UCB, I do not disagree … in theory as it is what I knew growing up in a world that did not feature test prep centers. Well, they might have existed in the suburbs to the North where more clients --or victims-- resided, but I was oblivious to them. Yet, that world changed completely in the same city by the time my younger cousins started their education in a slightly different environment. I was blessed with circumstances that fostered the love of learning as well as a healthy balance of athletic and community activities. I have no doubt that there are plenty of children today who would be floored by reading about hagwons and their counterparts.
However, the existence of the pressures that hit the younger generations in many cities is real and … worrisome. Again, I think that spending time listening to the concerns of the 25 to 40 years with kids in school should be an eye-opener. And, fwiw, I could use most of the article and related stories to “document” my argument that the obsession to “learn” more and accumulate “data” faster and bigger volumes is not a figment of my imagination.
As Hunt wrote, we end up giving up on many things, and the question remains if the price to pay can be justified by the elusive objective to “get into” a prestigious school. In so many words, is such a journey worth the effort and is what I call keeping up with the obsessed truly necessary through … peer pressure at the parents’ level?