Education is one of the oldest human behaviors. Almost with the emergence of human culture, education has also appeared, and teachers have become one of the oldest occupations of mankind. However, in the view of Professor Bao Pengshan, the author of this book, today's education seems to have lost its beautiful form and noble content in the past, and its indispensable intrinsic value is being lost or even forgotten, and it has become more of a kind of training and cultivation. Therefore, he would like to revisit some core issues of education by tracing back to the starting point of China's education, that is, Confucius' education.

I. What is education

The author believes that education has two basic functions: "first, inherit and develop human civilization;" Second, teach and innovate human technology "[1]. Both are very important, but the author emphasizes one point in particular: there is an order between them. I don't mean the second point, that is, the inheritance of science and technology is not important, but the author thinks that our education today is not lacking in this respect, and it can even be said that there are too many. In the author's view, knowledge is an understanding of a fact or a technology, so "everyone can be defeated before the examination of knowledge" [2], because "knowledge" is almost infinite, especially with the development of modern science, it is impossible for another person to be proficient in all fields of knowledge. The author thinks that when we impart knowledge, we don't really need to teach so much, we just need to teach students the necessary knowledge, but the reality is that no matter which discipline (even politics, history and other humanities and social sciences), we regard the imparting of knowledge or technology as the main content of education, ignoring the inheritance of civilization itself.

The author is very opposed to this practice, because "completely understanding education as the study of technology, science and knowledge actually lowers human beings to the realm of animals." [3] Because animals also have technology and knowledge, carnivores have hunting skills, and animals on the grassland know that they live on weeds. These are all technologies and knowledge (some of which are not mastered by humans). Although these technologies can't be compared with those mastered by human beings in complexity, they are essentially technologies that make their own existence continue, and do not make the essential difference between human beings and animals.

Then "what is the most essential thing, that is, what determines the reason why people are human." Without computers, people are still people, but without poetry, art and morality, people are not called people. [4] In other words, the author believes that what makes people truly human is human civilization, which is a set of rules and value systems produced in the process of civilization development. Animals have no civilization, because all their actions are subject to their nature. They will eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are sleepy. Animals will not do anything against their nature unless their lives are in danger. But the differences between people are also reflected here. One can restrain one's instinct. For the simplest example, no matter how hot it is in summer, few people will be naked in public, because it is uncivilized. Therefore, "civilization and education, in a sense, is to fight against human instinct. People can't live by instinct, they can't obey instinct, and living by instinct becomes an animal. " [5]

Therefore, what we call "people-oriented" education is not only to educate people into adults, but also to make people become people through education, which is "culture". The "culture" here is not a noun, but a verb, that is, "civilization", which enables a person to have the foundation of human civilization and understand the common sense of human society, that is, he knows good and evil, beauty and ugliness, and can distinguish right from wrong at the lowest level. Even if he can't distinguish right from wrong, he knows that there is right and wrong in this world. "If a person is out of culture, or a person has no culture at all, this person cannot be called a person. Because the most basic difference between people and animals is to know what is' cultivated'. " [6]

Therefore, education should educate people, so that educated people can not only have knowledge, but also support themselves through what they have learned. More importantly, they should have "culture" and understand right and wrong. This kind of culture and concept of right and wrong is actually the result of the thinking of the previous generation of sages and their judgment on the problem. Therefore, "education is to pass on the hearts of ancient sages from generation to generation" [7], and even sometimes, "we can be speechless and speechless in the face of specific knowledge, but we can't help but make a judgment in the face of major issues of right and wrong" [8] However, there are many social problems now, not to mention the hot topics that have caused heated discussion among netizens on the Internet (such as "help or not"). Now some things may be unimaginable in the past: "We think people who speak manners are ridiculous and laugh at them;" Educated people, well-behaved people, we laugh at him. What we like is the hero who drinks in a big bowl and eats meat in large pieces. " [9]

This is actually "vulgarization of the spiritual life of a nation as a whole", so that there is a feeling that "everyone has gone bad" In fact, there is a problem with our value system and the inheritance of civilization, that is, there is a problem with education.

Second, what is a teacher?

Liu Zeng, a famous science fiction writer and author of "Three-body", wrote a short science fiction novel "Country Teacher". In the novel, with the help of the imaginary advanced civilization of the universe, Liu shows the significance of teachers' existence in civilization: under the condition that memory cannot be inherited and must be acquired, Liu acts as a medium for knowledge transfer between two generations of creatures. In the novel, it is precisely because a rural teacher spread knowledge in an unknown rural area of our country that we inadvertently saved our civilization.

Liu expresses his respect for the profession of teachers in his works, but if the professor comes to see it, he may not be satisfied with the description of teachers' work in the novel, because he thinks that teachers are more than just a profession of imparting knowledge. "To be a teacher, you should have corresponding knowledge, morality and character." [10]

Yes, just as the author thinks that education should not only impart technology, but also be the inheritance of civilization, as teachers are also front-line workers, teachers should not only impart knowledge, but also inherit the achievements of civilization and the value system of human society. Therefore, he believes that "it is not enough to be a teacher with professional knowledge, you must have the ability to judge right and wrong." It can not only answer students' relevant professional knowledge, but also answer students' relevant knowledge questions, and should be able to answer students' value questions. This is a requirement for teachers. " [ 1 1]

On the other hand, in today's education field, teachers' knowledge is increasingly required. It is difficult to apply for a high school teacher after graduation. In some top middle schools, teachers with doctoral degrees from famous schools at home and abroad abound. But according to the author's standards, many teachers in the school may still be unqualified. Not to mention those teachers who have been exposed with serious moral problems, educators now regard teachers as an ordinary profession, which is no different from white-collar workers in the company. Finish the teaching tasks assigned by the school every day, and do not communicate with students except for class and homework. What I care most about is how students do in exams, just as workers care about product quality. If even teachers are in such a state, they lack enthusiasm for their work, have no value expectation for education, and are just coping with the completion of their work, how much enthusiasm can we expect students to have for learning? How can we expect students to become qualified social citizens with moral quality and clear judgment in the face of right and wrong issues? So "being a teacher should have ideals and responsibilities, not just a profession." "Teachers should have value judgments, and you can answer students' corresponding value questions. " [ 12]

In the book, the author also discusses "what is quality" and "what is teaching material", and discusses many problems and disadvantages of today's education. Undeniably, many problems we encounter in education today are actually not only problems of education, but also problems of the whole society, but we also need to see that education and society are interactive and complementary. Of course, social atmosphere will affect the campus, but if we don't let students be influenced by good culture on campus, how can we hope that they can develop good quality and contribute to the progress of this society in the future?

I used to feel very desperate about my work, because no matter what I did, I told my students that everything was right. The real society had long told my students that what teachers taught you at school was more of an armchair strategist. If you really did it, you would definitely "suffer". Therefore, what we see is that students are indifferent to our difficulties, but they are helpless about it, because in our hearts, don't they know this? But if even teachers really give up the truth that should be correct, lose their judgment on right and wrong, and let students go, how can we have hope for the future?

Therefore, education is difficult, and it is even more difficult to be a teacher. We should not only have basic subject knowledge, but also be able to distinguish right from wrong and inherit civilization. More importantly, we should have ideals, responsibilities and persistence in this profession.