Words on Olympiad

I happened to see After the Golden List(金榜题名之后) and a paper on education research at Peking University, then remembered discussing with someone about their so-called "competition kidnapping" theory. Although the discussion about the college entrance examination(i.e. Gaokao) and university education is very hot, it seems that no one has written any words about high school Olympiad competitions... So I suddenly wanted to recall this experience, but I can only express some opinions from my perspective.

Many debates about competitions are essentially a struggle for discourse power between elite culture and popular culture (such as the debates surrounding the 'Qiangji Project', lit. 'Strong Foundation').

However, to be precise, unlike international education, well-rounded education, or leadership education, Olympiad is a 'sub-elite' between the masses and elites. This makes the public's attitude towards Olympiad competition more softened compared to the authentic Haidian elite education, and they turn to criticizing others in the face of absolute ability (such as serving U.S.) - Worship and hatred are a unity of opposites. But the 'proletarian class' is not the 'ordinary class'.

The current competition has been symbolized. Students do not choose schools based on competitions, but rather hold competition awards for sale.

The essence behind this symbol is tearing apart: firstly, there is a mismatch between competition in social context and competition in content, and the ivory tower of high school cannot resist the erosion and reconstruction of external logic; The second is the contradiction between the impact brought by competition and social solidification, where the ability of some classes to stand out has become an arena for various forces.

Another contradiction worth mentioning is the mismatch between subject Olympiad competitions and the subject itself. The competition never boasted about selecting scientific research talents. Doing exercises is not about the subject itself, let alone high school Olympiad questions. In school no one will discuss with you what theoretical physics should be like, only tell you what physics medals look like.

The ordinary schools and 'county school model' are facing the college entrance examination of "increasing one point, surpassing a thousand people", and the Olympiad competition students are fully faced with the recommendation, independent recruitment, and Sanyi, which can be said to be a quite different growth model. However, the ecology of the latter is shrinking, and the alienated "second college entrance examination" and "Qiangji Project" are a microcosm of the competition dilemma - indicating the difficulty of integrating the two career landscape. Amidst the hustle and bustle of various competitions and the collusion of personal interests and academic interests, the authorities have further suppressed the rise and division of elite culture.

Another key word I want to talk about is institutionalization. "First, you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passed, get so you depend on them." Behind the 39 times physics Olympiad held, there seems to be a nascent market and industry (naming some institutions that only sell anxiety), as well as a large amount of template based skills and training. Those talent theorists have not realized that true talent is an absolute minority before the hundreds of competition winners each year. Competition learning is almost nothing different from regular learning, and the essence of most learning is still repetition and exercise (especially in problem-solving), which is guaranteed by considerable resources (economic capital, mathematical capital, and elite-school-team capital). Under the tension of intense competition, namely relaxed learning (the simplifying college entrance exam) and strict selection (increasing number of students year by year), those who have obtained these resources urgently need to strive to showcase their own labels. In the reality of 'competition folding', the winners often end up being the same as the college entrance examination.

There are many claims that competitions bring about personality depletion (although there is no evidence of such claims around me... it may be related to the level of regional development). At least something beyond the label cannot be achieved through a burst of Hengshui-liked infusion, such as Bourdieu's cultural capital (vision, thinking ability, and often spread through family ties). This kind of filling is the power of education - true education. But its discount is far inferior to competition or exam oriented education, with clear and institutionalized products, schools naturally find it difficult to invest heavily.

It seems like only I often mention the physics Olympiad - but it's really hard for me to have any more excitement without it in high school. Competitions probably hijack high school's spare time and vacation time, humanities courses, and even further the study career. It describes life with equations and replaces growth with glory.

For me, even without glorious success, the physics competition can only be considered a try.

Only when our education system no longer replicates the logic of market, the myth of competition can come to an end. The authority of education lies in leading the society. This kind of guidance ultimately comes from the inner beacon anchored in heart - and competition won't tell you.

Returning to the initial topic, what I recall is probably not the competition itself - it is just a medium worth discussing. What else has been left behind from the legacy of physics Olympiad, besides dozens of textbooks, Calculus and General Physics that can earn A without much investment, and connections and memes from specific circles (such as 'water rising in capacitor')? Some exploration and thinking? Competition and the college entrance exam are nothing more than the prelude to the college kaleidoscope, with the moon and sixpence - and now even more so in the college. Sometimes, in certain scenes and times, there still suddenly made me feel dazed and throbbing. Everything is as familiar as the Physics Lab III. We are still young, working hard, and the numbers on the blackboard stop and restart. The mosquitoes and the music of the piano that cannot be dispelled are still lingering, but some of the heavy experiences at that time are forever closed as a few books closed.

(I have only talked to a few people around me, so perhaps more research and interviews need to be conducted. This is probably a good topic for researchers in news and education 🤔)