the gaokao and I'm not even Chinese

[@INNOPID]

Here in India, for some sort of same exam, my teachers ask me to enjoy reading and working, which some people just can't do(the subject might or might not be related with the job we do, for example Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google studied Metallurgy at IIT, but look at his job rn)

[@steadyzz2371]

@@INNOPID its worse in turkey. We have a gigantic exam in 8th grade that you start preparing from 5th grade. Right after you do that you have a bigger one in high school

[@INNOPID]

@@steadyzz2371 That's kinda pressuring at a very young age

[@steadyzz2371]

@@INNOPID yes I’m aware. You have to solve 300 questions a day and repeat all subjects. You don’t even have time to eat

[@eviananordinaryweirdo]

@@kevwjin ikr, I'm Chinese-_-

[@_simon.s_]

Now I understand why students went so far as to rip their textbooks and throw it out the window before the exam. Gaokao is no joke.

[@_memorycore_8867]

Raging before death, I like it.

[@sorrychangedmyusername3594]

And then they forgot about it after adulthood.

[@bluehotdog2610]

But the thing is that once they are in university, Chinese students have it easy. In the western world, schooling before university is easy and university itself is extremely hard.

[@SoybeanInTheMilk]

@@bluehotdog2610 what relevance is had

[@memory.1]

@@bluehotdog2610 as someone who has done gaokao for undergrad, and applied admission for grad in UK/US, i can vouch for how university in east asia vs western world is as different as night and day.

[@janie9355]

Imagine getting a 700+ score if you guessed on all the multiple choice questions

[@rageleague188]

There’s barely any multiple choice questions.

[@ryantheredzombie6124]

@@rageleague188 makes sense

[@organicallymaz]

There's more than 120 in total (mostly in english) spread across 6 subjects, good luck! Also it's impossible, even if you guessed it all right, the most you'll get in score is only around 400-500

[@Designed1]

Maybe Dream can do it

[@张世钦-f6y]

@@rageleague188 Yes there are.For Math and Physics,which counts around 50 points (meant a lot in the test,you can surpass about 210000 students by 1 point)

[@ycloud443]

I am a Chinese person and my senior high school would run from 7:20am to 10:30pm, Monday to Saturday. And I still had to do some homework after I got home at 11:00pm. And we had weekly tests. After each test your marks, rank in your class and in the grade would be sent to your parents. It was extremely depressing. I am so happy that I live in the West now and I really enjoy the life I am living right now! There's just too many people in Asia but not enough education resources. And here if you do not get into a decent university, your life is screwed. On the other hand, for poor people, getting into a good university is the only way to lift their entire family out of poverty. So most people have to fight like a starved wolf for education resources. But there is one thing good about this system --- poor people can have an opportunity to compete with the rich and to improve their conditions by working hard to get into a good university.

[@abrararifify]

I'm honestly happy for you. Pardon my french, but this "merit" stuff is complete bullshit. The entire purpose is to make students mindless souls not capable of their own free thinking. That's why these systems exist, especially in Asia.

[@RAMBO14001]

While you might feel oppressed towards your strict homeland regulations, but it's exactly that hardwork that drove China to become what it is today... And will probably be the #1 leading force of the world in the near future. Then you'll regret leaving to the West where they discriminate Asians on daily bases while they sit on their asses doing nothing.

[@RealUlrichLeland]

I've known a lot of people that really struggle with the burden of exams in the west so I can't imagine how bad it would be in China. There's a few things that education should do, and while I guess the Chinese system is probably relatively good at encouraging diligence, it doesn't sound like it teaches people to enjoy learning or to think critically which is by far the most important skill that you leave school with.

[@ycloud443]

@@RealUlrichLeland I guess the designer of this system never really hoped to encourage any critical thinking. The main purpose of this system is to give ordinary people an opportunity to compete with the rich and to improve their living conditions by getting into a good uni.

[@RealUlrichLeland]

@@ycloud443 That's the positive view of it I guess, that it's so standardised that anyone can try it and use their good score to move up on society. But I think the person designed it also probably wasn't too keen on teaching critical thinking, because the current version was developed after the cultural Revolution and all the chaos that Mao and radical youngsters in the red guard caused.

[@masterimbecile]

We have a saying in Chinese about these kinds of test: 一試定江山 (yi1 shi4 ding4 jiang1 shan1). Literally it says "one test determines river mountain", but it translates to "one test to determine your fate". Unfortunately student suicide rates skyrocket around these times. You can almost count on hearing about a rash of students hanging themselves or jumping from a window after the test.

[@aenigmatrices]

One exam to rule them all.

[@johnl.7754]

Actually I think the Gaokao is the best solution for China because otherwise there will be more suspicions of corruption on which teachers gave which students high grades or good recommendations. Students/parents are already giving gifts now on holidays.

[@dairyprods]

@@johnl.7754 idk where you live but pretty much all "recommendation letters" at the school I go to in the US are all rants about how crappy the student is. expect more vicious rants from public schools recommending students to private schools. sorting through these recc letters they basically pick out the student with the least crap against them.

[@johnl.7754]

@@dairyprods I’m from Los Angeles but parents from Taiwan. Never got a recommendation letter since went to a so so college in Southern California.

[@dairyprods]

@@johnl.7754 really, i needed one for middle school

[@리주민]

Finland is like: 😳 we'll just get rid of testing in general

[@flavioardizio7242]

Wait for real ?

[@odis6397]

Bump, what?

[@aknowleadge4787]

And homework is nearly never given. What a heaven on Earth.

[@MoonLaden]

What do you mean?

[@cream0995]

And that’s why they have one of the best education systems in the world

[@sidahe5688]

I was born in a poor family in Henan and got 671/750 in Henan in 2010, and now I am in the US. I am a beneficiary of Gaokao.

[@dannyyoung5508]

671！厉害👍！

[@Srab23]

Sounds cool! I bet you worked hard, and now you get what you deserve

[@winduslel2040]

Imagine you lived in US and you got a high score in A level but you are poor for the uni. Dude, you would be doomed. High level education is a business in the West.

[@meiryo896]

@@winduslel2040 is there no scholarship?

