Should children learn English as soon as possible?

Technically speaking, I agree with this children should begin learning a foreign language as soon as they can. But first of all, children who learn who learn a foreign language must not forget to learn their mother language well.

In nowadays society, many people regard English as the most important language to learn. Some Parents only enhance their children’s English ability, but don’t ask them to strengthen their mother language. Thus, children not only use Chinese in a wrong way but also fail to learn English well. That is a big taboo which parents attend to the superficial but ignore essentials. That is to say, I agree with learning English when they were young, but the major premise is that they should learn mother language correctly.

The reason why I agree with this method is that, I know the influence of the environment. No one can refuse the impact of environment. For example, you live in England for a while; you will use British English and have the accent. We know that there exist a significant difference between American English and British English. These differences depend on what kinds of environment people were surrounded. Apparently, if children were in a whole-English environment, they can easily learn English without pressure. I think that parents can let their children to be in touch with English when they were young, so their children will get used to English. Don’t force them to remember some things, but let them learn English in the carelessly environment which is the best way to me when leaning English.

My opinion toward education system in Taiwan

About two decades ago, going to a university is meaningful to most of the people. The people who have the chance to go to university are so-called well-educated people. They may be the aristocrats on a certain field. People cherish their life at school and make a full use of their time. However, things change in nowadays society. Attending to university is not a privilege but almost everyone has a chance after graduated from high school. Since the education system reformed in recent years, we can apparently discover that our professional knowledge on a certain field become weaker.

First of all, people can choose as many credits as they want in the past days, yet we have to pay extra money to have more than 25 credits now. This system is definitely an obstacle for students. And it also indicates that people with money can learn more things. I think in the university, we need to have the same opportunities to absorb different kinds of knowledge. And we should be open-minded toward learning. This method will limit our motion in polishing our own ability and also weaken people’s competitive strength. Thus, universities should encourage students to learn more as they can, instead of obstructing students from academic learning.

In Taiwan, some of the schools fit a large amount of students in one class. And then the teaching method is one teacher lectures, students listen, and at last they have exams. This spoon-feeding way of teaching makes students have no skill of critical thinking. Furthermore, it may also hinder one youth’s creative thoughts. In my point of view, we should train each student how to think critically and originality. Teacher should not only lecturer in the class but train students to discuss about professional topics and collaborate with each other. The way to attain this goal is to minimize the students as possible as we can in one class, so teachers and students have more interaction as well as having a one on one conference. Second, we can find out that skipping classes may be a trend among students in the universities. While having a sense of responsibility is required in many circumstances, absence is definitely not allowed.
Third, take our universities for example; we should expand the fields in different areas to all students. Students are obligated to choose general knowledge courses which offer some basic knowledge on vary fields. However, it is not until last year that the courses become more attractive. This is a big progress compared to the past. The course is not restricted to a particular domain anymore, but much closer to human nature and also much more useful. For example, there is a lecture class called the “entrepreneur lecture course”. This course invites some famous industrialists to share their experiences on business which makes students learn some practical knowledge instead of remembering theoretical texts. Our school can deliver more courses which can be useful for students after stepping into this society.

In our country, students are like the puppets manipulated by adults. We can hardly have our own opinions or it will be considered as impolite. I think this is why Taiwanese students lacking of the ability of leadership. Because they have got no chance to express their own feeling. The education system should be reformed again and should not be ignored by the government. Consequently one country’s future prosperity depends on those well-educated students.

