Confucius said: "When three walk together, one must be my teacher." But just who is a suitable choice for children to learn from? And what attitudes are revealed by the choice of material in textbooks and the way it is taught?
According to the traditional definition, naturally textbooks provide the models for study. But Confucius said, "Where you see wisdom, strive to emulate and outdo it; where you see foolishness, take silent warning." The Chinese have a long tradition of modeling their behavior on saints and sages. But the swirling tide of history has cast up many heroes over the ages. Which of them should be chosen as role models for schoolchildren?
Product of an era
Huang Chien-yi, director of the department of elementary education at National Hsinchu Teachers' College, has been involved in the compilation and review of morality textbooks for over 20 years. He recalls that in the 1970s, under martial law, all stress was laid on "national consciousness" and "learning the bitter lessons of defeat." In those days, whether in teaching materials for ethics or in those for Chinese language and literature, which was also assigned the secondary role of "promoting traditional virtues," exemplary role models were everywhere-all of them culled from Chinese historical tales of loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness. In these texts, the highest expressions of virtue were "patriotism" (upholding the authority of the government) and "devotion to the monarch" (personal adulation of the leader).
These textbooks were used for a whole decade, and all those people who are today pillars of society in their thirties and forties grew up in that atmosphere of eulogizing "national heroes." Stories about Sun Yat-sen, who from childhood had the courage to rebel against superstition and who broke the arms off a bodhi-sattva in a temple, and Chiang Kai-shek, who at an early age grasped the meaning of "strive ever upwards" while watching fish swimming upstream in a river, are all branded deeply into their memories.
Apart from the primacy given to ideology, the choice of role models used in the textbooks was also generally limited by the design of the morality courses, and thus was not comprehensive in its scope.
Ou Yung-sheng, president of National Taipei Teachers' College and chairperson of the "morality committee" recently set up by the National Institute for Compilation and Translation, says that the current morality course is made up of units based on individual "virtues," each supported by stories or exemplary personages. For instance, when "selflessness" is mentioned, pupils will think of Wu Feng, who laid down his life for justice; for "patriotism" it is Wen Tianxiang, who in prison held his head high and valiantly intoned the "Song of Righteousness"; the eternal exemplars of "keeping one's word" are Fan Shi and Zhang Shao, who came on time to a rendezvous arranged two years earlier; Huang Xiang, who at a tender age learned to "air the sleeping mat and warm the quilt" for his father, is the model of filial piety. . . . Within this format, the ancient sages and people of virtue cannot be fully and faithfully represented; just a small selection of their worthy deeds is chosen to "symbolize" the virtue in question.
No place for the living?
Interestingly, if one leafs through the textbooks which came into use in the late 1980s, one finds that as well as people of ancient times, quite a number of great international figures are also included. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Mother Theresa and the inventor Thomas Edison are all paragons of virtue familiar to children today.
The inclusion of a large number of international figures began with the new revision published in 1987. Huang Chien-yi recalls that when the revision was being prepared and the call went out for suggestions, almost all the teachers who responded said: "Don't use any more historical role models"-because these often stereotypical, dogmatic personages did not arouse any interest whatever in the children. Be that as it may, these textbooks, which are still in use today, include quite a number of historical figures, especially junior high school Chinese textbooks. In the many stories of these characters' deeds, the sense of their exemplary status is still very strong.
But shouldn't learning begin from what children see and hear around them? Why are figures close to them in time and place so rarely included in textbooks? Apart from political leaders such as ROC founding father Sun Yat-sen, the late President Chiang Kai-shek and the revolutionary hero Huang Xing, contemporary figures really are few and far between. Cheng Feng-hsi, the physically disabled author of A Boat on the Boundless Ocean, and Chienkang Kindergarten teacher Lin Ching-chuan, who died after returning to a burning bus to try to save the children in it, are almost the only examples.
Education Reform Group Institute director Ting Chih-jen, who is currently writing a primary-school social studies textbook for a private-sector publishing company, says that textbooks have always been treated as "bibles" by schools, so the figures chosen for inclusion in them seem to acquire a special aura. Unless one can find people who are universally esteemed, one is apt to be lambasted for including one but omitting another, or one's choices may be praised by some but opposed by others. Thus the whole thing becomes a thankless task.
