One day this summer, while we were watching our kids play together, an American mother told me her child-rearing strategy. Her children’s school cost more than $30,000 in tuition a year. Its raison d’être was to get pupils into brand-name colleges. To boost its chances, it encouraged kids to repeat grades. This woman’s daughter was performing well at school but only with intense after-hours tutoring. The girl was therefore going to repeat fifth grade. The mother’s endgame, as I understand it: the children become doctors or lawyers earning top 1 per cent incomes.
今年夏天，我和一位美國母親看著我們的孩子一起玩耍，她向我吐露了她的育兒戰略。她的孩子們每年的學費就超過3萬美元。她的戰略目標是讓孩子們進入名牌大學。為了提高幾率，這種戰略鼓勵孩子們留級。這位女士的女兒在學校成績不錯，但前提是必須進行大量課后輔導。因此，這個女孩要在五年級留級。按照我的理解，這位母親最后要達成的目標是：孩子們將成為醫生或者律師，賺取最高的1%的收入。