Final assignments

I’ve asked students to write profiles as the final assignment for my writing class. Several students are writing about college graduates who can’t find jobs or are getting paid less than factory workers.
One writes:
“From 2001 to 2005, the number of college graduates in China has grown rapidly but the employment ratio has dropped.... It is estimated that raising a child from cradle to college costs 400,000 RMB while the average starting salary of the graduates is 1549 RMB per month. Students with master’s degrees earn an average of 2674 per month and those with doctorates earn an average of 2917. Some people suggest it is better for parents to spend their money on pension insurance than on their children.”

There is tremendous pressure on children, particularly now that most families have only one child, to succeed in school and earn enough money to support their parents, since few of them have pensions or health care. But the economic slowdown here is making it increasingly difficult to find jobs.


Another student profiled a migrant worker and concluded with this anecdote:
“It was time for lunch and I invited ---- to join me, but he refused. “My clothes are so dirty. If we have lunch together, you will be laughed at by others,”--- said shyly. “There is no choice as a worker.”
“Never mind, “ I said, “Nobody will do so.” He still disagreed. When I proposed that I go buy fast food so we can have lunch on the construction site together, he refused my offer. “Whether your family is rich or not, your money comes from your parents as a student,” he said.” I have earned money by myself on earth, so I should pay for the lunch.” He spoke to me like a parent, although he is three years younger than I. Finally, I had to give up my plan for us to have lunch together.
When we left the construction site and walked through the campus, it was very crowded, as usual. ---- looked uncomfortable, and walked carefully so that he wouldn’t knock into the students. “Walking on campus, I feel particularly self-conscious,” he said..” He seemed embarrassed..
“It does not matter,” I said. “You will open your own company, won’t you? At that time, college students may be working for you.” I smiled. ---- scratched his head, and laughed. The smile spread on his face, bright and warm.

Others are writing about programs for handicapped children, such as a treatment center for autism and a school for deaf-mute children. Another story in progress is about “fake” journalists, people who make a living as reporters even though they are not licensed by the government. Some are quite successful at breaking important stories, like illegal coal mining operations, yet at the same time are willing to take bribes to make money and to keep stories out of the news, as some “real” journalists do as well. (One student told me last week that executives of Sanlu, the company that sold milk tainted with melamine, offered a bribe to the owners of China’s most popular search engine to delete all links to stories about the scandal.)