The third article in the "Good Essay Revisit" series during the Spring Festival holiday is about the "identity" issue that international students generally need to face. How to "get out and come back", or "go out and stay"? The author gives some advice.
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On TikTok, a Singaporean Chinese complained about his experience of looking for a job in Australia, which became popular overnight and was also on Yahoo News.
One of her slots is thatMany companies only recruit local students and the door is closed to international students.
The complaint of James Wu, an international student in Australia, has struck a chord with many people.
Yeganeh Soltanpour, president of the Australian Council for International Students (CISA), also saidWu's disclosure in ** is true, and this is "a very common phenomenon" in Australia。There is a lot of bias within workplaces and recruitment agencies, and there are concerns about student visa status.
One of the most common excuses I hear is, 'We don't want to train you just to get you away,' or 'Graduate's visa may not be approved.'" 'They would never openly say they only hire local students because they don't want to face backlash. ”
Therefore, international students are often forced to do unpaid internships in exchange for a job experience.
In the author's opinion,In fact, the problem of finding a job is only the appearance, and the identity behind it is the core. International students are foreigners in foreign countries, regardless of skin color or nationality, and "if you are not of my race, your heart will be different" is a common mentality of local people, so they often have to give way to their own people when looking for a job.
But after returning to China, especially international students who have already obtained foreign status, they will still be regarded as outsiders in China, and they will even be criticized that "this practice is speculation on two boats".
At the same time, in the minds of international students, when living abroad, they feel that they do not belong to a foreign race, and when they are faced with the hidden exclusion of their studies, workplaces, and life, they feel "it."'s not my place.”
But after returning to China, I felt that my thoughts could not be fully integrated into the domestic society, and I was inaccurate in speaking and doing things in front of my Chinese boss, and I was frequently banned from expressing my views on social **.
I thought that bilingual and bicultural, both sides can eat openly, but it is often difficult to identify and be identified with the identity of either side, and I feel like Zhu Bajie looking in the mirror.
Identity is a situation that every child who intends to take the international education route facesToday we will talk about how we can help children find identity and be recognized?
How to identify identity issues early?
The choice of international schools hints at the answer
In fact, there is no need to go abroad for the above situation, and you can see the clues when you are in an international school. International schools in China are different from public schools and overseas schools.
In the eyes of public schools, international schools are foreign schools where foreign teachers attend foreign courses. In the eyes of foreign universities, they feel that our international schools are Chinese-run schools, and the students who come out have Chinese characteristics, which are different from those who graduated from foreign high schools. This is exactly the same as the embarrassing situation of international students.
So how should we be aware of the identity we want and are more suitable for?
Taking the attitude towards Chinese classes as an example, some international schools attach great importance to it, and feel that children must first learn their mother tongue and national culture before they reach **. Some international schools do not attach importance to Chinese courses, because they do not need this course when applying to foreign universities.
Therefore, choosing which type of international school to study in China is actually a tendency for parents and children to ask themselves in advance to understand their own valuesand the opportunity to experience how much I identify with my own nation.
In addition,In an international school, how children get along with foreign teachers can also feel whether they recognize another way of thinking and cultural philosophy.
Some children are more inclined to seek help from Chinese teachers, and when they encounter unintelligible places and problems, they will find Chinese class teachers, training institutions or ask Chinese tutors to solve them, and such children often like to play with Chinese after going abroad, and it may be more difficult to find a sense of belonging abroad. Some children like to communicate with foreign teachers very much, listening to them talk about the world they have lived in, some will yearn for it very much, and some will understand their discomfort in advance.
Therefore, attending an international school is also a way for Chinese children to experience how to identify with their own identity.
But there is another important pointMany children enter international schools, and after having a second set of cultural concepts, they are likely to choose a combination of the parts of the two cultures that are beneficial to them.
For example, they tell their parents that they are independent and ask them not to interfere with their privacy, and they take it for granted that they ask their parents for money (especially at an age where they can work). Or when they become adults, they hope that they will not have the obligation to provide for their parents like foreigners, and they also hope that their parents will be willing to help them buy a house and take care of their children like other Chinese parents.
So for parents, let the child understand,Identity is not a two-way streetRather than using the advantages of both sides to evade the responsibilities that belong to you, you can understand what kind of society and life your personality is suitable for after seeing a variety of cultures and values, make psychological preparations in advance, and alleviate the feeling of confusion when you are alone in a foreign country in the future.
Can I retreat or advance if I have status?
International students need to change their thinking
In the process of studying at international schools in China and universities abroad, it is important to make the most of this identity after gradually clarifying which identity you are more suitable for.
What does it mean to make full use of this identity? For example, many international students who choose to become naturalized in a foreign country will be proud of their voting rights, but rarely think about whether they and their descendants should participate in the country's politics and one day become mainstream like the locals.
Sunak is only a second-generation Indian immigrant, and he has already successfully run for British prime minister. And Chinese people often choose to work and live silently in foreign countries. This is not enough to emphasize the need to speak up for oneself and for one's own kind. Without the protection of political forces, it is difficult for the voices and rights and interests of the Chinese to be protected.
That is to say, since you have chosen to become a naturalized foreign country, you must strive to become the master, and fully exercise your citizenship rights like the locals, instead of just voting for others happily on the day of **. Otherwise, they will always be just outsiders, marginalized people and followers, and their citizenship rights will still be shorter than those of other natives.
This phenomenon is not only manifested in politics, but also in business. The Chinese are highly educated, capable, and hard-working, but the percentage of Chinese in foreign companies serving as executives is very low.
In 2020, there was a ** article "Analysis of the phenomenon and reasons why Chinese mainland people rarely occupy senior positions in large enterprises in the United States and Europe" gave detailed data:
Among the 273 companies in the Dow 30, Nasdaq 100 and Fortune 200, there are 0 core executives of Chinese mainland origin and 14 people of Indian origin; There are 8 ordinary executives of mainland origin and 75 people of Indian origin. Seventy-five percent of Chinese mainland-American executives do not rank high (after the top ten). 88% of Chinese mainland Americans are limited to China president and technology R&D positions, and 68% of Indians are in the top 10 of general executives in U.S. companies, and occupy senior management positions such as operations, legal, finance, human resources, and strategy.
Among the 170 British, German and French stock index companies, there are 0 core executives of Chinese mainland origin and 5 people of Indian origin; There are 5 ordinary executives of mainland origin and 22 people of Indian origin. 80% of Chinese mainland executives in British, German and French companies are limited to the president of China, and 77% of Indians are in the top 10 of ordinary executives in British, German and French companies, and occupy senior management positions in operations, marketing, finance, human resources, strategy, etc.
The article attributes the reasons why Chinese mainland people are not as good as Indians are:The market economy thinking is weak, the way of life and thinking is difficult to integrate into American culture, and the spirit of cooperation between mainlanders is weaker than that of Indians.
In other words, although the Chinese are in the United States, many of their thinking habits and ways of dealing with the world are still the same as in China, and they have immigrated without recognizing the values of migration from the bottom of their hearts. In other words, they just want to move the material living environment and retain a large part of China's spiritual thoughts, which is doomed to make it difficult for them to be truly accepted by the mainstream of the country.
In foreign countries, voting for others is not a master, and being voted for by others is truly recognized identity.
Many parents and children may feel that it is too difficult to be the owner of a foreign country. That's a good option to go back to your home country. However, this requires a good study of Chinese and Chinese history, and an understanding of domestic people. We must not want both the mainstream status at home and the freedom and comfort abroad. The result of both wants and wants is likely to be the one mentioned at the beginning, and neither side can gain identity.