A 5-Year-Old Chinese Boy Has A 15-Page Resume And The Internet Has A Lot Of Thoughts
A young Chinese boy's 15 page resume is taking the internet by storm. To some, the resume is but a reflection of China's education system, often needing such extreme measures to compete. To others, it's an indictment of the child's parents.
The CV was leaked from a school application. Screenshots were posted to Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging site. From there it spread getting thousands of comments and shares.
His résumé, at 15 pages, is glittering, complete with performance reviews (“full of energy”), a map of his travels… https://t.co/zIh9kN6WVP— New York Times World (@New York Times World)1541104564.0
The document contains an extensive list of genuinely impressive accomplishments for a five year old. From a map of cities he has visited, to the hundreds of books he's read in the last year, the resume speaks volumes of a child trying to get into a good school.
It sparked debate online with many seeing the resume as an overboard reaction on behalf of the parents.
@nytimesworld I wish they were interested in a child's happiness and what his passions are. This is scary, but more… https://t.co/DwtueaT4Ng— Patty B. Lamprinakos (@Patty B. Lamprinakos)1541113761.0
@nytimesworld Some years ago while hosting a Chinese college student the group of students were asked to draw as a… https://t.co/awPT0UJfoV— Chris Edward (@Chris Edward)1541231905.0
@BBCNewsAsia He will never have memories of a carefree childhood. Sad.— Denise Hoidal (@Denise Hoidal)1541220562.0
@nytimesworld Unsettling. The parents need a drink.— Persephone (@Persephone)1541218958.0
@nytimesworld Incredible. Let him be a 5-year-child first.— hrl (@hrl)1541217656.0
@BBCNewsAsia That kid will never know the wonders of the young— FAT-FREE (@FAT-FREE)1541228503.0
The Chinese education system is a highly competitive market, where tests and exams determine nearly every aspect of a child's future. This can lead to some parents being extra aggressive in their child's pursuit of academic excellence.
Others felt that the parents were doing their best for their child in an unfair and overly competitive system.
@nytimesworld If only Americans were as eager for schooling as this.— stravinsky (@stravinsky)1541105234.0
@BBCNewsAsia I’m already impressed: Referencing his youth, the boy seems comfortable being five years old, saying:… https://t.co/Ziu2ub9pZI— MetamorphosisCoach (@MetamorphosisCoach)1541218524.0
@nytimesworld What these parents did is not normal behavior in China and is not a new trend, thankfully. They are j… https://t.co/NXLR1PtFIc— EXIDislife (@EXIDislife)1541218455.0
@nytimesworld It is said that a voracious reader will always find good friend ship and brilliant scholar ship.— June Bride (@June Bride)1541216564.0
@BBCNewsAsia A little much but sounds like he’s loved. Next.— ________ (@________)1541218696.0
@nytimesworld I lived in Taiwan and taught and this does not surprise me. I used to teach 5 yr olds that would be i… https://t.co/VbOa0cK8H2— K P Johnson (@K P Johnson)1541254728.0
@nytimesworld If this was an American child they would be praised as a prodigy and I guarantee it would not be pain… https://t.co/ffHeeBcgii— hi honey, it's me, your husband, ralph (@hi honey, it's me, your husband, ralph)1541249970.0
The controversy surrounding the strict standards of the Chinese education system have been coming under scrutiny as of late. Calls have been put out to remove or reduce the stigma from failing some of their most dreaded tests.
H/T: New York Times, BBC News
The naming process of new life is an enormous responsibility and can be an emotionally exhausting decision. This person is going to be glued to this "title" forever, or until they're tired of being saddled to it so they change it; when they're free of their parent's constant gaze. Thankfully I will never have children but I do have to name pets. And that is taxing as well. Thankfully there are people around who can set us all straight when we're not thinking straight.
Redditor u/Kubanochoerus wanted to hear about some of the bad ideas they were able to help avert by asking... Nurses and midwives of Reddit, have you ever tried to talk new parents out of a baby name? What was it?TINA!!!
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDMwMi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzMzMDQ1MH0.tsr7EGvZjNsIJ22F7t7GruJyrRcQfxzwlXNwkCjXfio/img.gif?width=980" id="3f7f5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c6a780b51b9cd3888e7e641b0e723ca" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="360" />the best tina GIF by London Theatre DirectGiphy<p>My boyfriend's grandmother wanted to name her daughter Sunshine. The midwife said that wasn't allowed because "it wasn't a real name" and his grandmother had no other backup baby names. So, a few minutes later when she heard someone down the hall screaming "Tina", she named her daughter Tina because she couldn't think of anything else on the spot.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqh9nc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">goddesswithgatos</a></p>Poor Mo...
