From the day they entered the school, the students of the physical, chemical and biological combination were like being stamped, and they were praised by the school as "key training".

In many county-level middle schools, while the school uses the results of the high school entrance examination to draw the line, the children of the school's teachers are also quietly packed into four key classes. It is said to be a key class, but it is actually a special training camp for the college entrance examination. And these four classes secretly started classes before the start of school, not to make up for the difference, but to "warm up" in advance, and have an "internal test" after the start of school. Whoever does well in the exam will be able to jump into the legendary "strong base class". The threshold of this strong base class has long been written, and no other combinations are welcome outside the door, only the iron triangle of physics, chemistry, and biology.

This is not an ordinary class placement, it is like a battle, behind which are the calculations of parents, the bets of teachers, and the struggles of children. The top students in the county don't pay so much attention to it, and they drill wherever they go to with the most resources, the strongest teachers, and the highest admission rate. Even if I originally liked geography and wanted to study history, as long as the class resources did not match, I could only change my life with tears.

Some parents know that their children are more interested in literature and history, but they still "advise": "You know the situation of our family, you can be admitted to a good university in the future, and you can go up steadily, don't toss." As a result, children who might have loved literature and sociology ended up in the team of materialization and biology, twisting their youth in formulas, experiments, and charts.

Strong base class is like a sports car, equipped with a brand-name engine, the best driver, and an exclusive maintenance man. The teacher is the pillar of the school, and he often does not take the classes of the ordinary class, and focuses on this group of seedlings. Weekends and holidays are non-stop, and almost all of the food and accommodation follow these students. There is a "priority channel" for lunch meals, and there is no queue or waiting for meals. The sub-subject is basically "transparent", and after a year, I haven't even heard a single music lesson.

在这样全方位照料之下，学生们每天都像打仗似的，上午刚过中午就开练，晚上十点钟还坐在教室里刷题。拼的是智力，更是耐力。而在这背后，是整个家庭的倾力投入，父母的期盼、老师的赌注、学校的升学率，都压在这群孩子身上。

生物虽然背得多，但终归是理科，答案有对错，不像历史政治那么多模糊地带。对那种思维严谨、不擅长发散的学生来说，理科是他们的主场。而地理虽然也是选科里的常客，但它混合了不少人文因素，考试中主观判断多，容易“翻车”。有人地理做题如坐过山车，今天七八十分，明天五六十分。而生物就稳，背熟了、理解透，分就在那里。

Of course, the school also knows these doorways, so "put all the eggs in one basket" - the training is physical.

Looking at the children of teachers getting together into key classes, this is not unusual. In county middle schools with tight resources and fierce competition, behind a class placement decision is the expectation of countless families in the future. Parents are not unaware that the good teachers in this class, the duration of make-up classes, reference materials, and the direction of test questions are all secret weapons to the college entrance examination. If you want to say that it is unfair, it is really not only unfair, but layers of "involution".

They would secretly wipe their tears on the playground in the afternoon, pull their hair in a pile of wrong questions, and think "if I really wanted to study liberal arts" before evening self-study. It's just that too often, when you think about it, it's gone. Because they know that reality doesn't give too many "ifs" opportunities. Especially in the environment of county-level middle schools, there seem to be a lot of choices, but in fact, they are quietly circled.

There are also people who know in their hearts that they are not that material, but when they think that they have to enter the "ordinary class" if they don't enter the strong base class, it is like feeling that they have fallen behind and are unwilling to admit defeat. So while brushing the questions, I doubted my life, and while desperately memorizing a bunch of knowledge points that were not attractive to me, I was worried that I would fall behind and be "given up" by the teacher.

What's even more ironic is that many students may not have an absolute advantage even if they know that they have entered physical and chemical biology, and they still hold on to it. Because this strong foundation class is not just a gas station for the college entrance examination, it is more like a "weather vane", which means whether you are qualified to be trained by the school and whether it is possible to squeeze into the threshold of a first-class university.

In the long run, students who are really suitable for other combinations, who are good at literature and history, or who have a strong interest in social sciences will either be forced to change paths or hit their heads in reality.

Some people say that this is a "one-way street" in education, while others say that it is "the infighting of smart people". But in the final analysis, we set a template for children too early in the road of education, forgetting that they should have their own choices.

One might ask: If a child really likes history and philosophy, shouldn't he be given a chance? Why smash all the best resources into one combination? Education should be to light the lamp for each child, not to take a flashlight in one direction and everyone else has to follow suit.

Of course, it's not that physical, metamorphosis isn't important, but we can't let children's choices revolve around just that one direction.

The college entrance examination is supposed to be a process of testing ability, rather than a screening mechanism to draw lines and part ways in advance. Especially in places where educational resources are already tight, there should be more room for choice, rather than letting a piece of paper decide everything.

At present, such a strong base model has formed a kind of "path dependence". Since the middle school entrance examination, physicochemical biology has become the label of eugenics, but the combination of liberal arts has become a secondary option. Even the students themselves are imperceptibly influenced, no longer considering interests and specialties, but looking at which combination has a higher admission rate, which combination has stronger teachers, and which combination has more resources.

In other words, students are no longer growing up in their own way, but are trimmed neatly and neatly as carved out of a mold.

The reality of county-level middle schools is cruel, but it also shows that we cannot ignore every independent voice. There is not only one road to Rome on the road to education. Perhaps those children who have been "misclassified" will really ignite the fire in different directions of society in the future.

Who exactly is determining the direction of the child? Is it the examination system, the school configuration, or the expectations of parents?

There may not yet be a clear answer to this question. But what is certain is that children should not be stereotyped in advance, let alone locked in direction at the beginning of growth.

At present, many regions have begun to discuss the diversity and fairness of the choice of college entrance examination subjects, and are gradually exploring new solutions to problems such as excessive concentration of resources and excessive guidance of subject combinations in strong basic classes. It may not be an easy road, but at least some people are starting to realize that education can't just be a betting game.