For instance, in the classroom, some teachers encourage their pupils with the story of Taiwan's "god of business" Wang Yung-ching, who started with nothing and succeeded by his own efforts. But if he were to be included in the textbooks, one can imagine that the environmentalists who oppose the development of the petrochemicals industry in Taiwan would protest, and this would detract from the original purpose of his inclusion.
Furthermore, points out Professor Yu Han-liang, now in his eighties, who was for many years a compiler of primary school "life and ethics" teaching materials, the Chinese are in the habit of "not passing judgement until the lid is on the coffin," and the reputations of the living may change. "Difficulty of interpretation and many variables" are factors which cause textbook compilers to be very cautious.
Paragons repel, idols attract
So just what kind of people have the most powerful "exemplary" effect on children? And who can children identify with? Associate Professor Hsieh Li-hung of National Chang Hua University of Education's department of guidance, who carried out a review of junior high and elementary school morality courses for the Ministry of Education two years ago, says that children naturally learn by "observation" and "imitation"-but for them to be willing to imitate, certain conditions must be met.
The first is similarity of background, to give children the sense of closeness that comes from belonging to the "same group"; also, one should understand children's psychology and "appeal to their preferences." For instance, if one wants teenagers to give up smoking, one can recruit pop idols such as Takeshi Kaneshiro or the LA Boyz, who the children are more likely to identify with. If the role model can appear in front of the children often, so that the example is repeated, the effect will be greater.
Secondly, the actions of these role models should be within the scope of what children are capable of "reproducing." If after imitating the role model, children receive praise from parents and teachers, this will reinforce their motivation to "emulate and outdo."
"In the light of these requirements, historical and mythical personages really don't have much influence on children," says Hsieh Li-hung. For instance, among the "24 paragons of filial piety" which even today are included among elementary school children's standard reading materials, we find Wang Xiang, who "lay on the ice to [melt it and] catch carp" and Tan Zi, who "disguised himself as a deer to get milk." But for the vast majority of children, who live under quite different circumstances, these can only provide a vague, sentimental concept of filial piety, and children below about seven or eight years of age may not even be able to appreciate this abstract sentimental notion. Hence such tales are likely to have a very limited effect.
For example, when fourth-grader Lin Chen read the stories of Bi Sheng and Edward Jenner in her Chinese textbook, she spent the whole time wondering what the movable type Bi Sheng invented looked like, and why Jenner didn't invent a vaccine which didn't leave scars. But the virtues stressed in the text-"careful experimentation" and "perseverance"-made no impression on her.
A new morality for a new age
Furthermore, although the notion of modeling one's behavior on that of the great and the good is central to the teaching of morality, what is greatness, and what is goodness? There are no immutable standards.
"Moral values are the product of a culture, a generally accepted set of social norms," says Ou Yung-sheng. Although moral values all exhort people to do good and be honest, their specific content may vary with time and place. But individuals presented as paragons are constrained by a specific background of time and place, and as these change, they may well become divorced from current realities.
Ou raises some examples: "Was Hua Mulan, who 'joined the army in her father's place,' guilty of misrepresentation? Did 'knocking a hole in the wall to steal light' involve the destruction of public property? The 'three obediences and four virtues' expected of females in ancient times are roundly criticized today. Isn't the story of Guo Ju-one of the '24 paragons of filial piety,' who was willing to bury his beloved son alive in order to concentrate on looking after his aged mother-the clearest example of people being the victims of traditional morality? And is the way Shi Kefa was cruelly sacrificed, out of loyalty for the muddleheaded last ruler of a collapsing dynasty, the kind of sentiment we want to promote in a democratic age?"
Meanwhile Tien Kuang-fu, a director of the April 10 Educational Reform Alliance and chairman of the Taipei City Parents' Association, says that moral education should be rooted in the time and place of one's own life, and Taiwan today is a democratic, open and pluralistic modern industrial society. This is a situation never seen here before, but our education system does not seem to have developed a set of moral values appropriate to this time and place, and still less has it produced textbooks based on such values.
Moreover, in the process of textbook compilation, there are aspects of how role models are presented which deserve to be reconsidered. History textbooks simply present the facts without making many moral judgements, but in most other textbooks, in order not to "confuse" pupils, "bad people doing bad things" rarely appear, and when they do they are often "simplified" by a black-and-white representation of good and evil.