[@winduslel2040]

@@meiryo896 There are, but way limited, and the tuition fees+living cost there are at least 20 times higher than Chinese universities. I mean literally at least.

[@kaelhasturn]

I went to Canada for college just to skip this lmao

[@arpandas411]

Good choice. 👍🏼👌

[@naaso1132]

Good choice.

[@文渐]

Your choice needs money, and a large number of people without money in China can't be like you

[@valorzinski7423]

@@文渐 They can go go Germany where universities are free for all foreigners and citizens alike

[@shiluliu7780]

@@valorzinski7423 It is like asking people who are starving, why not eat meat.

[@bhaskargoyal2273]

Hats off to the creator for the amount of research done in this video. Hardly anyone mentions the fact that in densely populated asian countries exams like these are the only way for the poor kids to uplift their families out of poverty

[@bhaskargoyal2273]

I don't support exams like these but you should know the reason they are still conducted

[@briansendpie448]

It would take Chinese Universities years to decide the students to accept if they work like American ones. It is somehow inhuman but strictly fair.

[@pranavkondapalli9306]

@@bhaskargoyal2273 Not Necessarily true. You don't always get an equal opportunity for rich/poor people. Normal schools still have admission fees, and public schools rarely teach actually decently. (mostly cause ps teachers are woefully underpaid). And there are also many elite schools for those rich people to teach their kids better. So during those 'fair' tests you say, the person who never had the backbones of the subject taught to him will struggle a whole lot more than people who had the opportunity to understand the concept. Second of all, briberies to enter top college exist due to excessive corruption. Third of all, is this structure really worth it, considering it causes 1 death every 40 seconds (statistic for suicide rates globally, majority being of college students)? Is it worth the fact that it ruins people's lives or childhood? I support the cause for moving families out of poverty, but this system isn't the way to do it. Add all of this to the fact that this education system has not changed one bit for the last 100-200 years or so, and at least in India, was originally designed by the brits, which well we after independence just copy pasted, changed the narrative around a bit and that's about it. As a sidenote, im curious as to how many people have actually escaped poverty as a result of the system, and compare it to how many people committed suicide cause of the anxiety it induced

[@narenaviation7795]

What are these channels priorities - Wendover Production - Planes PolyMatter - China HAI - Roast Real Engineering - Complex enough that we get lost

[@Otaku-gf7iq]

HAI is bricks what do you mean?

[@vtron9832]

RealLifeLore - Toyota Corolla

[@rj5848]

Trump:chaina

[@xBris]

You forgot: A Hill to Die On - Poorly researched, but sooooo juicily clickbaity you just can't resist

[@AVeryRandomPerson]

@@xBris So Christmas should start in July?

[@americarex4461]

As an American who lived in China for 5 years... it was shocking to see how difficult the GaoKao questions were compared to US Bachelor and Master exams back home.

[@a1t168]

That's why china will overtake USA

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

See the thing is the gaokao isn't just about the exam. It's like the hunger games.

[@MrBattlestar10]

@@a1t168 at the cost of their souls.

[@mb-jade7661]

@Le Chi Bang It's happening as we speak. Unless you're blind and deaf.

[@class6aa]

It depends on what kind of University you are referring too. I have Chinese friend who went though gaokao but still struggling in math classes in my University in Canada.

[@invisibleimpostor299]

Holy shit. This is almost exactly like Kota in India for an exam called the JEE. It's like a town but filled with students and teachers. Although they have the best teachers there, it's essentially a factory.

[@aradhyasakalley]

yeah bro the similarities are insane also btw the teachers there are not the best, they are good but essentially they only teach you how to crack the exam

[@moonwolf8470]

Yea like ‘Kota factory’. Tbh that’s a good show

[@aradhyasakalley]

@@hwfq34fajw9foiffawdiufhuaiwfhw yeah bro they are just qualified to make you pass an exam

[@manswind3417]

@@aradhyasakalley Well some are actually the best, speaking from experience. But what you said is more accurate and apt.

[@Disissid19]

Sri Chaitanya Junior College would like to know your location

[@BuckBuckle]

It's interesting how this goes against pretty much everything known to science about how the brain learning works. 16 hours of studying might seem like a good idea on a very basic and assumptive level, but the brain desperately needs time to learn new neural pathways and "build" memories and understanding of new concepts. In a practical sense studying more than 40 concurrent minutes is counter-productive as the brain starts to conserve energy by "filtering away" earlier impressions which are then relegated to short-term memory. This is why you take periodic 20-30 minute breaks, and more than 4 hours of learning in a day doesn't actually amount to any better understanding. This sort of learning would only potentially work when a person is between the ages of 4-6 and neuroplasticity is at its peak. As you get older your brain desperately needs that down-time to truly develop in a pure physical sense.

[@zacwoods]

Because a lot of “known science” isnt actually 100% known.

[@furkanozdemir2302]

Exactly!

[@Arkanthrall]

They don't study to acquire knowledge or to get smart, they just cram for an exam so it might work for them. Still an awful waste of time.

[@doryphoros1234]

Each lecture takes 40-45min, with 10min leisure afterwards. After 4-5 lecures, there is lunch break or dinner break for 1 hour.

[@mahirmahir7097]

In the education system of most of the Asian countries. You don't need to understand anything. If you study by understanding the topic you will fail in the exams. All you have to do is just memorise mindlessly. If you are good at memorising you will pass the exams. In Asian countries, the uneducated ( in the terms of not having a certificate) get successful. For example, look at Jack Ma from China. He is better than most top tier Chinese students. Even he said some about how bad the education systems are.

[@2zazzy]

Considering the fact that I can’t study for an hour without losing focus , this would be literally hell if I had to go through this

[@johnboberoo7590]

Same, I can't even pay attention in school for more than 15 minutes and get distracted very easily.

[@stephwindsor3189]

well, I failed it, but I've got no regrets. did everything I could, scored 121 in English and a total of 341.

[@mikoajh2747]

Hope you still do well in life Much love from Poland 🇵🇱

[@robmckay5700]

Your English is certainly fluent 👍🏻

[@xz1891]

341minus English = roughly zero

[@ofcoursewhynot4829]

Having done it is already a great accomplishment!