<p>Boss's friend named their kid Monster Galileo [last name]. Nurse tried to talk them out of it. Called in child services to talk them out of it. They insisted. Kid goes by Galileo. Honestly, I kind of like the sound of it for an adult or a performer's name but guy, being a kid named 'monster' has to be rough in school. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqh9jz?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">WeaselBit</a></p>Be Normal...
<p>My classmates mother was a maternity nurse and she has a couple who wanted to name their son "Collin" but wanted to give him a "unique" spelling for it. (I do not understand why parents do this. It doesn't make a boring name more interesting all it does is set your child up for lifelong inconvenience.) They spelled it out for her to put on the birth certificate C-O-L-O-N. <span></span></p>Listed
<p>In France there used to be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/11/style/IHT-the-ins-and-outs-of-french-first-names.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a list of names you had to choose from</a> (mostly based on that day's name saint and 3-4 others). Which is why there were so many Jean / Marc / Louis /Phillipe / Marie / Anne / Valerie, etc in France.</p><p>Now it's a free choice.... but <em>anyone</em> can ask a judge to cancel a name-choice and force the parent(s) to suggest one <em>the judge</em> finds acceptable. So no names like Coca-Cola, Xerox, Nutella, Sex Fruit, Devil, Blue Murder... PLUS the rejected name gets added to a "banned" list to streamline the rejection in the future. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqavqf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">LozNewman</a></p>Dirty...
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDY5Mi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODkzNzM2N30.tqMPtERdRpTBQfo738SJ2xd8mWMY8hqx5Z6jQg8aFmQ/img.gif?width=980" id="51b84" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b854372f0e30251184c776d4de3c6366" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="480" data-height="270" />Mud Caterpillar GIF by Mitteldeutscher RundfunkGiphy<p>Not a nurse, but as a med student a patient wanted to name her child Mudpiles. The nurses silently protested and waited a few days. Mom changed her mind. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gopcqib?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">bigpsych5150</a></p>Midwife Down
<p>I once had a student named Linoleum. Some midwife dropped the ball on that one. My brother wanted to name our soon to be younger brother Corn Peas and our parents almost went with it because they felt bad about asking for his input and then rejecting it. Fortunately, they got over that and passed on the name. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gops5kf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BigOrangeBall</a></p>Hey Vi...
<p>And here my mom was talked out of naming me Violet. "Sounds like an old lady" they said. I got one of the most common names of the 80's. When I went to college I lived in a hallway where there were literally 6 of us. My roommate had the same first name too.</p><p>I do like my name because it sounds good with my last name but I have only once met a Violet in 37 years and she's my friend's niece. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gopey2v?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Maleficent_Mink</a></p>All the Dylans...
<p>Not in the medical field, but a teacher. There are certain names that each teacher avoids because we've had a student (or seven) with that name who were difficult in one way or another.</p><p>One year, there were four Dylans in the same cohort and they were all hell on wheels. One of the teachers at that grade level had a baby with his wife that spring, and she named the kid Dylan. The rest of us were like, "didn't you vehemently veto that?" </p>Oh Katrina
<p>I had a coworker named Trina. When she was pregnant, she told me that she and her husband had decided to name the baby Latrine. I had to explain to her that she was naming her poor baby after the hole in the ground that soldiers defecate into. She was horrified and changed it to Katrina. Two days after the kid was born, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/goqkn8n?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">SpecificMost19</a></p>Pegged
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMDY5MS9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTY1NTE0M30.SQZ_yuSv01Fa-4XVp2LM5aF76d34BtyCX3b-We4t3FU/img.gif?width=980" id="7e2ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="43dd38cdba5c93d0a4e47b395da64b21" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="320" data-height="270" />Oh No You Didnt GIF by happydogGiphy<p>I have a false leg. My parents had to be talked out of calling me 'Peggy' by the midwife. I was born missing a leg. I was given my first physical false leg in a year, but it was always obvious the leg wasn't there! </p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ls5oeh/nurses_and_midwives_of_reddit_have_you_ever_tried/gopsck4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">orangemessy</a></p>People Describe The Most Basic Things That Humanity Just Figured Out Relatively Recently
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay |
I sometimes marvel at how much society has advanced. Smartphones have only been a part of everyday life for the last decade, but you'd think it was always this way. My mother was a child at the time of the moon landing, which really wasn''t all that long ago, and she recalls watching it take place and thinking she would never see anything grander than that in her lifetime.
