Whydid"AttendingTsinghuaorPekingUniversitywillchangeyourlife"igniteheateddebates?"WillattendingTsinghuaorPekingUniversitytrulychangeyourlife?(TsinghuaandPekingareconsideredthetop2universitiesinChina)"Thesedays,thistopicreceivedalmost10millionviewsonaknowledge-sharingplatform,thediscussionbecamequiteheated.Whattriggeredthediscussionarethereexaminationofthebeliefthatknowledgemaychangeone'slifeandparentalanxietiesovertheirchildren'seducation.Theonlinediscussionreceivedthousandsofanswers,wheremanypeoplesharedtheirpersonalstories,orthestoriesofotherswhoeithersuccessfullyattendedTsinghuaorPekingUniversity,orfailedtodoso.Somepeopleattendedtheseschoolsandfelttheirliveswerechanged.Othersfeltattendingtheseschoolsdidnotmaketheirlivesbetter.SomepeopledidnotattendTsinghuaorPekingUniversitybutstillachievedsuccess.Ofcourse,therewereotherswhoattributedtheirlifefailurestobeingunabletoattendtheseschools.Despitethedifferentexperiences,thesethousandsofanswershaveonethingincommon:theywereallabouthowtoachieveasuccessfullife.Thebenchmarksofasuccessfullifearenormallycenteredaroundahigh-payingjob,afinesocialstatus,andowningacarandahome.Amongthem,themostsecureviewis:althoughattendingTsinghuaorPekingUniversitywillnotguaranteetherisetotheupperclass,itwillpreventthedropintothebottomofthesocialladder.Hence,behindthequestionisnotmerelythequestionofwhetherknowledgecanstillchangeone’slife,butapuzzlefacingmanyindividualstoday:inthecurrentsocialcompetition,isthereamasterkeyoramethodthatguaranteesone’sachievementofasuccessfullife?People'sheateddiscussionsonthetopicofeducationreflectedawidespreadclassanxiety.AsChina'ssocio-economicandhighereducationdevelopmentshiftsfromahigh-speedtostableperiod,marketcompetitionbecamefiercer,theneedsofhumantalentsmoreurgent,andthegapbetweenthewealthandthepoorhaswidened.Education,whichisthemostimportantintermediatemechanism,isnowfilledwithpeerpressureandalienation.Aschoolchildunderparentalpressuretoperformwellacademically,alsoknownas“chickenbaby”,isthemosttypicalnewphenomenonofrecentyears.Theterm"chickenbaby"originatedfromtheinternet.Itspecificallyreferstoapopulareducationalmethodofmiddle-classparentsfromBeijing,Shanghai,andGuangzhouwhoaimtostimulatetheirchildrenwith“chickenblood”(meaninginvigoratingthem)byschedulingallkindsofstudiesandactivities,includingtutoringsessions,specialtytrainingclasses,mathematicscompetitions,andsummercampsinEuropeorintheUS......"Chickenbaby"familiesceaselesslyforcetheirchildrentocompetewiththeendgoalofattendingarenownedcollege,whetherTsinghuaorPekingUniversity,ortheIvyLeagueschools.Theseparentscannotrelaxforasingleminute,astheyputtheirhopesinthefuturewheretheirchildrencanremaininthe"elitecircles”.Theyhaveessentiallygambledthemeaningoftheirlivesentirelyontheirchildren'sperformance.Inthisprocess,weeasilyforgetthereasonwhyweareraisingandeducatingourchildren.Childrenarebeingplacedinalong-termcompetitiveenvironmentfromthemomenttheyareborn.Behindthe"chickenbaby"phenomenonispeople’sanxietyoveranddissatisfactionwiththeircurrentsocialstanding.Theydesiretomoveupwardstotranscendtheircurrentsocialstatus.Themorein-depthissueistheintensificationofsocialcompetition,andsuccessbeingevalsuatedbyanarrowandsingularsystemforalongtime.Thisiswhy,thoughinrecentyears,thegovernmenthascontinuouslystressedafairandhealthyattitudetowardseducation,fewparentsembraceit.Thisisalsowhypeoplehopetofindaneasyanswerlike"attendingTsinghuaorPekingUniversitywillindeedchangeyourlife."Havepeoplebeentrulythinkingabouttherelationshipbetweeneducationandsocialhierarchyofourtime?Ifthepurposeofeducationisonlytorealizetheexpectationofparentsinmovingupwardsonthesocialladder,isn’tthisbreakingawayfromtheessentialpurposeofeducation?Istheunceasingcompetitiveandanxiousmentalityonlydestroyingeducation,orisitdestroyingourlivesatthesametime?Peoplehopetousegoodeducationtochangetheirsocialstatus,butabettereducationshouldtranscendthesenarrowdefinitionsofhighscores,renownedschools,wealth,andtherespectofothers.Itshouldmakeusrealizehowwecantrulytakecontrolofourlives.PeoplehopethatattendingTsinghuaorPekingUniversitycanchangetheirlives,butenteringarenownedschoolisfarfromtheendpoint.Transitioningfromcollegetosociety,intheimportantperiodofseparatingfromone'sparentsandgainingfullindependence,whatiscentralisnotwinningacompetition,norfullyobeyingone'sparents,erasingone'sindividualisticcharacteristicsandbecomeentirelywhatparentsexpecthimorhertobecome.Whatismoreimportantisafteroneleavestheembraceofhisorherparents,heorshecanfacethestrugglesinlifealone,keephisorherpositivityandinterests,andlivealifewithinfinitevitalitywithinalimitedtime.Livinginthecurrentsocietywithincreasinglyaggressivecompetitions,itisdifficultforusnottobetakenhostagebythesocietalevalsuationsystemandgowiththeflow.However,likethestoriesbehindthepopularanswerstothisquestion,peoplewhopursuebetterliveswilleventuallyfindtheirownanswersthroughintrospection.Author:YanFei,AssociateProfessorattheSociologyDepartmentofTsinghuaUniversityDisclaimerAlldataandinformationprovidedonthissiteisforinformation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