[@oscarwind4266]

Well. Probably better then I can do even if I knew Chinese.

[@XOPOIIIO]

No town is boring unless the Internet is completely blocked.

[@RandomInternetUser6120]

It probably is tbh

[@karlwilker579]

Well, it's... China so....

[@XOPOIIIO]

@@karlwilker579 So use VPN.

[@karlwilker579]

@@XOPOIIIO And then get arrested.

[@XOPOIIIO]

@@karlwilker579 As far as I know it's not illegal to use.

[@gunavanthvarma5972]

this reminds me of KOTA which is a place in india which also is a student factory where students from acroos the country flock there to prepare for exams which allow them to get into the premier institutes in india

[@yinfengfu266]

As a Chinese, I actually never heard of this town before, but I have no doubt this kind of town exist.

[@linch9741]

推荐一下纪录片《高考》，说的就是视频里的毛坦厂中学。

[@xuchen4012]

啊？你不知道毛坦厂？那更出名的衡水中学知道吗？

[@yinfengfu266]

@@xuchen4012 衡水知道这个镇不知道。因为我只能算半个中国教育体制内的人所以不知道也正常

[@sentient_slab]

Æß$ëü

[@shaileshshrivastava4741]

I know u all r using transalator yt is not present in china😂😂

[@scheimong]

Gaokao (and its little sibling, Zhongkao 中考, High school entrance exam) waste so much time and effort of the students who have no choice due to their families' social status. I experienced this first hand as I grew up. So I grew up in Shanghai, and was fortunate enough to be born into a well-educated, upper-middle-class family. My parents valued good education from the beginning, but also recognised the horrible ordeals that are 中考 and 高考. Therefore they transferred me into an international school running the IB programme very early. As I followed along in the IB course, I couldn't help but notice my peers in the local system surpass me early on in progress. This is especially noticeable in maths as my mom encourages me to try to keep up with them by solving some of their problems and exercises once in a while. Afterwards when I return to class the next day, I sometimes felt the difficulty was akin to that in primary school. This feeling was most prominent at around 7th grade. However, once I hit 8th and 9th grade, the slowdown in progress in the local system almost felt like a hiatus, meanwhile my progress in the IB system was only accelerating. The reason why? Because local students are spending the better part of this time preparing for 中考. They are almost exclusively reviewing learned material during this time, which also explains why their progress prior was so fast - the educators have to squeeze the course to make time for this review period. During 10th and the first half of 11th grade, I would say that our progress were on near-equal footing. Obviously we had different courses - I learned world history as opposed to Chinese history; my courses were mostly taught in English as opposed to Chinese; and of course my curriculum was built against the IB exam instead of 高考. But during the second half of 11th grade and the entirety of 12th grade, the progress of my peers in the local system had a near-hiatus yet again, while my IB system went full steam ahead. By the end of high school, I can definitively say that the IB system has overtaken the local system by at least one year in maths progress. And this isn't the only problem faced by students in the local education system. Guess what percentage of Chinese high school graduates suffer from nearsightedness. Answer is a sickening 81%. Yes that is eighty-one percent. Years of heavy reading and writing certainly took its toll. The percentage in my international school was much, much lower - about 30~40% percent I estimate. Of course social factors certainly skew the results, but that doesn't disprove just how bad of an effect the local system has on students' health. So why doesn't everyone attend international schools? Of course, the answer is economics. The tuition to attend any international school is expensive, which makes the opportunity exclusive. I stayed in the IB system in one of Shanghai's best international schools until high school graduation, when I successfully entered arguably the best university in UK. Guess which one; it's really not difficult. All this came at a significant economic cost - my tuition fees from start to finish (undergraduate) totalled roughly ￥1.35M, which is roughly $200K. While this is not unimaginably lavish given it's spent over 15 years, it certainly was one of the biggest spendings in my family. And note that we live in Shanghai, where wages are among the highest in the entirety of China. I don't want to sound preposterous, but this amount of spending would be backbreaking for most middle-class families in other less wealthy regions. Yet the prospect of a high-quality education without torment has driven so many middle-class families, many of which significantly less wealthy than my own, to spend the majority of their earnings in the tuitions for good international schools. This trend was only exacerbated by the discontinuation of the One-child Policy in 2015, as the first generation of families with more than one children are starting their "school hunt" just now. By laws of supply and demand, the pricetags of good international schools are only going to rise, which will further differentiate the rich from the poor. This is just one sign of solidifying social classes in China - the age of 一考定终身 (lit. one test determines entire life) is already moving past rapidly. The higher echelons of society are essentially paying their way out of the cruel, unforgiving filter that is the 高考 in seeking a less competitive and higher-quality path for their offsprings. If the government wishes to maintain a high degree of social mobility, then a drastic revamp of the entire education system is absolutely necessary. I have no idea how it would be done though - there has never existed any selection process in human history that can fairly accommodate tens of millions of candidates. But if things stay the way they are, China's class structure will eventually stabilise into a form not unlike the one the Communist Party seeked to overthrow a full century ago.

[@stevenkyle9426]

thanks for sharing. That is very good analysis

[@mattliu27]

When I was preparing for Gaokao, I thought it's ridiculous that a test score gets to define my first 19 years of life. When I was in the university, I started to believe that Gaokao is the fairest game there is in China. No matter how rich or how poor, we all take the same test. A kid who lived in a ditch for 19 years has the same chance of receiving higher-education as a kid of a billionaire. Now, 10 years after I graduated. I have accepted that I was wrong in all two counts. Now I think the Gaokao is an imperfect but effective tool for a country with 1.3 billion people. Those who got admitted by the top schools are either crazy smart or determined enough to buckle down and go through hell. Either trait can be greatly beneficial for life.

[@DonaldJezos]

👍

[@hedition9346]

So, a ranger Hell's Week for academics. Not saying it is all useless, but the best academics are not necessary the best innovators. As long as people who fail it don't think it is all over, I guess its alright.

[@BernieSanders-bn5dk]

From an outsiders perspective it's funny anyone of those kids who ''failed'' the Chinese exam are probably well prepared for any American University, And American university's enjoy letting a *certain* *percentage* of nonwhite students into their university through Affirmative Action Policy's, Witch actually benefit white *woman* the most.

