New Challenge In Kids Education

    Today, children's education is far different from what it was in 20th century. Lots of sources for education usage can be found via the Internet and other multimedia information, like HD TV or radio, which are becoming popular recently. As a result, I envy those children who were born in twenty first century. However, on the other hand, I worry about the quality of the information that would be confusing for children and parents choosing material because of the accuracy and validity of the information. In addition, the increasing difference of attitude toward education between school and parents is the cause that makes 80's and 90's children more vulnerable under stress.

    Twenty years ago, education sources were found mostly through teachers. As long as I can remember, cable TV wasn't developed at that time, neither were personal computers, and few parents were well educated (graduate degree or more). In Chinese tradition, teacher is a job earned as much admiration as doctor. In Taiwan, because of the influence comes from China, parents respected teachers very much in 20th century. Unlike today, teachers were given much power educating and punishing students. When I was a fifth-grade student, physical punishment was very usual for teachers punishing students, including caning and standing or kneeling in the corner for hours. Most of parents, at that time, were not doubt on what the way teachers use to keep their children on the right track. Once I complained to my father about the way teacher punished me after the class, I got another punishment from him because he trusted teacher's judgment and thought I deserved to be punished.

    Today, more and more parents are reluctant to bear more than one child; as more education as parents received, they prefer to focus more on family education than on school education. Thus, the social position of teacher is not that significant than what it was in 20th century. In addition, the Internet technology shortens the distance among people. Information can easily found within several clicks and it often costs nothing to acquire. Teachers' influence is not as noticeable as before, so there is fewer people want to be teachers. Therefore, the quality of today's education is worrisome.

    Furthermore, parents need to keep their eyes on choosing information sources for children. Today's diverse TV programs and web sites contain not only positive influences, but also negative influences. Parents have more responsibility choosing material for children. Because information is also updated in a fast pace, students themselves need to keep up with the trend and learn new things spontaneously. In short, parents need to be careful about the information sources; students are not going to rely too much on teachers; teachers will be subsidiary in the future.