This year’s Advanced Subjects Test, the second round of the joint college entrance examination, was held on Friday and Saturday last week.
A number of cram school teachers have analyzed the test questions for the Citizenship and Society subject, and have come to the conclusion that although the test was already more difficult than usual last year, this year’s test was even harder.
Their main problem with the test was that its scope was too broad and the test was too subjective.
It was as if it was trying to trick the students, whose confidence might be impacted negatively as a result, some teachers said.
Some teachers have been calling on the College Entrance Examination Center to return to the textbook materials used previously.
However, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said that some cram school teachers still do not understand, and are not willing to understand, the new trends in education, adding that their teaching might be stuck in traditional aspects such as rote memorization and problem-solving techniques.
Instead of denouncing the test questions, it would be better to spend more time understanding the new trends and reformulating one’s approach to teaching, Yeh said.
His comment was quite right.
Academia Sinica researcher Ma Chung-pei (馬中珮) said that she recalls when she was a primary and secondary-school student in Taiwan, she had to spend a lot of time studying for exams to get high scores and enter into a good university.
She would have preferred to spend more time on her favorite subjects, such as mathematics, science and music, and less time on other subjects in school, but she did not have that choice in Taiwan, Ma said.
Luckily, her son did, because he was educated in the US.
The renowned scientist Albert Einstein loved mathematics and science in high school, and hated grammar courses in Latin or Greek. It was only when he transferred to the free-spirited Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich that he was able to fully play into his mathematical and scientific talents.
In other words, the test questions for Citizenship and Society are not too difficult. Students should try to be flexible and not limit their creativity by learning only what is in the textbooks.
Secondary-school education in Europe, the US and Japan does not only focus on textbooks: Students often read extracurricular books they can discuss in the classroom.
Teachers do not require students to memorize the content of the textbooks, but to be able to discuss and criticize — to develop the ability to think and express themselves. This is perhaps the true education.
If teachers in Taiwan do not change their teaching methods, do not strive for improvement, and only know textbooks and fill in the blanks, then it is no wonder students are not interested in learning.
Teng Hon-yuan is a university professor.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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