the failure pf our education ( long passage, welcome discussion)

jinglefishUID: 128402

The failure of our education
Originally, I want to name this essay “ The totally failure of our education”, but I think may be it is unfair to say so. After all, they do “create” some elite people. We can not omit this.
You may ask, why do you say the failure of our education? Ok. Let us begin like this. First, answer me some questions: “what did our teacher teach us when we were in senior high school or college? Except for the job-related skills, is there anything else they taught which is conducive to our current life? Did they teach us how to think? Did they show us a set of standard, principal of life? Did they teach us how to evaluate our progress?” Do not rush to look further about my words. Stop for a few seconds and think out them.

What are your answers? I take a wild guess that your answers are “No.” We said it reluctantly, in a gloomy mood. When we really fit our roles in the society, we finally realized, almost in pain, they did not instill us what we really need.

Then what do we need? What should be the aim of education? Let us see something excepted from an American essay. “ Education is a means of transmitting democratic values, creating the equality of opportunity, and preparing the new generation of citizens to function in society.” What do you feel about this?

As a teacher and once a student, I have my own understanding of its aim. Education should be a tool to instill the new generation the basic knowledge, equip them with general moral standard, help them to define themselves and find their ultimate goal of their life, show them a way to perceive the outer world, train them how to have their own opinions in such a complicated world in case of being lost. The most important of all its aims, I think, should be the third, help them define themselves.

Do you know who you are?

“astray” is the whole theme in my 26 years existence. And as I witness many cases in the adolescent, “astray” is their life. The adolescent who are in senior 3 have no idea what they want to do , what they are adept at. They are totally numb to the outer world beyond their transcripts. The only thing they hold in mind is  “you need to be top one in your class, that is what success means.” “You have to fight to the summit.”. Neither the teacher nor the parents remember one thing: Not every one can be the best. God bestows different persons distinct gifts, which make them unique. The teacher pushes too hard. The parents require too much. The kids droop their head before the heavy burden. The are now completely lost about their future. Without the specific goal, what do you people expect?

Defining who we are is to understand what we really aspire to do and what we want to function in society. The kids need the teachers to tell them how to find their way of life ,while not merely tell them what they should remember. The philosophy part of politics could have been very useful for students, because they show us a way of introspecting life. It tells us we need to take a developing view to perceive the world, because things are in motionless change. It will surely help them to think deeper about their future. “ developing……….change……….future.” The philosophy could have been so interesting for us to discuss from this view, yet what did our teacher teach us?
The Chinese could have been a platform to transmit our Chinese traditional values which are treasure of our nation. We can learn from some ancient passage the value of concentration, economy, responsibility, etc. What do our teacher give us? Explaining the actual meaning of the text, without further discussion which may inspires some noble minds. We discard our tradition since the culture revolution. We throw away the treasure of history leaves to us.

History should tell us how to learn from past life. Girls can learn from the only female monarch Wu, a woman who is wise and full of knowledge. Her ambition, her knowledge, her wisdom, could be an example for our new generation of girls. Boys can learn from some ambitious male monarch. Learn how to be a responsible man concerning with the well-being of most people. Every one can be that helpful if he always has such a noble mind and keep struggling for his goal.
This is just a slice we drew from history. None of our teacher inform us how to enlighten our spirits.

The blunder of our education is the teacher never teach us how to process critical thinking, which is stressed in American Education. The students are not encouraged to challenge the authority. Instead, they are trained to obey without thinking. It looks as if those students are just like computer, functioning to memorize details about the knowledge. Contrasting with foreign students, the scholars complain our students lack of the sense of creation, but have they never think about who would be responsible for this?(I guess most of us can draw the conclusion who be liable for the this. Neither the teacher nor the parents. May be they do not need the ones who have so many ideas.)

The other fault is the teacher did not teach the kids a set of standard of how to evaluate their performance in class. The students need this. They could judge themselves without prejudice, then they would know how much effort they had done, how much they still need to do to go further. A student who “fail” in the exam,( in the contemporary evaluating system, they compare their own score with others who has already at the top of the class.) will be scolded by his parents for he can not compete with the “top” one. This surely make them feel totally desperate. They may accept the conception that “We are silly. We are not competent in this. We do not see where our hopes are.” In fact, most of them can do better than they think they are.

I point out the two major problems existing in our present education system, while there is not much I can do. I am merely a teacher. All I can do is just to make the best of my job. I wish there can be a increasing number of us who can realize these  problems. Then may be we can expect a better future. I sincerely hope so.

P.S. I am not wholly depressed in this essay. Because I also see some positive trend around me. More and more students are connected with new information. What they need is just the right orientation. What is your ideas?

tempUID: 174833

The whole essay is talking about teahcers in our education. But the most important problem is our education system. Different teachers have dictint method, but all of them are ruled by an education system. The current system, however, is the fittest one for our country. If we can not get rid of the College Entrance Examination, people should not change the current education status of primary school, middle school and high school, which could, and only of it could, offer an impartial opportunity for everybody.

For the college study, more and more parents dicide to let their children stay at China for undergraduate study. I do not know why. For the postgraduate study, little by little we do not accept the admission without financial aids to study abroad. The chelonian and kelp enable us to reconsider the gain and loss.

Of course, there exists many disadvantages in Chinese Education, at least, it teaches me the accommodation of dissent.