Different types of occupations

The dedication of different kinds of groups form one society’s proceeding. In my viewpoint, those groups can be roughly divided into two main categories. One is about the dedication of something which seems necessary, irreplaceable in our daily life such as trade, business and technology. The other is about something is next in importance which are just like the art, music, and the field of humanity. The reason why I separate them into two main parts is according to the quality of their works and the core value toward our society.
First of all, the former type of groups seem really important to our society and they cannot be ignored totally by people. For instance, we have lots of trades, markets, through our daily life. Not only deals about some trivial matters, but almost any activities need the support of investment. There are commercial programs, commercial banks, commercial advertisements exist anywhere. Apparently, our country’s prosperity is evaluated by business; also the government stresses the importance on foreign trade, such as import and export. Not merely Taiwan but almost many strong nations set their goal toward capitalism. That’s why in my country, doing a business is still a predominant trend. Second, the inventions of new technology change with each passing days. People cannot live without technological products such as computers, cell phones…etc. So they purchase a lot of merchandise in order to follow other people steps. I do not disagree with this action; instead, I am really proud of my country. However, of course both managers of these careers grab other people’s attention as well as get much fund from government. On the contrary, the later types of occupations are easily forgotten by most of us.
The workers of art, music, and humanity normally make 120% of efforts and then get 20% of feedbacks. I think it is because of the trend of capitalism makes people care about only money and themselves. In my opinion, artists, musicians, and people involved in humanities seem unnecessary to our society; however, just like you walk by a bakery, you will be attracted by the “smell” of bread instead of the advertisement or the shop sign. The “smell” of bread means one person’s inherent beauty which cannot be fabricated by other artificial forces. Furthermore, inherent beauty will also change one person’s temperament. Artists, musicians, and humanitarians devote in these accomplishments. Instead of pursuing fame and wealth, this group dedicate themselves into arts and beauties. For example, many legislators fight against each others in legislative council, and they also humiliate each other by saying rude words. This phenomenon is a strong evidence of lacking innermost cultivation which means the cultivation of their “hearts”. Thus, in my opinion, we must not ignore the importance of those art workers. If we can have the sense of appreciating a masterpiece, we can see the bright sight of one person. If we applaud for musicians, we can mold our mentality into a kind-hearted person by watching their performance. If we face some difficulties in our lives, some humanity workers can probably be our mentors. Last but not least, unless we have the healthiness body and mind we can make our nation stronger. In my observation, people seldom notice some masterpieces in artistic fields. People would rather use the money to purchase a well-known brand. So this is our government’s responsibility to promote the beauty of arts and music. The government should provide grant to support those workers, since they are disadvantaged minority in our society. In addition, there will probably become a vicious circle when people discover that if they pursue arts, music, humanities, they will fail. So more and more people will refuse doing that and finally our nation will become a desert of art.
Also Chung Hsing University should do the same thing, too. Since we are famous about our technology of agriculture, the manager of our school doesn’t make any efforts on the field of art. For example, the departments of liberal arts need to share one building and resources. I remembered once when we asked our manager to build one department for us, he just said something sarcastic. He gave us a snobbish attitude, saying unless we dedicate more to our university can we get more funding. I think one university should not be focus on only one field, and each person should have the same opportunity to learn what he wants.
Consequently, the groups of the art works are definitely necessary to our society. Once the government wants to strengthen this country, they should spend extra time and money to develop this part.

Staying or Leaving

Some people would like to observe and learn from their real life by moving from place to place while other would rather settle down in their home town. Both of the positions have their advantages and disadvantages.
In my opinion, when people contact with different countries, they can have an exquisite taste about many experiences, cultures, communities which we may not observe and learn only staying in a particular country. For example, if we take a trip to Egypt, we can see Sphinx, Pyramids, and some unique sculptures. Those historic interests represent one extraordinary culture. People can find out how powerful human being is and realize those valuable spots cannot be replaced and each history cannot be recreated. However, traveling to a new place means that you should rebuild your new relationship. Moreover, one nation has their distinctive conventions and traditions. We may not get used to a new environment and which will probably contribute to some misunderstandings to a certain culture. Thus, complying again and again with one country’s customs is what a visitor must do. When people decide to stay at their sweet home town, they have more chances to discover some charming spots. I agree with that each country has some fascinating customs which needs people to discover meticulously. Furthermore when you travel all around, you must farewell with your family and friends. I think keeping in touch constantly with relatives is what a family member should do.
Some people may say they can find themselves’ drawback during experiencing in different cultures. I won’t disagree with this comment. Besides broadening our horizons when traveling, we may meet some obstacles, too. Like Odyssey in Homer’s epic Odysseus. Odyssey is an arrogant, egoist, shrewd person. He cannot perceive any failure when he is on his way home. After conquering Troy, he can return home safely but he irritates the sea god Poseidon. After hurting Poseidon’s son, his voyage lasts ten years. When he is almost surrenders to those obstacles, he dressed himself as a beggar. Dressing like a beggar doesn’t match his personality. So I think during the period of navigating home, he knows what he should change. The other example is that, in some European countries, the youths take a gap year as the way to prove they can dedicate to their society. For example, England Prince Harry popularized Africa as a Gap Year destination when he volunteered in South Africa in 2004. By experiencing inferior conditions country, people become mature. Nevertheless, going abroad is not the only way for people to know themselves’ drawbacks. If one person has the resolution to turn over a new leaf, he will regard one failure as a valuable lesson. He can definitely accept any kinds of judgments instead of being as stubborn as a mule. In addition, if you choose to take a trip by going abroad will absolutely cost you a lot of money. And I think this kind of grand tour is only accessed by some rich people. Why not just calm yourself down first, and have some introspection while staying in your hometown.
Last but not least, I agree with one remarkable Chinese philosopher, Zhuangzi says that the top state of minds is pursuing a state just like a nature. The nature is peaceful, tranquil, plentiful and joyful. People can realize this state by experiencing different countries which also includes staying their home town. By experiencing different culture, people find themselves complete. Instead of pursuing wealth and fame but absorbing different culture’s baptizing is the final goal when traveling around. So I understand that each person has a different way to fulfill his or her life. No matter in what kinds of circumstances, people should find their suitable way to be connected to the world. That means we should be open-minded. We know that this world changes in every minute. No only grabbing present time, memorizing past days, but also taking a broad view to the unpredictable future. How can we put these into practice? I think the only method is to experience surroundings attentively and receive different customs selflessly.