My thoughts on Confucius, education and Chinese culture

[renshanrenhai]

It's my first day of the teacher training programme. I come to aware more than anytime before this is a job different from others, a job requires love and wisdom and, should always go with humanity. Not long before i came across a TEFL teacher trainer from England who impressed me by his knowledge, wisdom, and very great sense of humanity. Knowledge, Wisdom and a sense of humanity all the three should be an ideal objective for every teacher in the world, shouldn't it?

Another fact is that education gets forward very slowly in China and a reform is still up in the air in the current educational system. Many educators are disappointed by the test-oriented notion

prevalent in the current system；i'm one of the ones too. However the authority are still in the dark, having no way out yet.

Educational philosophy in west is compared with that of China by many educators now days after people begin to realize something is lack of in the philosophy of education in China. The biggest difference between China and west, in my eye, is the aim of education. The aim of education in China originates from Confucius, the well-known educator who greatly affects the education ideas in China. Confucius' ideal man or true gentleman is humane, wise, and brave. According to Confucius's philosophy, "仁" （to be humane）is the first important target for a man to achieve. It's very interesting to note that the character "仁" , as the sub-parts present "人"(people) and "二" (two), contains a very important connotation that China culture has stressed on a harmonious relationship between people. And today it's still the first one in China's education target.

This is a very big one that gradually influence the relationship between teachers and students.

Teachers should be respected and, challenges or arguments therefore are regarded as not respectful actions towards teachers. This is a very common notion in many teachers mind, and students are not stimulated to find the truth because those teachers set the standard for the "truth"—— follow the teacher is the truth. Who can be perfect in the world as the world is not perfect by itself ? As a result, students get lazy in thinking and follow their teacher at the cost of a critical mind. Luckly, it's not going to be even worse as people are slowly beginning to realize the by-effect of the notion.

Stop here today.