7. Children Must Learn How to Live.
The realization of China’s modernization relies on the children of today.
Childhood is a time of physical and mental development, so efforts must be made to provide an ideal environment for their development, encouraging intellectual, physical and moral training.
How should our children be trained to cope wisely in the future? We should provide them with a good material life, but more importantly, a good spiritual life. Patriotism and communism must be spread among children to stimulate lofty ideals and hard work to enliven the Chinese nation.
China needs talent that has developed morally, intellectually and physically. The practice of only enabling people who receive an education to develop intellectually could result in a deficiency on the part of a generation of children.
We have to put right the tendency of stressing only intelligence and ignoring moral and physical education and necessary physical work.
Instead of children only receiving a classroom book -learning education we should encourage them to mingle with society and nature so that they can be more adaptable in society. 8. People Should Be Made to Love Knowledge and Reading
Recently, there had been a lot of discussion about education in the Chinese press. From these reports, and letters from my friends, I know that many students in schools and universities think studying is useless. Some graduate students and even teachers quit study or teaching to become clerks in big hotels, for a clerk in such hotels can get higher pay than a university professor.
Government leaders and many scholars have already noticed this and are making great efforts go solve the problem. In the People’s Daily I see numerous articles on how to improve education and many reports about government leaders at all levels making various plans.
These plans all center on raising the salaries of teachers and professors. Of course, this is very important to education. However, education has two sides, not just those who teach, but also those who learn. Increasing the salary of teachers is just one way to improve education. It will not work without the co-operation of the other determinants, such as students’ love of knowledge and reading. Ever if the teachers are devoted, it will make no sense if the students are not willing to learn.
How can we make more people love knowledge an dreading? First, we all have to realize that knowledge is useful everywhere in society, not just in the classroom. Second, people will love knowledge and reading when they have free access to books and information. Building more libraries and developing fine library services are important to improving education.
I worked for six years in a big public library in China. I saw many people reading book after book. They dreamed of entering universities, not just because higher salaries attract them, but because of their need and love of knowledge.
As a dedicated librarian, I wish policy makers of our government could spend more on libraries when they plan to improve education. 9. The Modern Methods Have Gone Wrong
Well, if you asked me, it’s all these modern methods that’s the problem. In the old days you sat in rows at desks and you did as you were told. You knew what you had to do and you did it-and you kept quiet. Nowadays, my god, the noise in most schools is deafening especially primary schools. The children wander around-do more or less what they want to as far as I can see. The teacher just sits there or wanders around with them, talking to them. Informal teaching they call it. discovery methods. Sounds more like a recipe for discovering disaster to me. When to do any work. And when you look at the youngsters coming to work for me, you soon find out they haven’t learnt very much at all. |
