Welcome to the third issue of "Weekly Insights." This week's topic is "Say no to homogenization."
Topic: Reject Homogenization
What is homogenization?
Before entering university, I always heard rumors that once in college, I could freely choose my courses and have more options. But after entering university, I found reality was different. My schedule was still filled with courses I didn't like, and because I didn't like them, I had little motivation to study.
This week, I read a blog post titled The Systematic Failure of Higher Education in China. This article is the author's response to a question on Zhihu.
After reading it, I was deeply moved. Regarding "the score-only mentality and homogenized education before entering university," I personally relate to this. High scores in middle and high school only prove that you put in effort; they don't mean much else. The streaming system after middle school exams separates Chinese students into different levels too early, causing the gap to widen further, with struggling students falling further behind.
Excellence isn't measured by scores but by actual ability – that is, how much you can contribute to society. Last summer, I accidentally clicked on a blogger's website and was amazed. The amazement wasn't because the blog was flashy, but because the blogger built it himself without using any existing framework.
This blogger, named Weng Tianxin, is self-taught and has never attended a single day of school. He only acquires knowledge that interests him from nature and the internet. Completely separating from the conventional education system doesn't mean he's rebellious; rather, it has allowed him to understand himself and become the person he wants to be.
The image below shows a quote I saw in his blog's comment section. Sometimes, going against convention doesn't necessarily lead you to the opposite side of the world; instead, it might help you live a more exciting life than ordinary people.
Looking back at the conventional path we've taken, homogenized education has blurred our goals. In a homogenized educational environment, we don't clearly know what we want, what kind of person we want to become, or what role we want to play in society.
I only awakened during my junior year's first semester, realizing that I want to become a programmer in the future. If you're still in a state of confusion, why not stop and think about your aspirations? Set your goals early and work hard toward them. Don't waste any more time in university classrooms that just follow the textbook.
If China continues with this homogenized education in the future, I'll consider personally teaching my children. I'll help them master self-learning abilities early, learn knowledge that interests them on their own, and become the people they want to be. I won't let them be assimilated by homogenized education.
Quotes
-
The greatest value of elite schools lies not in educational quality but in providing students with more opportunities.
-
The conventional path is conventional because it suits most people.
Link Sharing
Enter keywords in the search box and it will generate the most suitable domain name for you. For example, when I entered my name, it recommended a .ai domain suffix.
Online piano, keyboard piano, simulated piano, with multiple instrument options – fun to listen to and fun to play. For a piano novice like me, I just choose to listen to the performance examples, like this JJ Lin's Jiangnan.