Extend and Correct National Compulsory Education

Extend and Correct National Compulsory Education
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
January 5, 2011

In his Year 100 New Year's Day message, President Ma spoke of "bai nian shu ren," i.e., the long term cultivation of the individual, as one of his four main hopes. He also announced that he would begin implementing this policy immediately. The extension of national compulsory education is important. National compulsory education was extended from six years to nine years in 1968. Forty-three years later, it was extended from nine years to 12 years. As we can see, this step was a difficult one.

National Compulsory Education refers to the universal education of every citizen. Every national government provides such an education, either free, or at extremely low cost, via subsidies. It is accompanied by compulsory schooling or homeschooling laws. Only this can ensure that each citizen receives an education. Many scholars have pointed out that in modern society, education is probably where state intervention in the affairs of the people is the greatest. The government is extending National Compulsory Education, This means that state intervention in education will be even greater and more widespread than before. Therefore, before discussing 12 year compulsory education, we should examine the proper role of government in education. This will enable us to get to the heart of the problem, and arrive at the right policy decisions.

Even readers not familiar with educational literature, will have at least a rough understanding. Centuries and millennia ago, the state's role in public education was virtually nil. Parents sought out private schools for their children. Which private school they enrolled in, and which books, authored by which sages they would read, were all private decisions. In ancient China or medieval Europe, few states underwrote public schools. China's imperial court established a central library, a Wen Yuan Ge, and other institutions in charge of cultural relics, or research units in charge of compiling history. But it did not interfere with private sector educational content and methods. The government held unified national examinations each year. But the examination system exerted only an indirect effect on educational content and educational subject matter. No trace of "national compulsory education" could be found.

Over the past 200 years however, governments the world over gradually began to provide free public education. Two environmental factors play a part. One. With the spread of humanist thought, people's desire for self-realization gradually evolved into the rights of individuals. The government now provides free basic education. This foundation facilitates self-realization. Two. As society becomes more complex, social harmony requires each citizen to be knowledgeable about law, politics, economics, and society. The transmission of this knowledge has become the essence of national education.

The advent of national compulsory education in the Republic of China corresponds to the evolution of these two trends. We have only one regret. The larger goal of national compulsory education may be individual self-realization and social harmony. But our edcational system has never escaped the bonds of the centuries old system for imperial advancement. What is required is a basic national education. But those administering the educational system insist on grouping students according to ability, on establishing elite schools, and on applying irrelevant screening mechanisms. They artificially establish rankings in what should be basic education. Some parents may be behind this. They may have distorted expectations. This is the worst ill afflicting national compulsory education on Taiwan today. The Ma administration wants to extend national compulsory education. He should also consider how he will correct current distortions in the system. He must diagnose the ills in the current educational system. He must not merely increase the length of a distorted education. Doing so will merely exacerbate existing problems, Society will not benefit. It may become even more deeply mired in the nightmare of "educational reform."

The Ministry of Education wants to screen students with academic tests. These would determine whether they are promoted to the next grade. Such tests would constitute 30% of their score. Their purpose of course, is to accommodate existing elite high schools. Educational experts the world over have no objections to elite universities such as Harvard and Stanford. But surely no one wants elite nursery schools, elite kindergartens, and other forms of early screening? Surely no one wants to rank sweet little children using irrelevant ranking systems? Between elite universities and elite kindergartens, at what stage should one begin screening students? That is a matter that may be debated. Reasons can be given for one's position. One may even succeed in changing society's views. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education has no plans to dialogue with the public. It is offering no explanations about how students will be promoted, and grades will be issue under national compulsory education. It is simply laying down the law. Thirty percent of each student's grades will be determined by his academic test scores. The ministry's plans are crude, and their negative impact on national compulsory education cannot be underestimated.

The biggest variable affecting the effectiveness of 12 year national compulsory education, is the percentage of elite high schools or classes. The higher the percentage, the farther the system has strayed from the ideals of national compulsory education. The Ma administration has ambitious plans for the long term cultivation of the individual. Therefore we have been thinking about how to achieve this goal. We must first have a clear understanding of the problem. If we begin by making all sorts of compromises, we limit the effectiveness of current educational reforms. We also fail to inspire people with our ideals. Education is a monumental undertaking that cultivates the individual. Think of students as trees. We must pay attention to everything on the tree, from the roots to the leaves. We must not focus only on those portions of the tree that grow tall and long, and neglect diseases that harm the tree as a whole.