[@gelinrefira]

Lol Americans will buckle under Gaokao.

[@αστρον]

Or if your're really rich.

[@jerrytom8309]

I got 661 in Gaokao and went into NanJing Univerisity. Now I live in Sydney. The college entrance examination is the fairest way in China at present. You can freely choose the way of life you want through your own efforts. Instead of the judge's son is still the judge, the thief's son is still the thief. It's just a fair chance.

[@yzhang2008]

Can't agree more!

[@ouziqi198]

Me, after 中考(Zhong Kao) (the mini-Gao Kao, we suppose to take it when we are only 15), always have trouble falling asleep. I remember those years preparing it are like nightmare. We can never do anything other than study and surviving. And when that few hours come, it is extremely stressful and painful. It can really break a young kid. So when it comes 高考(Gao Kao), I escape from the Chinese stupid education system and study aboard. Now I am still struggling to learn how to be a human being, and how to just temporary put the study away from my mind and just enjoy my life.

[@claireshi7384]

Zhong kao nowadays are almost as, or sometimes even more important than gao kao. News even stated that only one third of Chinese middle school graduates can go to high school. :(

[@AB-bd4cs]

Take care of yourself, you got this!

[@melodyxie5889]

Ok, stupid. This stupid system helped many poor people get out of their original class.Maybe your parents get into higher classes by this way so that you have the condition to go abroad.

[@ouziqi198]

@@melodyxie5889 If that is not stupid, the quality of every education institution should not be that unequal. "Equal competition" is a lie, competition exists because there exists inequality. And I believe CCP should have tons of money to make those "lower education institutions" much better. Look how fat those high-rank governors are :)

[@ouziqi198]

@@AB-bd4cs THANK YOU :D

[@jamesbldwn1]

Kinda wild that in the USA, you can fail completely in high school, go work as an uber driver or menial job then go to community college for a STEM subject, transfer into a good university, graduate and start working alongside researchers/scientists who likely had to do well in the Gaokao to get where they are at (my true life story)

[@maraisfan4life517]

Why STEM?

[@yzhang2008]

Your story is possible in China too. But your way is even more difficult than the GaoKao way.

[@shauyaun4285]

I got anxiety just by watching this😖

[@sxli3340]

im panic

[@ShusenWang]

Even if I am now an assistant professor in the US, I occasionaly have nightmares about Gao Kao and woke up at night. It was 15 years ago, yet it is still haunting me.

[@elijahlovejoy5438]

Interesting. Are the nightmare of taking the test itself or the results?

[@Dr.Kraig_Ren]

*Meanwhile Indians:-* _"Ah! We also have a town dedicated to clear exams....but we call the town a 'Factory'._

[@Sam-kv3iv]

Kota

[@manashreekalode280]

i am not sure cause i have not been there but i dont think it is as depressing u know? there are sources of entertainment there...

[@mdalmamoonsheikh6052]

Search For Kota Factory.......it is the Indian version

[@devondorr8212]

in China we call the school a 'Factory'

[@majapahitsumatra5771]

You seem to not know about AP and Telagana, and Sri Chaitanya and Narayana, they're like Walmarts in these states, you'll always find them no matter where you are in these states

[@sutats]

Actually, my name's Jiang and I do speak English. Jared likes to say I don't because he thinks it makes me seem more authentic. And I got second in that national math competition.

[@prathamshah8388]

ah you made a clever jared vanett joke i like it

[@_memorycore_8867]

我的是嘉琳

[@alexhe3747]

Back in high school, actually throughout my education in China all the way from primary school, I was not the brightest, not the most high-achiever, did not place high in all the tests (except for English, I always did well but not at the very beginning due to being raised in poor countryside, but moved with parents in the big city at the age of 5) I would get places like 573/1085, very mediocre, sometimes 321/1085 but never top of the class, always just middle or just above average. My parents were just happy enough that I tried my best in those tests and that I had done what they expected, nothing more, nothing less. This went on until I turned 18 and went on an exchange to the UK. I had realised that my whole life I had lived under the norms of the societal pressure and selective competitiveness of taking rounds and rounds of tests for that one big final test which determines which mediocre university I'm gonna go to and then what kind of mediocre job I will get and what a mediocre life I will live. This by no means was a disaster or unfortunateness in anyone's standard like you can still live a pretty decent life at least you got food, a roof over your head and the occasional fun along, so what's really to complain? But no! Life should be much more than this, I thought, and I wanted to take more risks and so I made the choice to study abroad. Now I'm living in a big city called Sydney, still chasing my dreams to become the first biomedical scientist in my whole family and living in my own terms. I still think back then what would have happened if I didn't quit my university mid-way in China and just graduated in June, 2021. At what stage would my life turn to, better or worse? Would I be happier if I had just been docile and a good kid/son/student all my life? I think not. Given the choice again, I will do it all over again and change nothing at all. I don't think Gaokao is the definitive line that can determine one's life cause at any point in life we can alter our own course of actions for better or worse. I hope we can all make it for the better!

[@cheungch1990]

The only way to solve this issue is to wait until China develops a large enough amount of middle class jobs so that the competitiveness of the job market and thereby Uni entry can be tamed. If China follows what the US education is doing right now and students do whatever they want and everyone gets a trophy, then uni will enroll students based on things like whether they play a classical instrument, having been a football team captain, or having knowledge or skills that is beyond what their school taught etc., and that will be a very bad news for the vast amount of poor family in China who cannot afford to pay for these extraciricular education. It will also give a lot of advantage for middle class families for being able to provide this kind of liberal "cultivation" over the poor families who can only rely on public institution for their kids' education because they've spent their whole life in a field/factory and they don't know a dame about how to make yourself look smart. The Gaokao is an necessary equaliser for a relatively fair chance of upward mobility, at least for now. When China has become wealthy enough that most young people will be able to work a decent job and have a decent income, the Gaokao will then be obsolent and young people will be able to develop their personality in their own variety of ways.

[@googleit4606]

Doubt it. Higher education in the US today is such a failure given its abundant resource. Receiving higher education is not only about getting a job but more about improving yourself and on a large scale advancing human civilization.

