"On one hand, there is a severe shortage of scholars. Back in the days, the ability to establish academies one after another on Mount Tai of Qingzhou was entirely because I had plundered the entire Yuzhou, abducting nearly all the scholars. Now, these scholars are far from enough, even if one scholar were to teach ten it still wouldn’t suffice," Chen Xi said with a wry smile.
Back then, when Chen Xi took the scholars from Yuzhou, it indeed caused quite a stir, but in the end, under the repression of the Library Pavilion, the matter blew over, and an educational frawork was barely established. However, as Liu Bei’s territory expanded more and more, the scholars gradually beca insufficient.
Chen Xi always believed that one teacher guiding five students at a ti was an appropriate level. Taking on ten students already ant so are neglected, and with twenty students, it’s almost as if they’re left to fend for themselves.
The shortage of teachers is a significant issue. In the past, Chen Xi’s worries were about insufficient money and grain, making it unsustainable. Now, money and grain are no longer problems, but the number of teachers has beco the issue.
As for quickly training teachers, Chen Xi had considered it, but under the current circumstances, the last batch of barely qualified students eligible for the great examinations were only a dozen or so, and as for those who passed, to be honest, Chen Xi didn’t hold back; there wasn’t even one who t the passing criteria.
With this level of quality, even with Chen Xi’s generous standards, it took three years to barely teach over a hundred qualified students. As for teachers of higher standards who could teach others, forget it; Chen Xi simply gave up.
It was precisely because of this that Chen Xi ca to realize that for most students of this era, the majority of the knowledge he imparted held little significance. They were either pursuing the free al or the craft skill.
Even those genuinely seeking knowledge, for the common folk of this era, had no conditions to apply what they learned. It’s much like the future of China’s English classes, where ninety percent study English but rarely use it.
This led to most children of this era initially being extrely enthusiastic about learning, with their families willing to go to any lengths to support their children’s education. However, after so ti, they realized that learning these characters had nowhere to apply. Once the initial excitent faded, once the idealism returned to reality, people of this era question its value.
Clearly, for most average people, it’s challenging to truly grasp and understand everything taught to them in such a short ti. For these students, a free al and learning a skill to make a living are far more valuable than incomprehensible words and nurology.
After all, geniuses in this world are extrely scarce, not to ntion those living in ordinary families destined not to inherit refined wisdom from their ancestors, nor receive the right education at the right ti, nor engage in corresponding practice.
Without these elents, even with the sa intellect, the wisdom shown under influences of social environnt, exposure, and perspective would differ vastly, which is why Chen Xi’s educational system has not produced a sage from ordinary backgrounds.
No matter what, teaching by example and social environnt significantly impacts a person, and the education Chen Xi constructed, under such short conditions, is insufficient to change a person. Of course, it’s not impossible, but the cost is trendous.
"In conclusion, everyone here is aware of the current situation. This was one of the four tasks I took on at the ti. What do you think I should do? Should I extend the education period, find more scholars, or directly change the educational model to one that suits the needs of the people?" Chen Xi spread his hands and looked at the people around him.
After listening, Chen Qun and the others all appeared thoughtful. Chen Xi’s question is very clear, but the answer to this question could affect society for the next hundred years or more.
Choosing to extend the education period would not only double the costs; leaving aside where those scholars and teachers would co from, but the re point that, as the education period extends, the common folk will genuinely learn knowledge, which will impact society fundantally.
Chen Xi’s current education model has very little impact on the Great Aristocratic Family who have been practicing elite education for hundreds of years. Once the education ti is extended, providing a complete education like the aristocratic family to the common folk, within at most three generations, the aristocratic family would be finished.
After all, the aristocratic family only accounts for one percent of the population. Even if the proportion of sages is slightly higher, compared to the vast base of ordinary people, their only path is to perish.
It can be said that choosing to extend the education period would cause a trendous impact on the currently stable social structure, leading to a radical change in the current social structure.
Hence, Chen Qun and others imdiately rejected extending the education period; it’s almost the natural instinct of the aristocratic family for self-preservation.
As for the second type, vocational education, only conducting basic education to make the common people literate and understand simple nurology, providing them with basic abilities to continue learning, and then teaching them professional survival skills, this seems very appropriate to these people.
After all, the danger of the second type is significantly lower than the first. Though there are those few extraordinary individuals who break through, that essentially belongs to unforeseeable factors.
"The first type is challenging to achieve, too many students and too few scholars. More importantly, the common folk might not necessarily want these things. Didn’t you ntion before that they are more interested in survival skills?" At this point, naturally, it was Chen Qun who stood up.
"The problem is that the first type can create a large number of middle-level cadres, making the entire organizational structure more reasonable," Chen Xi furrowed his brow and said.
Chen Xi also knows how difficult it is to implent the first type, but when it cos to conquering Central Asia and the Kushan later, if it’s simply a matter of conquering, that’s not a problem; as long as military power is strong enough, it can be done. But if it is to be managed, the organizational structure is unavoidable.
Although Chen Xi doesn’t have a habit of slaughtering, he absolutely wouldn’t hand over the territory he painstakingly conquered to the locals for managent, as people not of my clan are bound to have different intentions; this point Chen Xi very much agrees with, so a large number of middle-levels are undoubtedly needed.
Indeed, various Great Aristocratic Families can pull together so barely usable middle-levels, but Chen Xi can’t exclusively use the aristocratic family; maybe in the future, but certainly not at the beginning. This ans Chen Xi must have a large number of ford middle-level cadres.
As for how to create a large number of middle-level cadres, Chen Xi can think of only two ways: one is a pure military managent model, and the other is to expand the scale of education, extend the education period, broadly disseminate education, and cultivate many middle-level civil officials.
In fact, the biggest issue with this approach doesn’t lie in the impact on the aristocratic families and social systems that Chen Qun and the others think, but in how people later perceive the issue when these individuals gain official positions through education.
If this situation becos a societal phenonon, those scenarios from the Song and Ming Dynasties—where people beca adept at sycophancy and factionalism, focusing on party struggles instead of the nation’s welfare—are bound to sooner or later occur.
Because civil officials gaining positions is too easy, bypassing the military rit system and avoiding the battlefield slaughter, this path looks safer and more reliable, and more importantly, easier, as exam fraud is far easier than battling in the warfield.
So, Chen Xi presented this option, as this mode of extending education is indeed unsuitable for the present, and its various drawbacks are too nurous to count. As long as Chen Xi’s mind is intact, it’s impossible for him to choose this imperfect thod at this unsuitable ti point.
Moreover, offering these two choices to those present, this option that is destined not to be selected, isn’t it just a way to make waste useful again and extract sothing valuable? Who would have thought Chen Xi would be short on manpower!"
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