After Redditor notokidoki_ks asked the online community, "What is something that seems basic, but that humanity figured out only recently?" people shared their observations.
"That doctors washing their hands..."
<p>That doctors washing their hands after going to the toilet increases survival rates significantly during surgical procedures.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3pfd5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3"></a><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3pfd5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">nbfox3137</a></p>"We are going back..."
<p>Glass. Some cultures have had glassware for a long time while others developed without it. Japan and China are great examples of not having it and it impacts their architecture design as they did not have glass pane windows. China also has had arguably some of the best ceramics artisans because of the need for stone wear where glass cups would have worked.</p><p>We are going back a couple hundred years here but that's still fairly recent in terms of mankind's history.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4b1zo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">666pool</a></p>"Two years ago..."
<p>Two years ago scientists learned that tongues can smell. They can detect some odors as part of the tasting process.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp40g3b?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Cattlenfell</a></p>"Scientists knew that nutrition deficiencies..."
<p>All vitamins were discovered between 1913 and 1948.</p><p>Scientists knew that nutrition deficiencies were causing diseases, but couldn't figure out what was deficient. They fed mice highly purified food, but the mice failed to thrive until milk was added, leading to the theory that there was some life-sustaining, but unidentified, component in milk that was not present in the other food. That led to decades of speculation and research until the first vitamin (A) was discovered in 1913.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4chtt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Enreni37001</a></p>"There's a reason..."
<p>How to tell if someone is dead.</p><p>There's a reason people used to keep family members who they thought had passed in their home for weeks before burying them.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3t7tk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Ms_khal2</a></p>But the smell!
<p>What about the smell?</p><p>This is how you know my modern sensibilities would doom me if I happened to be a time traveler and got stuck in the past.</p>"The earliest cutlery..."
<p>Cutlery that doesn't make the food taste awful, and isn't ridiculously expensive.</p><p>Gold and silver cutlery were useful to the rich (besides being a display of wealth) because they could eat without affecting the taste of the food. Copper, brass, tin etc. all really strongly affect the flavour of the food.</p><p>The earliest cutlery is some 4,000 years old, but for most of that time, very few people used it; instead they'd eat with their hands.</p><p>Stainless steel was only invented in the 1800s, and its high resistance to acid and no discernible taste made it suitable for cutlery.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4u2e0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Ishmael128</a></p>"That hitting kids..."
<p>That hitting kids is bad, and does not enforce positive behavior. Some knew this instinctively, but mostly, nope.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp3utd2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">pearlescence</a></p>"There simply isn't..."
<p>A scientific understanding of what culture is and how it works.</p><p>Before the 1800s or so, people just assumed their culture was the one, single, objectively real and correct way to live, therefore all other cultures were objectively wrong and the people weren't really human.</p><p>It was common for anthropologists to encounter remote societies that insisted "The people in the next valley are monsters, they are not human" - and if you went into that valley, they'd <em>say the same thing</em> about the people you were just talking to.</p><p>That made it pretty easy for actual social scientists to grasp how cultures define reality, but even now the average person has very little social science education and people tend to still believe their cultural norms are 100% real, natural, and objectively correct - i.e., look at how angry people get when you explain that gender isn't biological, it's cultural.</p>"People commonly think..."
<p>How dogs drink water. People commonly think dogs make their tongue into a spoon to lap it up but the tongue curls backward.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp4emag?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">inkseep1</a></p>I took care of a friend's dog very recently...
<p>...and now I'm poring over the image in my head of her lapping at the water in her bowl. <em>It's so cool</em>.<span></span></p>"Pretty much everything used in statistics..."