[@longislandlegoboy]

@@googleit4606 debatable. Good colleges in the US are GOOD colleges. Bad ones are BAD.

[@googleit4606]

@@longislandlegoboy Well they are good in a way that you could find a lot of elites there, thanks to their wealthy families, but that is not the only reason, or not even the main reason why we need colleges. Equity and equality for those "good" colleges are nothing but a joke. At least my school board members treat it totally as a business, despite being famous for "diversity".

[@longislandlegoboy]

@@googleit4606 I mean the main differences towards people attending those good colleges is the high schools you go to. No matter who you are, unless your parents like donated a wing of the school, you can't just pay your way in and brute force it without entirely cheating the system and forging scores and such.

[@googleit4606]

​@@longislandlegoboy lol it requires connections too if you want to only donate a wing. Some international students without connections need to "donate" much more

[@castroandradegabriel2162]

In Brazil there are tests similar to the Gaokao, the Enem and the Vestibulares. They are one of the only ways brazilians can enter university, and because public schools are horrible, only the rich and talented pass in the exam. The diference is that most students don't care about it

[@xer0895]

"situated in a valley in between the mountains, is a town called..." **drumroll** "Mountain Chang"

[@CorporateShill]

Creeper avatar ?

[@chaomingli6428]

When I was in high school, the school started before 8am and finishes at 9pm.

[@Vyansya]

SE asian here but same! Mine start at 5:30 and end around 5-6PM. 12hrs school.

[@Swami_Adgadanand5200]

I have 8am to 3 pm school and 4 pm-10pm classes 😞

[@VotMaf]

I took my gaokao 3 years ago in the Shenzhen, Guangdong. I am a wenkesheng (the students take the history, geography and politics exam rather than physics, chemistry, biology exam), and my final rankings is about 2,100th out of 320,000 contestants. but I still miss the school I want to go to. That university needs about rankings of 700th in the province. I still remember when I was in high school, I studied almost all the time except for normal eating, drinking and sleeping, but I still failed, at least compared with my goal. The college entrance examination is so cruel. About the video...... now the exam is not so important. In fact, for the Chinese students who born after 2000, family background and parents' assets are much more useful than that exam.

[@c9m931]

as a child of two chinese immigrants who scored high on the gaokao and made it into a good university, they tell me that although the system seems harsh, is it what they sacrifice for the equality that is so highly regarded in China for example, China has very large economic disparities in different regions of the country. if the university admission was determined by something similar to foreign application systems (Common App, UCAS etc) or curriculums (IB, Cambridge) where applicants are evaluated by a number of different factors such as extracurricular activity, honors/awards, references, the poor would have significantly less access to oppourtunities to achieve well. corruption and bribery would also be present in higher society. pretty much, no matter who you are, you can study, you can memorise, you can practice with textbooks. therefore the gaokao is a way for everyone to have the same and equal path to success

[@sybelyan2535]

It's not that frightening to be honest if you are well prepared and ready to get high scores. The only nightmare I had After Gaokao was that I forget to bring my identify card with me and wasnt allowed to enter the test room. Oh boy I cried waking up.

[@sybelyan2535]

@「 Deadpoppin 」 yeah sort of like your social security card if you own one. Otherwise it would be so messed up when they mixed the papers and send to be reviewed and scored by teachers. Without identification method, who's gonna know deadpoppin is this deadpoppin not the other deadpoppin. Edit: You Sounds like wild man who just got out of a primitive jungle. Not use to modern tech? I mean most people in this world got their ID card (or residents card).

[@mimiw3372]

@「 Deadpoppin 」 It’s a test....

[@rishipardeshi6961]

Polymatter and HAI upload at the same time: Me: Happiness noise

[@butterfly7562]

What's HAI

[@WuShenRong]

@@butterfly7562 Half as interesting, another channel who give educational videos.

[@butterfly7562]

@@WuShenRong Well, I've been paying attention to it but I didn't realize it was short for it 😿

[@Gabrielcs97]

And the same stock footage

[@meher.]

Don't forget A Hill To Die On

[@dr.woozie7500]

At least it tries to balance the testing scores among regions. A Tibetan student needs a lower score when compared to a Shanghai student.

[@obj6989]

They should consider themselves lucky. Try being one from those inner provinces having population of 100 millions.

[@leoliu1185]

Bear in mind that Gaokao also provided fairness, in which the rich and the poor take the same test and no other ways to game it than just study hard. I did fairly ok at 566/750 for Sichuan back in 2012. I did came from a rather privileged family and I studied along side my friends from poor families. After all, if they did better than me (which many did), they did better and went to higher tier universities. There was nothing my extra curricular or foreign exchanges (to UK and HK) could’ve have helped me. So in this way, it eased the education inequality. Now studying in the US as a PhD students, much of the focus in admissions were in personal statement and activities and connections you have, which the rich kids will always have more and the poor and not something the poor kids can ever catch up on their own. In a way, the destiny is predetermined the moment they are born. This, is why I support Gaokao, be it cruel or mechanical, 我命由我不由天, my fate is in my hand , just grind harder than everyone, no matter how poor in my family, I just need to beat that neighbors “rich kid that did 566” to get ahead in collage entrance.

[@jais7.10]

nah fuck any test, trade stocks and have fun

[@inkubator320]

Actually the test still isn’t fair to those who have disabilities

[@leoliu1185]

@@inkubator320 it is inequitable. In fact GaoKao would be the most inequitable system in the world , yet also the fairest. Fairness and equitability are 2 conflicting property. If something is fair then necessarily inequitable . If something is equitable, then necessarily unfair.

[@_ashmason007]

@@leoliu1185 Not true. The rich families have private tutors these days, plus different cram schools, the best ones with high success rates are very expensive and only affordable by rich families. Plus almost all rich families can easily send the child abroad for college which isn't an option for a middle income or low income family, they have to work blue collar jobs. Really surprising you're Chinese, because everyone knows this here, it's anything but "fair".

[@_ashmason007]

@@leoliu1185 Seems like we never developed from the medieval times, first fight to work in the Palace, now fight for a good life://

[@guangxiwu]

good video and informative. one thing though, extracurricular activities are sometimes taken into consideration. For example, if you pass the audition for the university symphony orchestra, you get 30-50 extra points.

