Chapter 148: Do Not Fill the Brain, Let the Mind Flow!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The College Entrance Examination held in every province all across the state began on the 1st of July and ended on the 2nd of July.

On science subjects, the performance of the Little Star Second Gen learning machine drew much attention and shocked the one billion population throughout the country. In more than 30 mathematics papers with a total point score of 150, the device hit a complete full score. In more than 30 comprehensive science papers with a total point score of 150, the device hit a complete full score as well. In just these two papers, the Little Star learning machine obtained 450 points… enough to get enrolled in many of the second-tier universities in many provinces.

For Language and English, Little Star could obtain at least half of the total points. Therefore, adding another 150 points, the total points would be 600. With this total mark, not to even say first-tier universities, even attending most of the key universities would not be a problem. With a Little Star Second Gen learning machine, one could easily get themselves admitted to a good university. The ability of the device shocked the whole nation and triggered a humongous wave of discussion that swept through society!

People were all discussing; with the existence of such a machine that could solve all questions, what was the meaning of the students studying so hard? What impact would it cause the duck-filling exam-oriented education system in the Z nation?

There were several representing articles that had been endorsed by countless people.

“Our education should not be stuffing the brains of our children, but to let their mind flow freely!”

An article produced by a well-known expert in the education field stated, “Over these years, I have been criticizing the exam-oriented education system, calling for them to reduce the strain shouldered by our children and not to let them solely learn from textbooks. Every aspect such as athleticism, innovative thinking abilities, and moral education must all be pushed! Our children must not become the slaves of knowledge. Exam-oriented education that only drowns the brains of our children must not be continued! But my callings have not received support, only mockery. The principle of Maotan secondary school, Mr. Wei, criticized me for my ‘foul’ intentions and for being a servile follower of the foreigners. He stated that exam-oriented education is the basic condition of our country, it is the most unbiased educational system and is the only way for poor students to alter their fate. He also said that only by improving the marks of our high schoolers can more talents be produced, which will increase the amount of gratitude we will receive from the parents.”

The expert continued, “I always feel that Mr. Wei’s concept is somewhat problematic, and the system must not be embraced. But I have lost, and Mr. Wei has won. The students thanked him. The parents thanked him. Me, on the other hand, who called to reduce the burden on our children, was admonished. The number of enrollments across the ‘exam factories’ throughout our nation has never declined. But now, I want to ask all the Mr. Wei’s out there: You transformed all of our children into exam machines, and now a genuine exam machine has appeared. The Little Star learning machine can casually get into first-tier universities. Can the students produced by your ‘exam factories’ surpass the Little Star learning machine? Maybe some individuals can surpass the machine, but so what? The knowledge contained in their brains are rigid, their minds are not flowing. So, how far can they go in life? Can they be better than the Little Star learning machine, which is certainly more powerful?”

The article went on, saying, “When those students with normal talents get familiar with the Little Star learning machine, master the system’s learning methods. and become capable of tackling difficult problems, where is the competitiveness of the students produced by your ‘exam factories?’ It is time for a complete education revolution. When humans start to become more inferior than tools, there will be no need for us to compete with the tools, a human can never win! The only place we can emerge victorious and the only things left for us is our athleticism, our versatile thoughts, and our innovative mind, which is by default our fort as humans! Now, there is a greater need for us to strengthen these abilities. Parents and all the Mr. Wei’s out there, from today on, please do not stuff the brains of our children, but let their mind flow freely!”

An article written by a student’s parent was also widespread with over 100 million views.

“It is time to stop the arms race: I’m a normal parent and a mother that wants her own son to achieve great success in life. My husband’s income was at satisfactory levels, positioned at the higher end of the middle tier range. I have a child. I cherish him so much, as he is my everything. I hope for him to grow up happily. But when my child was three, I enrolled him into an ‘Interest Class,’ as all the kids in kindergarten had done so. When he was six, despite the long distance, I still sent him to the city’s most prestigious noble primary school, with 80 thousand annual tuition fees. During his six years in primary school, every year on average, I enrolled him into eight training courses, 120 hours of home tutoring, and as for activities held by the school organization, seven times per year on average, with each of them costing 5,000 dollars and above. Six years down in primary school, my child learned piano, dancing, conducting, hosting, drawing, Go, calligraphy, and other skills, totaling 20. Expenditure wise, totaling the fees, it cost 1.83 million dollars, and this expenditure was considered at the bottom among his classmates.”

