In a recent survey aimed at researching on how many students have told lies or fabricated stories in their composition assignments in order to get high scores when they were attending primary or middle schools, more than third of 2639 students confess that they used to adopt one of them. According to the survey, it can be easily concluded that either telling lies or fabricating stories is very popular among Chinese students. To get a high score, making stories is apparently not a good example students should follow; but is that really a bad thing for students’ ability of creativity? Who should be responsible for the tragedy of score-targeted learning? This following essay will try to carry a research on the reasons for the popularity of story-making among Chinese students.

Before analysis on the probable reasons for the phenomenon, people have to be clear of two relationships in composition learning. The first one is the relation between output and input. The “input” means what a student has learnt from daily study, including both of those knowledge acquired from teachers and witnessing from society around them; while the “output” means things which a student is able to use in dealing with problems. Only when students are equipped with a certain quantity of “input” can they make use of them freely in their “output”. Therefore, the “input” founds the basic for the “output”. Strangely, most people in China have understood the relationship in an opposite direction. Either teachers or students, or parents, they all ignored the role of “input” playing in students’ composition learning, as a result of strongly requiring students’ “output”. Namely, students are always expected to write as much as possible but without reading stories or collecting materials from surroundings in an equivalent degree. Much worse, they are forced to take a variety of interest classes in their spare time instead, which results in not only lacking of certain materials but also interest in composition writing. Therefore, they have to rely on fabricating stories to appeal to parents and teachers with a relatively higher score.

Another relation is between aim and means. As known for everyone, people have to rely on proper means in the process of achieving their ultimate aims. However, the premise is that they ought to make it clear of their aim. Then, they can make a clearer analysis on deciding on efforts to achieve their goals. For Chinese students, getting scores as high as possible is often deemed as the ultimate goal of their learning; for only a higher score can make it possible to attend a better school. Deeply, this is owing to the shortcomings of the existing education system. Making a story itself is a reflection of students’ ability of creativity and imagination. What either teachers or parents should do is to try to explore the genius deep in students but not forbid for the excuse of wasting time in achieving in a higher score. Apart from the system, the tradition of pursuing for the ultimate product rather than exploration into inner ability plays a significant role in the misunderstanding of the relationship. The whole society all admires the growth of GDP every year, thus creating an atmosphere of rapidly catching up with the other developed countries in the world. It is the radical attitude that forces teachers and parents to instill the concept of pursuing aims into students’ learning process.

From all have discussed above, it can be concluded: it is because of misunderstanding of the two relationships between input and output as well as between aim and means in parents and teachers that makes it possible for students’ inclination to tell lies or making stories in their composition assignment. Not only the existing education tattoo me now system, the entire society is responsible for those promising future’s lack of loyalty.

China · Fabricating · Responsible · Story · students

Here I am, sitting behind my computer, finishing my travel schedule for the coming 4 weeks. The destination is excited and simple: China. With a short stop in Dubai, to see some Arabic sand, I will fly from Amsterdam to Beijing. I have visited Beijing before. Last year I crossed Tian’anmen square many times, to visit the Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China, Park of the Altar of Heaven and Tsinghua and Peking University. This year, I hope to visit more interesting places in the city.

The second destination is Chengdu. I have been there before and the main purpose is to meet old friends and to visit locations I did not had the chance to visit them before.
My Chinese friends told me that I they would not allow me to fly to China without visiting the World Exposition in Shanghai. I have never been in the city before, and I am very excited to go there. If time allows me, I will not hesitate to visit the surrounding cities as well, such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, and maybe even Nanjing.

Overall, I am very excited to go back to China again. I hope I will be able to visit many old and new places, but most of all, I hope to meet old friends and make many more new ones! In short: China, here I come!

China · city · come