[@wowyok4507]

yes but only at the highest level

[@landofthehazymist]

my adhd ass would be homeless and dead. It wasn't my parents' intention, but I'm so glad they immigrated to the US. I'm already struggling with school here and survived at least 1 mental breakdown. I can't imagine how much larger scale and worse it is in China.

[@MohamedSalahYouTube]

Ah my favorite KZbinr , ChinaMatter

[@ethanyin6488]

I took this test in 2017, my ranking was 2300 out of 700000 in guangdong province, and I could only go to top 10 university.

[@sn00pygeek]

India be like "it sounds similiar. Is that Kota?"

[@austinhernandez2716]

"There's nothing to do but study" Anglers and hunters: Is that an insult?

[@bepishepus3506]

Chinese police: is that a gun?

[@roadrunner6224]

For a German this seems all very reasonable. Only our final report determines, which classes we can do at which university. If you fail your final exams which is a big part of your final report, you can’t go to university either and have to redo it the next year. 9 hours over two or three days isn’t that long either.

[@StellarNemesis]

The Question here is about the sheer amount of competition the students have to face.

[@TFlank]

That's not entirely true though. The two years of "preperation" of our A-levels (11th and 12th grade) count 600 points whereas the final 4 - 5 exams (each lasting about 4 - 5 hrs) count 300 points. There are certain criteria such as that you need to get at least 200/600 and 100/300 for a combined minimum of 300.

[@roadrunner6224]

I don’t really see where I was wrong. I may have been imprecise, because I don’t think the details matter in this case, but my initial statement covers yours.

[@TFlank]

@@roadrunner6224 Oh my bad. I missed the "final exams which is a big part of your final report" part. You're absolutely right of course.

[@vardhanshah2810]

Kota in India is highly similar. Its called the student factory too. No fun, no activities, nothing. Only preparation for JEE College entrance exams which place only 10,000 of around 1.3 million candidates into IIT, once of the most, if not the most, reputed College of engineering. Here, people first decide they wanna be an engineer and then decide what to do with their lives. Some hostels don't even allow boys to girls interaction and force students to study like hell. You can leave kota, but it can't leave you. People reported nightmares of exams, the feel of quarantined into hostels and classrooms way before corona. Not to mention the high suicide rates. Indian parents are hardwired to believe only a good degree can lead to a good life, which is only partially true.

[@yusenye7875]

Me and my Indian lab mate compared notes on this and we were surprised how similar they are haha! It’s hard to find a better system when the population is so large!

[@lrt_unimog8316]

3:58 We have that in HK too- 狀元 is an ancient term after all.

[@mythaodang4133]

the reason why gaokao was created is due to the horrible mass corruption in China, just about 50 years ago. At that time the only criteria for college admission is recommendation letter, which you see can be easily used to benefit the upper class. Gaokao has remained to be the most fair and general test for the public since then.

[@strawberryzebras6725]

I'm just sitting here realizing that I don't even have to try to get good grades in an American high school. Getting straight As means nothing when the teachers let kids retake tests just because they had low scores.

[@HA7DN]

At first, it reminded me to the normal highschool-end exam we have in Hungary, as the basic idea is kinda the same: a test witch determines your further education. It even works similar! But with some details, it's clear that gaokao is way more strict, and thus has more influence in your future. In Hungary, you can chose one or more extra subjects after the 4 general ones (hungarian, foreign language, math and history), and can also choose "regular" or "higher" levels (and universities filter students based on that, for example, engineering often requires higher phisics or maths, etc. and more than one of those can earn you extra points). Also, our system has different entry levels to universities if you want free (state-paid) or self-paid options. The test is also very possibly way easier, especially if you consider that "normal" level ones are scored by your own teachers, so that's not very subjective, and thus cheating can occur. It's 500 points maximum, and you can get some of that by having language exams, drivers license, nationwide sport or study competitions, or being a parent also means extra points for you. Still, points above 450 are kinda rare, and there's always a few days of buzz if someone does 500...

[@nekshorts4503]

Why did I think it was a social credit test

[@juusto7171]

if you fail the test you disappear

[@jamiege]

8:06 This is my high school in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province.

[@user-polaris684]

I have a friend in Jiangsu, his gaokao score is 700/750, and he went to Fudan University, the top 10 in China, this legendary score can't even get him into Tsinghua or Peking, gaokao is just a nightmare for Chinese students.

[@Currywurst4444]

I really like the process in Germany. For most colleges you just sent a single letter with your personal information and thats it. Now you can study until you get your degree and sometimes you have to pay 40€ per semester to cover the materials distributed by the college.

[@theq1621]

How's life after college in Germany?

[@xuchen4012]

Dude, every single country has its own issues. There is no way for Chinese colleges to accept so many students a year. You have to pick up a few who are relatively smarter or more deligent. Also, the tuition fee is pretty low. Normally around 800 USD per year.

[@talhakaraman1259]

@@xuchen4012 the same issue is present in germany as well. But in germany everyone is not encouraged to study since not everyone is intellectually able to attend a university. About half of all germans (more and more people chose uni each year though) go to vocational schools for three years while also working in a firm (you need to find a company to take you to be able to accepted in such a school it is usually 2 weeks of work and 1 week of school). I believe more countries need similar systems. University is not for everyone and it certainly should not be the only way of having a proper life

[@valorzinski7423]

@@talhakaraman1259 the problem is that trade schools are going out of style due to technological progress and automation. As long as there's freedom of religion and superstition tho, students should be encouraged to get work experience at a funeral home and how to start/run one (esp good during pandemics)

[@talhakaraman1259]

@@valorzinski7423 I dont believe the reason is automation. Automation replaces jobs that require little to no education. Our generation simply does not want to pursue such careers which is understandable but does not help the situation.

