The recent announcement by the Ministry of Education that it intended to make what it termed the “basic materials of Chinese Culture” — the “Four Books” — required course material for high school students is sparking divided reactions among teachers who fear it will place an extra burden on an already struggling system.
The high school Chinese cultural studies materials draft act announced by the ministry was in response to widespread bullying, drug use and gang problems among young people. Vice -Minister of Education Chen Yi-hsing (陳益興) recently said the situation had become “a worrisome social problem.”
The “Four Books” refer to the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸), Great Learning (大學), Analects of Confucius (論語) and Mencius (孟子), chosen by Zhu Xi (朱熹) in the Sung dynasty as an introduction to Confucian theories and ideas.
Participants at recent public hearings held by the ministry on the draft act confirmed the function of the basic cultural studies materials and said that the “Four Books” were the core of Chinese culture. However, they said the ministry should seek to resolve problems associated with the execution of the plan.
Opponents of the proposal say that while they do not oppose the material per se, it would put additional pressure on students.
A teacher and member of the National Teacher’s Association, Chang Chen-shou (張仁壽), said he worried whether students would be able to take in what was taught.
“I’m a physics teacher myself and sometimes my students don’t do well not because they are bad at physics, but simply because they don’t understand the question being asked,” Chang said.
Chang also questioned the effects of cultural material on students’ morals, adding that with the sudden addition of such materials as compulsory courses to the curriculum, schools would be compelled to reorganize schedules and hire new teachers.
“Currently, the birthrate is decreasing. Where are these teachers going to go when they have no more students?” Chang asked.
National Taiwan Normal University professor Wu Wu-tien (吳武典) said most educational sectors tacitly agreed with teaching cultural materials, as long as the materials agreed with Confucius’ own directive of “keeping up with the times.”
Wu said opposition was more concerned with the technical -aspects of the issue, such as curriculum organization.
With 12-years of mandatory education about to replace the current nine-year program, it’s time we sat down and reviewed the curriculums anyway, Wu said.
A master’s student nicknamed “Xiao Wei” (小薇) said she was indifferent to the introduction of the “Four Books,” as she had already studied them on her own.
However, she said that after seeing some of the material, she had difficulty buying claims by the ministry that the material would be taught in a “lively manner.”
“It still looks pretty rigid to me and it doesn’t spark interest. If they used anecdotal stories, I’m sure it would make the cultural material much more practical,” she said.
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