Fateful Exams
"Cruel season for youngsters," read the newspaper caption in mid-February. The accompanying picture showed a roomful of uniformed teen-agers bent over desks taking exams. Another article boomed, "Entrance Exam Hell." However you describe it, February is "that time of year" for students in the Orient.
With the new school year beginning in April, schools from kindergarten to university open their doors only to those who have passed their particular tests. And since everyone seems to aim for the best, nearly every student is somehow involved. When a student reveals his school, he also reveals his scholastic ability.
Because these fateful exams determine the social acceptance and ultimate future of the student, the whole family gets involved. Recently parents stood in line, some even overnight, to enroll their children in a certain school. They put a lot of pressure on their youngsters to study and excel. Joy or bitter disappointment, maybe even suicide, depend on the outcome. If a student gets into a "first-rate" school, he has it made. Not only prestige wise for himself and his family now, but job-wise for life. A smart person is often described as having a "Tokyo University brain."
Sometimes children are sent, while still in the lower grades, long distances to school. Even going by trains and/or buses. These are usually to schools set up from kindergarten through university and are said to give a superior education. Starting early means the child can sometimes go right on through grade twelve and university after junior high school.
Competition is fierce. One private Tokyo high school can accept only 400, but 6,581 took the entrance exam. At the Economics branch of Japan University two years ago, 16,000 applied. Only 500 were accepted. The "losers" must settle for a government school.
If a student has failed to enter his desired university, he may enter a school which will work at grooming him to try the exams again the next year. And the next. And the next, if necessary. It all depends on how determined he is.
One well-known columnist in Japan castigates the system of branding a person as second, third or fourth rate for the rest of his or her life because of entrance exams.
While we may be glad we aren't in such stiff competition, we are, nevertheless, heading for a final examination. At the end of our school of life. And the consequences are much more far-reaching than whether or not we get into a certain school. Last minute cramming may not be possible either.
Our pass or fail will determine whether heaven's gates will open to us or not. If we repent and believe in Jesus Christ, like the thief on the cross, then to us also is the promise. "You shall be with Me."
With the new school year beginning in April, schools from kindergarten to university open their doors only to those who have passed their particular tests. And since everyone seems to aim for the best, nearly every student is somehow involved. When a student reveals his school, he also reveals his scholastic ability.
Because these fateful exams determine the social acceptance and ultimate future of the student, the whole family gets involved. Recently parents stood in line, some even overnight, to enroll their children in a certain school. They put a lot of pressure on their youngsters to study and excel. Joy or bitter disappointment, maybe even suicide, depend on the outcome. If a student gets into a "first-rate" school, he has it made. Not only prestige wise for himself and his family now, but job-wise for life. A smart person is often described as having a "Tokyo University brain."
Sometimes children are sent, while still in the lower grades, long distances to school. Even going by trains and/or buses. These are usually to schools set up from kindergarten through university and are said to give a superior education. Starting early means the child can sometimes go right on through grade twelve and university after junior high school.
Competition is fierce. One private Tokyo high school can accept only 400, but 6,581 took the entrance exam. At the Economics branch of Japan University two years ago, 16,000 applied. Only 500 were accepted. The "losers" must settle for a government school.
If a student has failed to enter his desired university, he may enter a school which will work at grooming him to try the exams again the next year. And the next. And the next, if necessary. It all depends on how determined he is.
One well-known columnist in Japan castigates the system of branding a person as second, third or fourth rate for the rest of his or her life because of entrance exams.
While we may be glad we aren't in such stiff competition, we are, nevertheless, heading for a final examination. At the end of our school of life. And the consequences are much more far-reaching than whether or not we get into a certain school. Last minute cramming may not be possible either.
Our pass or fail will determine whether heaven's gates will open to us or not. If we repent and believe in Jesus Christ, like the thief on the cross, then to us also is the promise. "You shall be with Me."
posted by Lila @ 12:16 PM
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