[@sail4549]

The hardest test in China: Me who doesn't understand: I understand

[@Ukenichiro]

I m a Chinese, you know what? After this shitty test, what is waiting for us is NO OFFER after our graduates.,thanks to our downsliding ecnomy. Besides, some people do not need to take this test because they have a nice father who is working in the government, they have priorities which means they don not need to take the exam and they can go to a good college,, while ordinary guys like me have to exploit our time in order to get a good score. And in the college, we will also meet lots of garbge lessons such as they force us to learn our Chairman's wisdom(We literally have this kind of course called 习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想), But the truth is HE ACTUALLY IS A DUMB, he understands no english , he can not even identify some easy Chinese characters. i hate my life. Hopefully this message will not be censored or found by my government......

[@lightening1296]

But comparing with the western college admission system, the upside for the Chinese one is the transparency while everything is under the bright sunlight. In comparison the western's rely too much on "personal preference" which could be really unfair to some.

[@Giratina143]

Indian UPSC examination be like: Allow me to introduce myself

[@Vikramsingh-ng6nb]

Lol this is nothing infront of UPSC. People say UPSC(For IAS) takes 8 hrs study for 3 years. And 1050 marks out of 2050 would be considered legendary.

[@Giratina143]

@@Vikramsingh-ng6nb 8 hours? are you trying to fail lmao

[@munkey8181]

The Social Credit Test

[@EA-js1me]

When a so-called communist country acts, in reality, more capitalistically than the U.S.

[@animebinger7974]

My mom got an amazing score on the Gao Kao. My dad got an amazing score on the Gao Kao. And here I am wondering if fish can see water like how we can't see air.

[@J__C_]

In India we also have a city like Maotanchang, It’s called Kota

[@hongchenfei]

I was failing from the Gaokao beacuase I was admitted by a 2tier private school. I applied for a university in Macao with the results of the Gaokao. So I cone to Macao

[@rexchen5344]

Actually, Gaokao is the hardest test but, ironically, the fairest test, cuz your future is only determined by your scores. I'm an indigenous Chinese from Shandong Province (also known as the hardest province of Gaokao cuz the participants here are the most), and I've been through the notorious Gaokao. But frankly speaking, I've had to learn and memorize many kinds of knowledge I would never have the chance to learn were it not for Gaokao. I'm gonna graduate this year as a postgraduate and officially end my studying career of more than 18 years. But I'll keep learning till the last day of my life.

[@pengzhang8274]

讲的挺不错的，不过虽然高考有很多缺点，但是它确实是最公平的竞争了，好大学虽然不会让人达到巅峰，但至少不会坠入谷底

[@mini-spooder101]

The hardest test is the credit score test. 10 right and 1 wrong, you disappear.

[@harsh_adukia]

Uncomfortably symmetric with JEE and Kota.

[@TECHNOSNAP]

True lol

[@harsh_adukia]

@Beat me Not at all. I can think of atleast 100 better and fairer ways.

[@HoldUpM8]

Indian exams are ezpz compared to its East Asian counterparts, no need to exaggerate it with your national pride masqueraded comment 🤣

[@harsh_adukia]

@@HoldUpM8 For the record , I hate this competitive exam concept and I didn't even think of registering for JEE or NEET

[@harsh_adukia]

@Beat me Its easy. Colleges must have admission pricess similar to MIT and Harvard : Holistic approach towards a candidate abilities , no compulsion of formal education , and most importantly : Don't let the marks of 1 exam or test matter more than any other part of the application.

1. Is Taiwan a country? Pass test: 🥰🥰 +5000 social credit Fail test: 😐😳 -100000 social credit (You've gone missing)

[@poset619]

"the hardest test in china" *insert a random social credit meme*

[@Paguo]

If I get nervous about my national exam I cannot fathom the pressure gaokao holds

[@buianh1257]

I see some similar things in Vietnam. Nam Dinh province is one of the least developed provinces in the North Vietnam but it always ranks in the top 1 in terms of academic achievement. People are trained to be brilliant, because there's nothing entertaining to distract.

[@danghoangluong2942]

Don't forget, they make some great Pho noodle

[@Babigoldfish]

@@danghoangluong2942 đã phở còn noodles

[@uumuu]

Both my parents grew up in small poor villages in China and ended up at Peking University because of their gaokao scores.

[@johnyrocket0015]

Any day polymatter uploads is a good day

[@morgangagnon6488]

In College (US), I worked in the career development office. One of my jobs was to help other students write resumes and cover letters for internships/full time jobs. A well rounded resume would have maybe 4 lines at the top dedicated to education (GPA, relevant classes, awards, etc). The entire rest of the resume is for leadership positions and student org involvement, personal projects, volunteering, work experience, undergrad research, etc.. Many of the Chinese students were incredibly lost when it came to the bottom 3/4 of their resume and had very little out of classroom experiences that would make them a well rounded candidate for a job or internship in the USA according to their resume. However, they almost always had a 4.0 GPA and many would be confused when that wasn’t everything. This video starts to give some insight on the mindset that some of these students had towards college/education.

[@gaveintothedarkness]

6:18 the laundry symbol looks a lot like the instagram one.

[@niravdoorgapershad8083]

I could never imagine giving up my entire life just for grades

[@stevenkyle9426]

You know, in some fiercely competitive Asian countries, you won't have a life without good grades. Can you imagine working 12 hours per day in a factory and earn 400 dollars per month? Chinese students give up 3 years of freedom and happiness to avoid living such a miserable life for the next 30 years

[@pranavkondapalli9306]

@@stevenkyle9426 $400 per month adjusted for inflation and PPP is a whole lot for low income families in asian countries

[@jerryzhu966]

Yea, I went to school for grade one in China. Then I moved to Canada, and the difference is so big. Right now I have some friends in high school in China, and they are like studying nonstop. One of my friends was really talented in music and sports. But ever since middle school, she had to drop all her passion and just study. Pretty crazy to think about how you would have to spend your teenage years in China.

[@polaris1985]

I like this concept of last 20% not making the cut, this means even if you are rich you can end up with no degree. In India here we have open courses in University meaning if you don't get admission in the college you can just do it in open University where you pay a small fees and just give the exams studying from home, you can also buy management seats in colleges if you don't get a seat. Basically everyone who wants a degree can get it in India.

[@Xambonii]

“...the most boring of them all!” Coming in hot, fast and early!

[@الحمدلله-ه3ع5ل]

kzbin.info/door/I_Py_3mShSDQqv2sRxJzRg

[@mimief7969]

As a foreigner, this seems so thoroughly Asian. Even down to the aesthetics etc.