國民教育既要延長也該矯正
【聯合報╱社論】 2011.01.05

馬總統在民國百年元旦祝詞中，將「百年樹人」列為四大期許之一，並宣布自今年開始啟動。國民教育的延長是件重要的政策；上次國教自六年延長至九年是民國五十七年的事，時隔四十三年後才由九年再度展延至十二年，可見這一步踏得有多麼辛苦。

既名為國民教育，就表示其內涵是每一個國民皆要接受的陶冶，而各國政府都是以免費或極低收費的方式予以補貼，輔之以強迫入學或在家自學的法令，才能做到國民受教權的保障。許多學者的研究均指出：在現代社會，「教育」大概是國家介入人民事務最多的面向。在政府將國民教育予以延長時，當然表示國家介入教育更多、更廣。因此在討論十二年國教之前，我們應該要花些篇幅檢視一下國家在教育中應該扮演的角色，俾便抓住問題核心，得到正確的政策結論。

讀者即使不熟悉教育文獻應該也能大略想像：在數百、數千年前，國家在人民教育中的角色極為微小；父母要為孩子找什麼私塾、入哪家私人學堂、讀哪些聖賢書，都是私人決策。在中國古代或歐洲中世紀，幾乎少見國家出錢的公立學校。中國歷代朝廷只在中樞設置上書房、文淵閣等掌理典章文物或史書編纂的研究單位，卻不干涉民間的教育內容與方法。即使是國家每年有統一的科舉考試，也只是透過考試內容與科目間接影響教育，根本沒有公辦「國民教育」的蹤影。

近兩百年來世界各國逐漸開始由國家提供免費之公辦教育，大概有兩個方面的環境因素。第一，隨著人本思想的拓展，人民自我實現的理想逐漸演變成為個人的權利，而政府提供免費基本教育，則是為自我實現奠基的手段。第二，當社會運作漸趨複雜時，每個公民在社會上圓融自處都需要相當的法政經社知識，而這些知識的傳授也逐漸成為國民教育的必要內涵。

大體而言，台灣國民教育的推展進程，也約略符合前述兩個社會脈動的演變方向。唯一的遺憾則是，我們的國民教育背後雖然有自我實現的個體理想與社會和諧的總體目的，卻始終擺脫不了數百年來的科舉進階遺毒，總是要在理當「基本」的國民教育中，加進能力分班、明星學校、假性資優等不相干的篩選機制。這種「在基礎國民教育中強行擇優」的干擾，也許背後有若干家長的扭曲期待，卻也是當前台灣國民教育的最大弊病。在馬政府「延長」國民教育的時候，就必須要同時考慮如何對當前的扭曲有所「矯治」；如果不做教育診斷而只將現有的扭曲制式延展，那麼就有可能只是把現有問題加長加劇，社會未必會因此而得到效益，甚至有可能再淪為一個「教改」噩夢。

教育部宣稱要維持三十％的學生以考試篩選的方式升學，當然是為了遷就現有的若干明星高中。全世界教育專家沒有人反對明星大學（如哈佛、史丹福），但相信沒有人會同意明星托兒所、明星幼稚園等過早的篩選，硬要對白胖可愛的孩童做無聊的評比。在眾皆曰可的明星大學與眾皆曰不可的明星幼稚園之間，究竟該在哪一個階段容許做分梳篩選，其實是可以討論、可以說理，甚至可以改變的社會觀念。遺憾的是，教育部似乎並不打算在這個面向做溝通，也沒有闡釋其國教理念下升學分發的論述，就逕行規劃三十％的考試入學比率。這樣的規劃失之粗糙，且此規劃對國民教育理想的衝擊，恐怕也不容小覷。

不必諱言，影響十二年國教成效之最大變數，就是明星高中或班級的比例。而比例越高則離國民教育的理想就越遙遠。馬政府既然要推百年樹人的宏大計畫，我們就期許能取法乎上，對問題癥結先有清楚的理解；若是一開始就推個七折八扣的妥協案，那麼不但對矯治當前教育扭曲功效有限，也欠缺感動人心的力量。教育既是百年樹人的大計，就務必在根幹枝葉上處處講究，千萬不能只著重抽高抽長，卻忽略了樹木的病害與摧折。