David took his end-of-middle school exam this summer. He passed and will start ninth grade at the best highschool in Lugoj in the German-speaking section, which focuses on natural sciences. Since his grades were far from perfect, he is too embarrassed to write about it himself. I don't suffer from such a huge ego yet. So, I will write my opinion of the process. I will not focus on David since he passed and got into the highschool he wanted and there is not more to say beyond that. I am, however, shocked because of the reported nation-wide results -- which imply that the only way to go to a good highschool is to speak German, be some other form of minority or cheat. I am fluent in German, and I am good at studying. So, I don't worry about my future in this country or in any other country unless there is another war, but I think it's unfair that almost every child should be doomed to go to schools without many good teachers or be forced to cheat in a so-called still democratic society.
If one looks at Bucharest: Colegiul "Sfantul Sava" -- Matematica-Informatica -- last entrance grade 9.98. Given that grading is relatively subjective, admitting only children with perfect grades is wrong because you don't get diversity, you don't get the best students, you only get the kids whose parents found a way in. But, ok, you'd think Bucharest as the capital with the largest population could have some excuse.
How about other cities? Colegiul National 'Vasile Alecsandri' -- Galati -- Matematica Informatica -- last entrance grade 9.83. My grandpa is a proud graduate 'Vasile Alecsandri' from 1968. He got in because he was talented, and ended up first in Romania when he took the medical school entrance exam at the end of highschool. Yet, with his grades, he would not have gotten in had he been born 50some years later. In Timisoara, Colegiul National Loga has the last entrance grade of 9.75 for Matematica-Informatica and 9.51 for Natural Sciences. In the Grigore Moisil Highshool the last kid who entered had a grade of 9.49. My mom is a graduate of Grigore Moisil and would not have gotten in today. She has a Cornell PhD and still is one of the most talented women in our country.
Lugoj is a pocket of sanity among thieves. The last GPA for Matematica Informatica is 7.51, which is reasonable. Interestingly enough, the Natural Sciences section -- taught in Romanian -- has a last entrance grade of 7.80 and the last student who got into Umanist section has 7.83. The section where David is had the last entrance grade of 5.74. It is taught in German and has a focus on Natural Sciences. The German section in Colegiul National Banatean has a last entrance grade of 5.92, while Lenau is off charts with a last entrance grade of 9.40 for 'Matematica-Informatica' and 9.17 for Natural Sciences. So, are David's colleagues stupid? are they the dumbest of the dumb? No! They are the Golden Kinder of Lugoj. This is what the teachers call them. Why the nickname? They are 18 of them and they won the Olympiads every year in most subjects. I know because I study in German, too and I am one of the top three in my class. We also won the city's Math Olympiad this past year + a bunch of other contests and olympiads. I was on second place even though I was sick and had high fever that day. OK, the one who got the 5.74 did not win any contests in math or science, but I think he did in sports.
Mom tells me the entrance grade at Grigore Moisil in Timisoara in her time was somewhere above 7. Then half of the seats were known to be sold. Today almost all seats must be sold-off since it cannot be possible for so many children to have perfect or close to perfect grades. So, Bucharest, Craiova, Constanta, Galati, Buzau, Cluj, Timisoara, Iasi did you have to sell the future of all your children? Why wasn't half enough?
Our politicians congratulated the children for doing so well on the exam. But, I wonder, dear leaders, how many of you would score past 7 on this middle school graduation exam? I wager the life of my favorite chicken -- Petunia -- that most of you would fail this exam and certainly none would score over 9.98 to enter the highschool in Bucharest. Should schools be congratulated for selling their children's future and, literally, closing cities to education? Perhaps... in a world where presidents like Donald Trump brag about Acing cognitive tests, which should be given in Old people's home not in the White House, this is the 'new' normal. For me, being Romanian and American, it destroys all hope of normal. But then the US president openly mentioned he could shoot somebody in plain view of thousands and still win, and why should the politicians of Romania be different when corruption here has been a trademark since the end of the last war. Our school system, however, had been one of the best in Eastern Europe. Why ruin it and brag and humiliate what's left of it?
Our leaders mock the children and the schools by congratulating them for theft at a time when most have such fragile egos. And children forget these leaders are inferior beings. OK, they are these really annoying beings in their early teens who care more about appearances than about anything else, but do they deserve to be hurt so? to have their future trashed? Even David who passed and got in exactly where he wanted feels hurt that he did not do better. He spends almost all his time shooting toy pistols (they cost 7 lei, and Andy/dad keeps breaking them because they are both stubborn; grandma says he should be left alone to use them until he gets bored because he keeps buying more and they cost money and resources) or on his phone. He scored close 7 on the exam -- more than most politicians would score -- I am sure. Of course, he could have easily obtained a higher grade had he studied more. But is three a point to studying? in the world we live in? The scums of the Earth seem in charge everywhere.... how can they deal
with a pandemic? with climate change? while they have absolute power?
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