[@Lakefront_Khan]

I actually learned about this concept from the Poppy Wars books.

[@Momsemann]

That’s cool and all, but I once took a two-hour test without going to the bathroom 😎

[@angieje]

I went to the bathroom to stand as my legs were sore...

[@Legion849]

It's possible I also took a exam for 2.5 hours without the need to go to the bathroom. The highest exam time is 3 hours for English only rest of them are 1, 1.5,2.5

[@pshindigamingmobilegamer2609]

😎👍

[@LTCloud9]

Oh yeah? I once took a 3 hour test and spent 2 hours in the bathroom.

[@sagittario5543]

I once took TWO tests, 3 hours each without going to the bathroom. And I was in 8th or 9th grade at the time. You're lucky.

[@laradimello5791]

The gaokao system is pretty similar to the exam in Brazil (called ENEM). The top universities in Brazil are all 100% free, and to enter the student must take an 8/9 hours test, divide in 2 days. The wealthy families pays for theirs sons a "privite school", apart of high school, to prepare for ENEM, which is also an one time a year test.

[@qtfy]

here in brazil, we have a exam that is kind of like that, it's the main exam to get in collegue and it happens once a year. for the majority of the population, it looks hards but to people who are just a little bit advanced, it's very easy. the hardest exam would probably be the one that people take to usually become a high army patent. they can get in collegues with it's score too, but if they wanted to join a federal collegue (the good ones) they were better off exceeding at ENEM (our national exam that i talked about)

[@Tinil0]

I gotta tell you though, the idea of college admissions being based on a test result instead of recommendations and extracurriculars sounds wonderful to me. I would've gone to a WAY better university if that was the case. It's actually based on merit and not gaming the system. ...I mean, they found a way to game the system of merit and this implementation sounds like hell, but IN GENERAL testing was the easiest part of schooling so sounds neat.

[@srpenguinbr]

That's a thing I think about too. What do they mean by recommendations? It is so qualitative and personal. Maybe it works for private universities (many in my country just look at your curriculum and approve you without a second thought), but public universities need a quantitative metric to decide who gets in. Otherwise, it would open the gate for much more corruption and lack of transparency.

[@srpenguinbr]

Most public jobs and opportunities are given to those with a higher score of some sort. Even bus drivers take a test to be selected.

[@vannhantran547]

As a Vietnamese. We do the same form as GaoKao in 3 days test for education and college admission at the same time . But not as tough as GaoKao.

[@daanielhan]

So glad I didn’t grow up in China so I didn’t have to take this ridiculous exam

[@AbhishekSharma-kx6xj]

This is JEE-Advanced/JEE-Main and the town is Kota.

[@ayaya9367]

Hardest question in china What happen to tianmen square

[@juusto7171]

nothing (+15 social credit)

[@Inkoknyto]

I often heard and read that is impossible to study/learn more than some hours a day. I don't know, maybe 8 hours? But 16H??? I doubt that you can remember so many informations after such a long day - every day. If they start in their job they must be socially and practically unexperienced robots.

[@Tralfazz74]

Downloading "The Case Against Education" right now. As a 22 year old who just now finding out that learning things is fun, I'm so on board with demolishing the sit-down-shut-up assembly line education system

[@guilhermealexandre1471]

In Brazil we have a similar test to enter in college, but you don't choose the disciplines you have to do all of them including english or spanish and you competes with the whole country. Two days of test, in one day we have a test about history, geography, sociology, philosophy, portuguese, english or spanish and an essay in portuguese with a theme that is defined by a text in the test. The second day is physics, chemistry biology and math. All of multiple choice. Every year we have about 7 000 000 students doing this tests. By the way the test is called ENEM (Exame Nacional de Ensino Médio - National High School Exam).

[@jinkela1386]

whole country with the same test paper? how do brazil deal with inequalty, like bigger cities or the riches have better teachers

[@guilhermealexandre1471]

@@jinkela1386 we have a vacancy system designed only for blacks and low-income people. In practice it is not very efficient because there are few vacancies, in addition this system only guarantees the vacancy, there is no other form of assistance for these people to continue studying. In Brazil, education is not a priority for the government, the government prefers that the population remains uneducated to be easy to manipulate and maintain social inequality. With our current government this situation that was bad is only getting worse

[@feels.like.coffee]

China is not the only country; India, Japan, Korea all have similar exams and exam prep centers. Those exams might be difficult, even cruel, but they are arguably the best if not the only way to run the education system in those countries.

[@aidancollins1591]

I strongly disagree. Better education that is not based on brutal rote memorization which properly develops the child can be done in densely populated countries.

[@feels.like.coffee]

@@aidancollins1591 Um... not sure what are you disagreeing? I'm agree with you. Education based entirely on rote memorization is not good. But none of the country's education is entirely based on rote memorization anyway

[@aidancollins1591]

@@feels.like.coffee I'm disagreeing with the notion that it is the "best" way to do education in these nations.

[@feels.like.coffee]

@@aidancollins1591 I never said anything about rote learning though. I meant having a set of objective standards (In China's case, Gaokao) that ranks every student against their peers is necessary in countries with too many people and not enough opportunities. It's the only fair thing to do.

[@aidancollins1591]

@@feels.like.coffee Too many people and not enough opportunities? What the fuck are you talking about? You fundamentally misunderstand how our global economy works. There is not a limited amount of well-paying jobs or a scarcity of natural resources, anything suggesting otherwise is a myth. The more surplus that the people get from their labor, the more labor that is being done, and the velocity of the money supply are what determine prosperity in a country. The 1st and 3rd thing are generally low in developing countries. It's the reason why the service and information economies of the western world are the most prosperous, it's not actually about the production itself. It's not fair either, that is just an illusion. Those who rank well come from better backgrounds, environments, families, and material conditions over those who rank poorly. Rather than being meritocratic, it exists to re-enforce the existing class hierarchy in the nation.

[@anustubhmishra]

this town give me kota flashbacks same concept but slightly less strict i am going to kota next year so yeah

[@coolcat-nq4mj]

5:12, good why do you need some essay that you made up and got from thin air in America?