Evaluating Chen Shih-chung
The Democratic Progressive Party’s Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who was previously minister of health and welfare and headed the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), gave himself a score of 85 for his performance in the fight against COVID-19. This assessment drew ridicule from Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who told him to “go to hell.”
Curious about how the score was calculated, I gathered information to do the math myself.
The global population stands at about 7.8 billion, and so far about 6.57 million have died from COVID-19 — fewer than 5,000 of whom died in China, where the disease reportedly originated. Since no one believes that last figure, I excluded the Chinese population of 1.4 billion from the calculation. As for Russia, where the media have little freedom to report the truth, I also excluded its population of 144 million. Therefore my own calculation is based on a global population of 6.3 billion.
As Taiwan’s population of 23 million accounts for 0.3 percent of the global population being considered here, 0.3 percent of 6.57 million is 19,710, the projected number of COVID-19 deaths in Taiwan, based on the international level.
However, only about 11,900 Taiwanese have died from COVID-19 so far, which is more than half of the projected deaths based on the global figure. If the number of deaths reached 19,710 in Taiwan, then I would give Chen a score of 50. As the figure stands at just more than 11,900, I would give him a 75.
Did Chen still overrate himself slightly? Looking at previous data, when Chen resigned as head of the CECC about three months ago in mid-July, the number of deaths was as low as about 6,000. Should he not be given 10 extra points for that?
On the other hand, after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan frequently reported zero domestic COVID-19 cases while Chen was in that position, and Taiwan was once seen as a role model for the world in the fight against the disease.
From this perspective, it might be reasonable for him to give himself a score of 85. Ko should have analyzed this with his medical knowledge and should not have lost his common sense as the election campaign heats up.
As Ko is a doctor-turned-politician with an IQ of 157, as he keeps reminding us, the math should not be difficult at all, because even I, with an IQ lower than 100, can do it.
Besides, as a mayor, it is rude for him to blurt out that others should “go to hell.” What is worse is that former Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), who is running for mayor as an independent, burst out laughing with Ko after his remark. This only made me more sympathetic to Chen.
Wang Ming-tsung
Taichung
Reconsider homework
When a doctor recommends a blood test or a vaccine for a child, parents feel sad about the pain the child must endure, but most support the procedure because the benefits outweigh the harm.
However, if somebody suggested sticking needles into our children for no purpose, we would react angrily. Although the child would experience the same amount of pain in either situation, the difference lies in the result. Causing a child to suffer for no purpose is unjustifiable.
Yet in Taiwan, in millions of households every night, children are made to suffer without reason. The perpetrators are well-meaning teachers and administrators who are apparently not aware that they are forcing children to do something that brings no benefit to the child, and might actually harm their development.
A massive meta-analysis of homework found no cognitive benefit from homework for elementary-school students. It is a prime example of children being forced to do something unpleasant for no purpose.
My daughter is in second grade. The time she spends in school should be enough to cover the academic subjects she needs to master, and after school she should be free to play outside, draw, make music, read books for fun, or spend time with friends or family — things that are critical for her emotional, cognitive, physical and social development — but instead she spends hours filling in mindless and repetitive worksheets every night.
She is often not finished by bedtime. The tears, the frustration and the conflict affect not only my daughter, but the entire family.
As parents, we work hard to give our children a good life, but what is the point if they spend their childhoods unhappy?
It is time for the Ministry of Education to heed the science and do what is right for children and their families by banning the assignment of homework to elementary-school students.
Charlie Taylor
Taitung
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