"Those presented as good and loyal are sure to be portrayed as utterly loyal and filial, either saints or sages, whereas those portrayed as evil and treacherous will be reviled by men and gods and abhorrent to Heaven." For example, says Ou Yung-sheng, whether it be Yue Fei and Qin Hui of the Song dynasty, or "national hero" Chiang Kai-shek and the "bandit" Mao Zedong, they are all presented in black-and-white terms, as utterly good or utterly evil.
"But are the good really entirely good, and are the bad really bad through and through?" Ou comments that in fact the stereotyped images produced by this black-and-white view are of no help to pupils in understanding the complex and multifaceted realities of society. And what makes educators most "uneasy" about the Chen Chin-hsing case is precisely that it publicly broke down the simplistic view that "villains have no humanity, so someone with humanity can't be a villain." Not only impressionable schoolchildren were confused: from the many views expressed in street gossip on the subject, it was apparent that even in the adult world there was a sudden crisis of confidence in the distinction between "good" and "evil."
Positive and negative examples
The controversy over whether Chen Chin-hsing should be included in textbooks highlighted the issue of whether it is appropriate to put negative figures into textbooks and teaching materials. After all, even old Confucius was not against his students "seeing the foolish and taking silent warning" as well as "seeing the wise and wishing to emulate and outdo them." Yet most scholars have a particularly cautious attitude towards such an approach.
Huang Chien-yi notes that negative characters who "turn over a new leaf" can of course be studied. For instance, the story "Zhou Chu Destroys the Three Scourges," which illustrates the virtue "having a sense of shame," is one of children's favorite exemplary stories. But, says Huang, before using a completely negative character who is a failure to the end in school texts, one must consider very carefully.
"If the final outcome is that 'the villain receives punishment under the law,' this retaliatory conception of justice is an extremely low-grade type of moral value, and is of no help in raising a child's moral awareness," explains Huang.
"There are already far too many negative characters giving negative examples in the cinema and the media. Every day when we turn on the TV, all the news is worrying, and what happens? Young people follow the bad examples they see." So says Professor Wu Wu-tien of National Taiwan Normal University's special education department, who is currently writing a group activities textbook for a private publishing company. He believes that even if negative characters inevitably come to a sticky end, unfortunately "some children don't care about the outcome, but are simply attracted by the excitement of the story." Whether in the Chen Chin-hsing case, or in cops and robbers films in the cinema, the media generally play up the troublemaking forces of evil, and even if they finally get their come-uppance, they impart the pathos of a tragic hero. Of course, says Wu, one should do one's utmost to avoid negative examples of this kind in textbooks.
But is it not precisely because negative role models are so ubiquitous in the media, that trying to create a beautiful and harmonious fictitious world in the textbooks is self-deception? Furthermore, if what is written in textbooks bears no relation to what children see and hear around them, will this not also lead to hypocrisy and confusion in their moral values?
This is true enough, but: "To have children learn from a negative example is not as simple as presenting exemplary figures and saying 'do as they did.' It means spending more time and effort interpreting the stories for the children and discussing them with them, and in the current situation where moral education is only a subsidiary subject with inadequate teaching resources, this is no easy matter," says Hsieh Li-hung with regret.
No more "see no evil, hear no evil"
Ever since Chen Chin-hsing's capture, Shih Ying, founder of the Humanistic Education Foundation, has wanted to produce a booklet about the case, bringing together experts in education, sociology, psychology and other fields to make a deep analysis of it. Shih admits that to this day, he is "intoxicated" with the events of the night of Chen Chin-hsing's hostage-taking and siege. He says that of course evil actions must be censured, but why do such evil actions exist? There must be some more fundamental problem. Examining the issue from the perspective that people are basically good by nature, of course evil actions are not the result of people being "devils incarnate" or "born bad," but are the cumulative result of many internal and external wounds and abuses.
"We should carefully study such cases to discover the reasons behind the evil actions, and we should also admit that this world is far from perfect. In particular, it is often the failure of the adults around children to do their job properly which is behind children's 'going bad,'" says Shih Ying. He stresses that a deep sense of morality is rooted in understanding and tolerance: "If adults don't have the courage or the will to admit their mistakes in front of children, how can they expect children to have the ability to wake up to their own faults?"
Shih believes that as a major case which has rocked society, the Chen Chin-hsing case, like the Li Shih-ke bank robbery case of some years ago, will be among the shared memories of a generation, and as such will have a long-lasting impact on society. "A speedy trial and verdict and a swift execution may perhaps let society quickly return to calm, but we might miss a good opportunity for moral reflection and clarification," says Shih.
