Wildfire Collection: Thirty Years Anniversary Edition

Chapter 8 Starting from "4" ([-])
I always thought that the president of a university is a decision-maker who has a long-term vision and guides the general direction of academics and education, rather than a nanny who cares about steamed bread and porridge, but I will not mention it for the time being.The intentions of this type of educators are undoubtedly well-intentioned. The problem is that when we talk about "things", the intention is not important at all, what is important is the actual consequences, and the consequences of education are so serious!This kind of feeding and baby-rearing university education just fits the psychologist Levy's interpretation of the so-called "Overprotection" (Overprotection) as early as [-]: first, giving too much contact-"there is Any problem, come to me at any time”; second, prohibit him from being independent—“You are not allowed to…”; Orientation is imposed on the body-"You listen to me..." College students who grew up under this kind of over-care and childish education, what can they do other than "tearful eyes" when encountering troubles?

Educators may say: If these students have already learned self-discipline and self-discipline before entering university, I don’t need to carry them along and feed them; don't teach.Although it is a remedy after a dead sheep, it is better than not teaching at all.

It sounds reasonable, but it's actually a logic of giving up food because of choking.The reason why this student did not learn autonomy and self-discipline during the 12 years of elementary school and middle school is because they have been receiving feeding-style counseling. If the university continues to carry out "baby care", isn't this an endless vicious circle?We must have a starting point to remove the pacifiers from the students' mouths; if we don't do it in universities, when will we wait?Besides, what do we expect from a college education?To teach a student who is obedient, well-behaved, and does not wear slippers and shorts, or to teach a student who can look at the situation, make decisions, and judge by himself-which one is more important?In order to create an "obedient" and "rule" youth, sacrifice his ability to self-determination, self-government and self-discipline-is this the purpose of our university education?
In life, educators adopt the method of "carrying away" in their arms; in schoolwork, many teachers have the attitude of "driving away" with a whip.

As far as the trivial matter of class roll call is concerned, there are many teachers who use the attendance of students as the grading standard. Their argument is: students are lazy. If I force you to study today, you will thank me later.

This statement is also very touching, but it does not make sense.First of all, we should not forget that the most fundamental and important purpose of opening a course is to impart knowledge, not to count "how many cows are missing" between the ringing of the bell.Logically speaking, if a student already has the knowledge to be taught in that course without attending the class, and can prove his level by examination or other means, then there is no need for him to report for the custom of a roll call.In the final analysis, the reason why this "rule" existed in the first place was to help students acquire this knowledge-let us listen to the same person at the same time and place in a systematic way-but a student, no matter what the reason, If you already have that knowledge, asking him to fill in the form is to discard the basics and chase after the trivial, which is also the mistake of a teacher who sees the forest but does not see the trees.

On the other hand, if a student does not have that knowledge but misses classes again and again, the professor will of course eliminate him, but the reason for elimination should be: you have not acquired the knowledge; not: you have not been called.There is no causal or proportional relationship between class attendance and knowledge acquisition.

I absolutely agree with being "strict" as a teacher; the stricter the better.But the "strict" and "forced" must be in the substantive knowledge, not in the rigid form.In other words, professors can use more esoteric textbooks, make more flexible exam questions, and assign more arduous homework to force students to work hard.But if he respects the student as an adult with independent judgment ability, he has no reason to take the student into the classroom with a whip; In you; you learn how to accept the consequences of your actions.

From elementary school to high school, our students have been passive for 12 years under the "whip". If they also grow up under the whip in the last four years of college-will they grow up?Who will hold the whip after graduation?

This kind of "rushing away" spur education has done a lot of harm.The reason why students can’t “take one corner and turn three corners” is because they have never learned how to think in the process of “carrying away” and “rushing away”. It is also impossible.

Those who believe in spurring education do not believe that students are automatically eager to learn.So set up seven seven eight eight subjects to fill up the students' time.Freshman students, for example, have more than 30 hours of classes a week.With fewer senior classes, some departments are forcing students to take extra credits as a safeguard against laziness.

But I am facing a huge problem.

Literature is thinking; for each hour of class, students must do two hours of pre-reading before class, and three hours of chewing and digestion after class, otherwise, the hour I paid is equal to zero.Literature is not a daydream in an ivory tower; students must take the concepts they heard in that hour outside the classroom, outside the campus, and connect them with the vast universe and the chaotic real world, otherwise, this new concept Also equal to zero.

All these require time and space, but students cannot do it.Their courses are fully arranged, like a matchmaker catching a wedding banquet, one after another.Their minds are like a painting splashed with red and purple, without an inch of blank space.