<p>Loads of math that gets used all the time. Pretty much everything used in statistics wasn't known until the 20th century. We had a good grasp of probability theory and a few distributions, but not many statistical tests as we know them today. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_tasting_tea" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The idea of a null hypothesis as it is used today wasn't codified until 1935</a>.</p><p>Same goes for a lot of linear algebra, computers kinda made linear algebra really important, so people are still discovering heaps of useful things about it today.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ltz79s/what_is_something_that_seems_basic_but_that/gp5ku4h?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Cytokine_storm</a></p>Now that we've gone through all of these examples,
<p>I can't help but think of others, such as the fact that the chocolate chip cookie wasn't invented until the 1930s, and that pockets in clothing didn't become a thing until roughly 500 years ago. I know, right?</p><p>Got some of your own observations to share? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!</p>If there's one thing I think most of humanity can agree on, it's that people are annoying. People are the worst. You'd think they'd get the simplest concepts into their heads but they don't... and then they have the audacity to fight you on it. Take this pandemic, for example. Why are we still arguing over whether people should wear masks? The fact that so many people refuse to wear a piece of cloth is ridiculous when there's a deadly virus going around. What's up with that?
After Redditor moneybot13 asked the online community, "What are you sick of explaining to other people?" people shared their stories.
"There is no law..."
<p>Legal does not equal moral. Moral does not equal legal.</p><p>Example: Yes, I agree that the executor of the estate should notify you of what's going on with gram gram's estate. Yes, I understand being left in the cold sucks. No, I cannot do anything about it, because while s****, it is NOT illegal. There is no law against being an a-hole.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/govqs2s?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Reaper0329</a></p>"As long as it's not hurting anyone..."
<p>You don't have to understand someone's hobby to just accept that they enjoy it. As long as it's not hurting anyone, let them have fun.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/goupbv9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">fennecfur</a></p>Believe it or not...
<p>...it's really as simple as that. Why bother other people? Why "yuck their yum," so to speak? It's pointless, isn't it?</p><p>Exactly.</p><p>This next one is super relatable.</p>"That being depressed..."
<p>That being depressed isn't (necessarily) about lying in bed all day.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/goufu1g?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">smellslikereason</a></p>"Wanting others to have a better life..."
<p>Wanting others to have a better life than we had should be the GOAL, and forcing hardships on others simply because you had to endure it is a really crappy way to live your life.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/goubdbs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">ntrusivethots</a></p>"That's it's okay..."
<p>That's it's okay to let people live their lives even if you don't agree with them.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/goudnhn?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">tommytster</a></p>"That I'm not an introvert..."
<p>That I'm not an introvert for not wanting to go to a family gathering. No, Mom, it's because they're constantly being annoying.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/gouqve5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">ChonkyRaccoon3</a></p>Yes!
<p>I have memories of all the annoying family members whose BS I had to suffer through because I was being forced to attend some ridiculous gathering.</p><p>Thankfully I'm an adult and spared that nonsense now.</p>"I just don't like..."
<p>That me being a quiet person doesn't mean I'm angry all the time.</p><p><span>I just don't like talking as much as most people. Unfortunately, I don't even get the chance to explain before they judge me anyway.</span></p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/govg5j4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">HansOTP</a></p>"I'm just sick of them..."
<p>How to sell things online or in an antique mall.</p><p>I'm relatively successful selling on Etsy and in person and it's a hell of a lot of work. People ask me how I do it and I could talk till I'm blue in the face and they'll list 10 crappy things which will never sell like Norman Rockwell Collector Plates and complain they never sell anything like it's my fault. Or they'll get a booth and put those damn plates in and never ever make their rent and ask me how to make it better and then not do anything I told them to.</p><p>Funny how these people are always victims. "I tried but it didn't work." No, you didn't try. Not even close.</p><p>I'm just sick of them asking me for advice and then not doing anything I told them. Like, why ask?</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/gouhhvt?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Maleficent_Mink</a></p>"People either think..."
<p>That I, a woman, don't want children. People either think you're lying or you'll grow out of it.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/gov9m3j?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">PirateClayton92</a></p>"That there is still so much stigma..."
<p>That there is still so much stigma towards mental illness. Especially mood disorders and those that are deemed "f**** up enough" to sensationalize through film and television. It really affects those of us who are just trying to be okay, not harm others, and not harm ourselves.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lt0qob/what_are_you_sick_of_trying_to_explain_to_people/govagya?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">kemkem97</a></p>If only people weren't so insufferable.
<p>Life would be a lot easier, don't you agree?</p><p>Good thing I'm indoors and not looking outside at all the people passing by who aren't wearing their masks, otherwise I'd be going a bit crazy.</p><p>Have some of your own complaints to share? Feel free to talk about them in the comments below!</p>There is a world full of mysteries to explore right at our very feet.
Do we engage with it on a level that might make us more uncomfortable? Well, if we really want to learn everything there is to know about our planet earth, we have to engage in the unsettling facts. They appear across every discipline.