Wu Wu-tien says that by presenting only positive role models, current moral education deliberately obscures the darker side of life and the reasons for it. The theoretical background to this is a belief that children are not mature enough to make proper judgements. To prevent the "bad" element in children's natural character being awakened and tempted, some people sincerely believe that "if one doesn't let children come into contact with bad people and bad things, they will not turn bad."
Of course, this kind of thinking has its inadequacies. "For fear of children getting ill, one can't simply deny the existence of germs," says Wu Wu-tien. In his view, only by "immunizing" children-presenting them with a realistic view with both positive and negative examples, and so training their capacity for moral discernment and judgement-can one give them a mental rock to hold fast to when faced with all kinds of temptations, so that they are not easily led astray.
No "instant" morality, please
An utter lack of training in making moral judgements and in thinking critically about moral values is the biggest problem perceived in current school morality education. In Ou Yung-sheng's view, complete development of moral character comprises some four stages. The first is perception of morality, such as understanding the meaning of such virtues as "filial piety" or "sincerity"; the next is building a sense of identification with moral role models and norms; the third is children making moral decisions themselves; and the final stage is that when children have internalized a set of moral values, they will hopefully act in conformity with them.
Currently education in Taiwan mainly stresses the first and second stages, by pouring moral precepts and role models into the pupils' heads as knowledge, and then testing their grasp of this moral knowledge by means of examinations. This style of teaching very often concentrates on trifles to the neglect of essentials. For example, says Ou Yung-sheng, in primary school "life and ethics" classes, the virtue "patriotism" used to be illustrated by the story of the famous general Luo Fuxing, who resisted Japanese rule in Taiwan. The story tells how Luo indefatigably went all over Taiwan using guerilla tactics to attack the Japanese colonial forces. But oddly, questions like, "In which year did Luo Fuxing attack the Japanese at such-and-such a place?" turned exams into tests of history and geography.
"The kids were all very patriotic to start with, but after learning a lot of facts about Luo Fuxing by heart, they started to feel that patriotism was a real bore!" says Ou Yung-sheng, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
He goes on to say that the use of exemplary role models for teaching morality is based on a "behaviorist" theory of psychology, and stresses building habits of morally correct action. For instance, the highest purpose of human life is defined as "serving others," with such people as Sun Yat-sen and Albert Schweitzer presented as examples. But if pupils are unwilling to perform even the simplest little service, like sweeping the classroom, they are punished. Thus they "learn" good actions such as service under the control of a system of rewards and punishments.
When morality is defined in terms of behavior, little attention is paid to the question why. For instance, why should serving others be the highest purpose of human life? Why should children honor their fathers and mothers? Why should prostitution and gambling be forbidden? Such questions are ignored, as are the intangible emotional aspects of morality, such as self-esteem, self-respect, caring for others, and even a sense of shame, a sense of guilt, moral courage and so on. Thus morality can easily become superficial or even a complete sham, adopted for show but not practiced in reality. In other words, under these circumstances moral actions never advance beyond the stage of "heteronomous morality" [imposed by outside authority], and are unlikely to come from the heart.
If the development of morality is seen as a three-stage progression from a "premoral" stage, through a stage of "heteronomous morality" to one of "autonomous morality" [based on personal conviction], says Hsieh Li-hung, "then because Taiwan's children are used to being fed with dogmatic know-ledge, they can quickly leave the premoral stage and reach the stage of heteronomous morality. But if they do not gain a deeper ability to make their own judgements and appreciate things from their own experience, they may never go beyond the heteronomous stage." Hsieh says that the moral cultivation of children in other countries is not as "quick" a process, but is more thorough- going and durable.
According to the theories of educational psychologist Jean Piaget, children around eight or nine years old are able to ask questions like "Why is that allowed?" and "Why is that not allowed?" This shows they are acquiring a sense of morality. Parents and teachers should value this development and listen to children's questions and doubts, and should certainly not rebuff them with authoritarian responses like, "Do as you're told and don't ask so many questions," for this will only create a sense of aversion to morality in the child.