If students are afraid of laziness, should we increase the number of credit hours and force students to put their "body" in the classroom, or should we deepen and aggravate the connotation of the curriculum so that students have to devote their entire "heart" to it?Doesn't this involve yet another question of the origin and the end?

How can we teach students how to think if we don't give them time and space to think?

During the many years of teaching abroad, I always felt full of vitality when I stepped out of the classroom, because I also gained new growth in the intense reactions and challenges with the students.Here, when I walk out of the classroom, I often feel hollowed out, like a balloon punctured by a needle.Students are like a bottomless piggy bank, throwing money in and out, but no surprises will pop out, making me feel rich.

To say that students lack the spirit of autonomy and self-discipline, that they do not have the ability to think independently, I have not actually touched a more basic prerequisite question: Do our education policies hope to teach independent students?If the answer is no, the article is meaningless and can be burned.I am writing this review on the assumption that our society intends to create an independent and self-reliant future generation.

However, if the premise of this assumption is correct, why do we still adopt the method of "riding and walking" in the training of thoughts?

On the one hand, the students are cowardly and timid, and their grades make mistakes, so they dare not go to the teacher for verification or discussion.The professor solved the problem wrongly and dared not point out the mistake, so everyone just passed by.Dissatisfied with the course arrangement, dare not raise objections.I don't want to be forced to stay, but I dare not go to the training office to make a statement.Privately criticize incompetent teachers, club restrictions, rules for extracurricular activities, or dormitory management, but dare not express opinions openly to the institutions involved.Occasionally someone wrote criticisms into an article and wanted to publish it in the school magazine—"Don't try it, you will be suppressed!" The student said with certainty, "It's useless anyway. I will go to the United States after I graduate!"

On the other hand, teachers who continue to work hard to emphasize the traditional virtue of "respecting teachers and emphasizing morality" even if students bow one less bow are considered a betrayal of the 5000-year-old Chinese culture and nation. I will not talk about the historical significance of the words "respect teachers and respect morality", but in the modern society that emphasizes division of labor and specialization, there is room for discussion. There is no doubt about "respecting the way"; the affirmation and respect for knowledge is the basis for education to become a system.But "respecting a teacher", if it means that every "teacher" must be "respected"-just because this person is in this position-that is to encourage blind obedience to authority.Everywhere there are teachers who mislead their children, teachers who are ignorant and incompetent, and teachers who are deceitful; do we have the right to require students to "respect" "teachers" who have no "Tao"?
The students are cowardly and timid. Is it because they lack courage, or do we superstitiously believe in our own authority, lack self-confidence, and dare not give them a chance to challenge?
If we really want to cultivate the next generation with the ability to "think carefully, discern clearly, and act earnestly", why are we afraid that he will pose a threat to our authority because of "think carefully and discern clearly"?

Universities in Taiwan have improved a lot in terms of teachers and equipment than when I was a student.The intelligence, sincerity, and earnest efforts of Chinese students to please their teachers often deeply moved me.And the better the student's qualifications, the more anxious and sad this childish university education makes me.Those who run education, perhaps out of goodwill and love, still habitually and stubbornly treat college students as "their own children", assuming that they are passive, lazy, and dependent.This assumption may be correct, but the way educators respond is not to "wean the baby" resolutely, but to continue to care and control, resulting in a terrible vicious circle.

What worries me is, what kind of citizens will these college students who "dare not", "tearful", "have no opinion" and "don't know" become after leaving school?What kind of social backbone?Can he tell right from wrong?Does he dare to "get angry"?Will he fight for his rights?Does he know what social conscience and moral courage are?

I'm afraid the answer is all no.

If we take a long-term view and sincerely want to heal Taiwan, we need citizens who can think, judge, and have courage and conscience; those in power must open their arms to accept stimulation and challenges.If we really want to improve education and cultivate the next generation for this nation who can think, judge, and have courage and conscience, then those who run education and teach should not be superstitious about their own authority; they must also be able to withstand the stimulation from students with challenges.

Take our college students as "adults"!Give them a chance and don't hold his hand.

Don't cover my sunshine
Originally published in "China Times Human World" on March [-], [-]

The Taipei City Government announced that it would cast a bronze statue of Confucius taller and heavier than the Statue of Liberty, which made me feel unbearable.

"Taipei is bad enough! Give us a piece of green grass, give us some fresh air, give us a clean community, give our children a clean toilet, a wide park, a children's library, but don't, Don't give us a big bronze statue that blocks the sun."

Fifteen years later, I found myself sitting in the office of the Taipei City Government, constantly selling what is called "minus aesthetics" to colleagues in engineering units.