The article continued, “When my child entered junior high, I realized that my family’s financial ability could no longer support my child’s educational expenditures. The annual tuition fee for the noble junior high in the city was 210 thousand. Adding up with additional fees, total expenditure was over 400 thousand a year. This was almost at the limits of our capabilities. In spite of that, my husband and I still enrolled our child into many costly training courses. Even if we did not have enough money, we would endure through them gnashing our teeth, because we wished for our child’s success, we wished for a bright future for him! But one day, I realized that it had been a long time since my child smiled. His body had become skinny and weak. Every week, his time spent on learning was over 60 hours. He almost never watched TV, or played games. The only thing he was doing was learning. Despite his efforts, and not wanting to disappoint me, he was still at the rock-bottom in class for every exam. One day, I went through his diary. He said he wanted to die, and that life had no meaning. I was stunned, I cried and said to my child that I’m sorry, mommy’s wrong, mum will never force you to learn again. My child sensibly said that he was fine and that he was just writing a few words of complaint. He asked me not to worry.”

The mother continued and wrote, “But how could I not worry? From that day onwards, I had nightmares every single night, I feared that my child would do something stupid. He was just acting as usual, occasionally squeezing out a smile in front of me, but I, on the other hand, became more and more uneasy. I felt that the distance between us was growing. It wasn’t until that afternoon that I found a few sleeping pills in my child’s pencil case. The very next day, I withdrew my child from school and brought him to the psychologist for counseling sessions. I can lose anything but my child! Even if he cannot be a successful person, I just wish that he will grow up healthy and always stay by my side.”

After this emotional story, the article got to the main point. “In June this year, my child and I came to know some news about the Little Star learning machine. Two days ago, the Little Star learning machine sat for the College Entrance Examination and obtained a full score in many papers. My heart was relieved in an instant. My vision widened, giving birth to deep regrets. Yes, a learning machine can easily obtain a better grade than a child who worked hard for years. What is the reason for us to ask our children to obtain higher marks? A machine, way ahead of all parents, has appeared. In the arms war between us parents, what is the meaning behind all the sacrifices we had made? In the face of the cold and emotionless marks, the happiness of our children is priceless. The nature of our children is priceless. The health of our children is priceless! At that moment, I was enlightened. My child also said to me with a face filled with curiosity, ‘Mom, I want a Little Star learning machine.’ I told him I would buy him one, definitely! Even if it costs 100 thousand for a unit, it was still nothing compared to the price we had paid in the past. My heart was finally relieved. He felt it as well, and he won’t consider doing stupid things ever again. Thank you Little Star learning machine for saving my family and giving us hope.”

Except for the two articles above, scientists in the scientific community also jointly appealed to the country: commence education reformation immediately!

The scientists wrote in their proposal, “This is an era of information outbursts; the amount of knowledge is experiencing explosive growth. Some knowledge at university level had been lowered down to senior high level, knowledge at senior high level had been lowered down to junior high level, and the textbooks for primary schoolers already contain some content that is meant for junior high level. But even if we are learning things ahead of time, there is a limit to the brain capacity of humans, and yet knowledge is forever expanding. No matter how talented students are, they can never be able to grasp all knowledge! Learning with a tool is starting to become very important. We should popularize the Little Star learning machine to cultivate our children’s creativity and exercise their innovative thinking abilities. A different approach must be practiced on learning knowledge. Duck-filling education that forces our children to learn by rote must not be exercised! The advent of the Little Star learning machine proves that the ability for a machine to learn far exceeds humans. It is telling us that our exam-oriented education has come to a dead end and our paths must be altered. Now, the time has come for us to reform our education system!”

After the Ministry of Education received the joint proposal letter from the scientific community, relevant personnel immediately replied, “We are working on a reformation plan to conduct a major revolution towards the educational system!”

On the second day, revolving around the proposal by the scientific community, the higher authorities had a discussion meeting, and a major decision was announced on the same day. “Under the premise of ensuring fairness, we are currently studying educational reform plans. After the plans mature, it will immediately be tested in one or two provinces within the state. If the reformation plan shows significant results, it will be implemented across the whole state! If the results are not significant, we will adjust the plan and continue attempts until the best results are obtained. Only then it will be implemented elsewhere.”

In short, the education system of Z nation will definitely undergo reformation! Once this news was announced, the whole nation erupted in enthusiasm and jubilation.

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