Start from the child's own feelings
Huang Chien-yi notes that moral education based on presenting exemplary characters gives children no scope for questioning and judgement. Hence the newest textbook edition, which came out in 1996, has begun to stress "starting from pupils' feelings." It first presents situations such as: "A close friend asks you to help them cheat. Should you agree?" to examine the children's thinking and reactions, then uses a question-and-answer discussion instead of authoritarian spoon-feeding of knowledge. In the future, there will be less and less call for the old exemplary personages, and the type of moral education based on prescriptive role models which has been practiced for many decades may soon become a thing of the past.
Huang Chien-yi also reveals that in a future textbook edition which is still at the experimental stage, historical and mythical exemplary personages have almost disappeared, and the few remaining representative persons are all taken from daily life. The old style of teaching loyalty and filial piety by expecting children to model themselves on saints and sages is to disappear.
For instance, in the experimental teaching materials for higher elementary school grades, the three representatives chosen to illustrate the virtue "patriotism" are the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, the Chiayi Charitable Group, and the Hsinchu Science Park. "Cloud Gate have incorporated Chinese culture into modern dance, the Chiayi Charitable Group express their love for their homeland by building bridges and roads, and the science park has brought together the talents of many returning Chinese to create a second economic miracle for Taiwan," explains Huang Chien-yi. As for the virtue "benevolence," the choices are the highly conservationist "ecology speech" of a Native American chief, and the compassionate priest who covers up for a thief in the French novel Les Miserables.
Thus in the future although children will still be expected to study "patriotism," that "patriotism" will no longer be "loyalty to a ruler," and the focus will have moved from the greatness of individual sentiment to the strength of popular unity; and although children will also still study "benevolence," it will no longer be the top-down benevolence of "loving the people as one's children," but benevolence in a broader sense of loving people and nature, in keeping with the worldwide environmentalist trend.
Of course, "ideology" still influences the choices made, and three themes-Chinese culture, love of the Taiwanese homeland and an international outlook-seem to dominate by unwritten agreement. But, says Huang Chien-yi with a smile, political ideology has faded into the background, and issues such as "equality of the sexes" will be the main considerations in the future. Although today women still largely appear only in the pictures, in the future the achievements of women will be another major focus of the textbooks.
Looking at the meanings behind the role models presented in school textbooks, one discovers that although the question "Can Chen Chin-hsing be brought into the textbooks?" seems a trivial one, it is in fact a very difficult issue.
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The teachings of venerated sages and paragons of all kinds of virtues were once the mainstream of moral education, but today they have been brought into question.
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Seeing children earnestly reciting is a touching sight, but is the goodness, truth and beauty expressed in the poetry imprinted in their hearts? (photo by Vincent Chang)
p.119
The great emperor Yu, who labored day and night to save the people, quick-thinking Sima Guang, who smashed a cistern to rescue a friend, Ouyang Xiu, who, having no paper, wrote in the sand in his determination to study. . . . The deeds of the ancients have accompanied many generations of children as they have grown up. Pictured here is a painting of Emperor Yu taming the waters, painted by Xie Sui of the Qing dynasty after a Tang-dynasty original. (courtesy of the National Palace Museum)
p.121
In an age of pluralism and democracy, veneration of heroes is a thing of the past, and the aura around political leaders has long since faded; "cool guys and hot girls" have become the mainstream. Pictured here is a scene at the Democratic Progressive Party's ninth anniversary dance.
p.123
The sage-like philosophers of the textbooks seem far removed from everyday life, but popular idols have become young people's role models. Here is a scene from a concert in Taiwan by US superstar Michael Jackson.
p.124
Rather than studying morality and looking up to exemplary figures, is it not better to take nature as one's teacher and cultivate an outlook on life that seeks harmony rather than fame and fortune? Our picture shows an open-air class at the Forest Elementary School. (photo by Vincent Chang)
In an age of pluralism and democracy, veneration of heroes is a thing of the past, and the aura around political leaders has long since faded; "cool guys and hot girls" have become the mainstream. Pictured here is a scene at the Democratic Progressive Party 's ninth anniversary dance.
The sage-like philosophers of the textbooks seem far removed from everyday life, but popular idols have become young people's role models. Here is a scene from a concert in Taiwan by US superstar Michael Jackson.
Rather than studying morality and looking up to exemplary figures, is it not better to take nature as one's teacher and cultivate an outlook on life that seeks harmony rather than fame and fortune? Our picture shows an open-air class at the Forest Elementary School. （photo by Vincent Chang）
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