What Are the Thoughts of China's New Generation Education Scholars? - Tomorrow Education Forum (Issue 29, Total 29th)

Author: Huang Xu, edited by Zhang Wenzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: There are many suggestions for reforming secondary school Chinese education that can serve as references, but frontline teachers tell us that the first thing to reform is the superficial understanding and dismissive attitude toward writing. When scholars painstakingly warn against making Chinese education "like a political class or a moral cultivation class," the key lies in the dullness of the textbooks. The textbooks lean heavily on political propaganda and moral indoctrination, with little focus on the charm of literature and cultural cultivation. Neither teachers nor students can take Chinese as a true Chinese class, as they are only interested in passing exams. Some teachers with innovative ideas, out of desperation, can only demand more emphasis on writing and increasing the volume of writing as a form of reform. However, students remain disinterested and afraid of writing—first, because they lack content to write, and second, because writing is constrained by rigid frameworks, making it tedious and boring after repeated attempts. Secondary school Chinese education is heading down a dead end.