Succinct Story

“If you were from where I was from…” — Scout

Explanation

I wanted to discuss my middle school experience because it was important to who I am today.

Return to Shanghai

For reference, I lived in Shanghai from preschool to first grade and moved away in second grade. I returned to Shanghai for middle school.

The city environment was busy and exciting, but not as peaceful as the suburbs. So, I would say that every place has its advantages and disadvantages. With the subway, I could go wherever I wanted, and triangulating a trip to the movies was a lot of fun. I view myself during this time as a wandering teen who haphazardly gets on the wrong direction of the line and realizes after four stops, only to laugh at himself.

Old Friends

After the entrance exam, I was accepted for enrollment at SHSID.

In the beginning, I kept mistaking people for my old classmates, but on the first day, I saw someone who looked like Thomas in my homeroom. And he actually was the same person. However, we were so different at that point; we might as well have been strangers.

However, my old friend Jerry from English class was in my homeroom as well. I remember on the first day of first grade, the teacher took attendance and it ended up being like Tom and Jerry because my last name is Zhang and his is Zhou. I don’t remember too much of him from many years ago, but we were friends again.

Schooling System

At SHSID, there were two semesters and each had four tests, first monthly, midterm, second monthly, and finals. People also share their GPA, which I don’t really see anymore.

A major difference between Chinese and American schools is the ranking system. There are no direct GPA ranks revealed to students in American schools, while Chinese schools tell students their GPA and rank in the grade after every quarter’s test, and a list of the top ten is published. There was also a 5000 RMB scholarship for the top five percent at the end of the year, given at the beginning of the next year. However, if you transfer out, you don’t get it. My family is owed a sum of 10000 RMB.

Rise to the Top

After the first monthly, my report card came back with rank 52 out of 240 or something. I remember feeling a sense of dissatisfaction because I could do better. In retrospect, that is a really good ranking and I should have felt good about it. I went home that day and told my dad about my rank, to which he replied, “I’ll give you a reward if you rank below 100.”

I never found out what that reward was because decimating my peers always seemed like more of a reward than anything that he could give me. My dad was being perfectly honest about a positive reward; he just wanted me to relax about my grades.

My good friends to this day from my homeroom, Eric and Kuankuan, were top 20 consistently. I thought this was very impressive, so I worked to get on their level. This would be difficult though, because courses were teaching similar material at different levels for each class level. I was decent at most subjects, but it took me over two years to get to the highest math level.

By the end of eighth grade, I believe we finished higher degree polynomials. There was quite a bit of homework every night, but still mediocre by local standards. However, it was likely 2-4 hours every day (all courses combined).

The Stats

You may be wondering, “How did it take two years to get to get there?” I have two answers. Firstly, all of the move-up tests had some really perverted problems. Secondly, I didn’t have an intuitive understanding of any topics because it was taught in a very repetitive way. Basically, they tell you the formula and expect you to get it. I didn’t understand the unit circle for an entire year. I wasn’t particularly interested in math outside of school either, so I just never bothered to understand things that I didn’t get. All I had to do to succeed in my level was regurgitate what I learned in class, which I was pretty decent at because I paid serious attention.

The lowest rank I received was around 90-97. That was the 6th grade second semester finals. Basically, I misinterpreted the history essay prompt and wrote some kind of unrelated satire. This also happened in my freshman year English class. I thought outside of the realm of reasonability.

At the end of 6th grade, I was probably averaging rank 40. A decent improvement. Just one year after that, I was rank 10. In my final year, I peaked at rank 3. This learning environment was a lot of pressure, more than what I expected. Seriously studying and reviewing for tests was unknown to me. Adapting to this new environment was difficult at first, but after I put myself on the pace required, I was able to reach greater heights.

Academic Tycoon

In Mandarin, there is a two-character that is synonymous with “nerd,” but actually has a positive connotation. I felt I earned this title when my friend told me that a group of parents was discussing me. Some people praised me as this type of creature, but I have never liked it. I like to acknowledge my accomplishments and move on to the next target.

Those who are content won’t slide into complacency, but those full of pride and arrogance will fall into the hole they burn in the ground with their emanating ego. With them, I think it’s best to dump a bucket of water in the hole as you walk past.

You Can Keep Your Stats, I prefer the magic

People wonder how I took BC. Well, it was the accumulation of knowledge through learning at a faster pace, caused by the culture and pressure of that system. No combination of person and system will yield the same output. The amount of change that a system can cause in an individual is also variable, which is based on their adaptability. This is different from how much an individual can reap from the system, which is based on their ability to learn and apply. Ideally, everyone should expand both skills.

Personally, if I were to reform the education system for all people, I would not have it be identical to any one that I’ve been a part of.

To the question of, “Do I love learning?” the answer is unclear. I was robbed of the opportunity to discover my true feelings toward it by forced adaptation. I do value my ability to adapt, as I will be in a variety of new environments in the future; however, it felt like I was just fitting in rather than growing. After all, for gears in rotational mechanical systems, there isn’t much room for growth.

But the answer to another question, “How will I keep improving?” is that I will learn to savor the taste of the Pierian Spring at every oasis I come across.