Issue 130

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The speaker states that children determines the destiny of the future society while adults fail to educate them competent enough for establishing a better society. I agree with the former part while oppose the latter one.

A 12-year-old American-born Chinese girl Adora Svitak has recently delivered her own speech at TED, declaring that “You (adults) must lend an ear today because we (children) are the leaders of tomorrow.” The crucial theme of this young female writer is that since children have already received so much from their parents and teachers, it’s high time adults learnt from children in a reciprocal way. She endeavored to point out the prejudice upon children as well as the irresponsible and irrational thinking maintaining in current education. Indeed, children will become the next generation and are certainly the hard core to bring the world forward, to determine the destiny of society. However, all these weak points in education could not be reworded as a total failure.

I am disapprove of the latter part of the statement mainly upon the following two aspects. Firstly, raising children is a process of learning, that is to say, educators need to fulfill, cultivate and nurture themselves all along the way as well. Perfection lies in nowhere. For that matter, we couldn’t ignore the achievements just because of some disadvantages. Just imagine if we really fail in every perspective of raising children, how could Adora Svitak derive the opportunity to challenge adults? How could she be such a thought-provoking, revitalized, dynamic girl? No one points out the shortcoming doesn’t mean perfection exist; flaws exposed isn’t equal to the end of the world.

Secondly, building a better world is the extra reward of raising children rather that the goal. Just like many outstanding people in various fields: Mrs. Marie Curie Biography didn’t study chemical just for finding Radium. It is her love and insistence that led she and the whole world to a new chemical element; Elbert Einstein didn’t know he’ll discover the theory of Relativity
at the very beginning; Beethoven wouldn’t be able to realize that he could compose such magnificent symphony which performed by offspring generation after generation; so did Vincent van Gogh’s painting and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s romanticism poems. For that matter, education must has its own rewards. Several robots and flocks of push-button Neathertals can apparently make the society an orderly state without educated minds and originate thinking. The nature of education should not be establishing an ideal society according to the educators’ minds. Educated ones should possess the awareness that their values and beliefs assume more depth, appreciation of arts and music become sharper, taste in life is accentuated, and enjoyment of activities is intensified. Moreover, education is far beyond just enjoying pleasure; it is under the burden of cultivating the next generation with the qualities of a world citizen which keenly demands the three passions, as Bertrand Russell had said, the longing for love, the search for knowledge and the unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. Each child is born with a certain settled destiny and education is to bring out the best of them. I firmly believe, under such education children couldn’t go too far away from establishing a well-constructed society.

In conclusion, the assertion reminds us of the importance of education but the more remarkable point in my opinion is to rediscover the true nature of education---- a stage to raise younger generation rather than a tool to serve the educators.