Taiwan is a world of slogans.Walking down the street, I saw "two children just happen to be", went on the overpass, read "catch up", passed the telephone pole, and saw "everyone is responsible for keeping secrets and spying", sat down in the bus, looked up suddenly and said " Respect the elders and respect the virtuous", walked into the classroom, there was the familiar phrase "respect self-improvement, don't be alarmed by changes", went into the toilet, probably "developed a good habit of washing hands", passed by public institutions, and saw "democracy, ethics, science", "reporting The bad guys are protecting the good guys.”There are also some that I can't understand at all: "Desperate is to save your life", hanging horizontally on the street with cluttered cars and horses, as if encouraging drivers to charge forward.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many slogans in Taiwan?Who, under what circumstances, tried to create a sentence, and then wrote it on paper and painted it on the wall, so that we can't escape in the living space?Where is his motive?
The answer, of course, is, "solve the problem".Because some people are very dirty, so I posted "Cleanliness is the foundation of physical strength".Some people evaded military service, so a large curtain was hung on the side street: "Military service is an honorable duty."Because Sanlang desperately likes to chase and collide when driving, he puts "Keep distance for safety" on the back of the car window.Because Chinese people have low self-confidence, "Be an upright Chinese" is engraved on the school gatepost.On the back of every tagline is a problem we hope to solve.The ubiquity of slogans in Taiwan makes people believe that probably every problem has a slogan.

Are these slogans useful?When have you stopped to think about "democracy, ethics, and science" when you are in a hurry?How many people clean the yard when they come home because they see the wall with the words "Elimination of mess is everyone's responsibility"?And who read the note on the telegraph pole saying "Cultivate a scholarly society" and started to read?There is still a lot of rubbish under the sign of "Trash takers are beasts ××", what kind of subtle effect do these innocuous and cliché slogans have?
The Chinese habit of emphasizing form and making appearance can be seen everywhere, and the proliferation of slogans is just a symptom.Let’s look at an extremely serious problem: Everyone says that modern Chinese lack confidence in themselves, that Western culture has only been learned superficially and cannot be digested, while their own traditional culture has been completely abandoned.what to do?It's easy!First, go to the streets, schools, and stations, and put up thousands of slogans: "Rejuvenate Chinese culture!"

Then, build a statue of Confucius taller and heavier than the Statue of Liberty in Taipei City.The boldness needs to be big, so the copper material alone will cost more than 1 million yuan.The bronze statues are used to promote Confucianism, revive Chinese culture, improve people's cultural temperament, and tell the world that Taiwan is the bastion of Chinese culture.

I'm not joking; don't you read the newspaper?The city government has no sense of humor at all.

After this behemoth is built, it will probably cover a large area of ​​the sky and make many homes dark and closed.The heavy rain in winter and the pollution of urban areas will paint the bronze statue with a dirty color.The street next to the bronze statue is probably the same as the surrounding area of ​​Hongmao City. There will be vendors like fly bites, and the traffic on the street will explode due to the coming and going of tourists.As for how such a large piece of copper will "promote Confucius' thought" and "rejuvenate Chinese culture", I am very confused.

It would be great if building a bronze statue could solve the problem of loss of tradition and lack of self-confidence.Aren't we going to cultivate a scholarly society?How about sculpting a book bigger than a warship out of cement in the port of Keelung?Want to develop cutting-edge technology?Let’s build a plastic rocket model higher than the mountain in Eluanbitou!Want to restore national self-confidence?Why not engrave a few characters on the top of Yushan Mountain that are so big that Martians can see them: "China No. [-]".If you think these examples are absurd, isn't it absurd to spend hundreds of millions of yuan to cast a bronze statue to promote Chinese culture?Hoping that a Big Mac statue will save the cultural crisis is as foolish as hoping a "Dogs Take Out Trash Here" sign will solve the trash problem.

But this form-first, surface-first mentality manifests itself in various ways at all levels.An inch of a student's hair growing or being short seems to be more important than the knowledge in his head; one more button or one less button on his uniform seems to be more important than his mental maturity.To attract international tourists, instead of quietly cleaning up the environment, preserving the original colors of historical sites, and beautifying the urban environment, we must first shout "beautiful Treasure Island" and work hard on publicity.I heard that a greening campaign is going to be carried out. Okay, all the trees will be cut down, cement will be laid on it, and then green paint will be used to paint the cement green.Our elementary school students sometimes hold back from going to the toilet all day when they are in school, because the school toilets are too broken and smelly, but if they have a sum of money, the school will first consider casting a bronze statue of a great man at the school gate, and will not do it for the children. Build toilets.Is the hidden toilet important?Or is it important to have a clean and decent bronze statue?you tell me.

(End of this chapter)