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Recently, Cai Yuandi, a teacher at the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University City College, published an article titled "Explanation on the high failure rate of the three courses I teach", which caused a stir in the higher education circle. In the article, Cai Yuandi mentioned that the failure rate of the three courses he taught in the 23-24 academic year, "Ancient Chinese", "Ancient Chinese Literature (I)" and "Chinese Classical Philology", exceeded 30%, and he was required to write a statement titled "Explanation on the failure rate of the paper and improvement plan" and submit it before August 23.

Cai Yuandi responded by saying, "First, so many papers failed because I didn't teach well and my level is limited. I'm really sorry. Second, the solution I came up with based on this logic is: please find someone else who can help you."

On the evening of August 13, Liao Zhe, a professor at the School of Humanities of Zhejiang University City College, said in an interview with The Paper that he was currently communicating with Cai Yuandi on the matter. On August 19, a reporter from Xiaoxiang Morning News called the college, but no one answered.

Who is to blame for the high failure rate among college students? What contemporary issues and pain points are worth reflecting on and questioning behind this incident? In this regard, Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter interviewed Chen Zhiwen, academic committee member of the China Education Development Strategy Society, and two college teachers.

The educational quality dilemma behind the "strange phenomenon" of universities

Chen Zhiwen believes: "In fact, this situation has existed in local universities for a long time, and Professor Cai Yuandi's article is like lifting the lid."

An An (pseudonym), a philosophy teacher at a certain university, said: "As a university teacher, I actually share some of the same feelings." Another university teacher, "Yun Zhongyan" (pseudonym), told reporters: "There are many 'weird' phenomena in universities today. For example, some teachers don't prepare lessons, don't make handouts, and don't even have PPTs. They just go to class with their mouths. Some students are also 'weird'. They don't even bring books or pens to class and fall asleep as soon as they get to the classroom."

According to the reporter, some colleges and universities have adopted a "drive-by learning" method, that is, to manage college students as if they were students. For example, students are required to sit in the front row of the classroom and their mobile phones are confiscated, otherwise they will be punished. Some colleges and universities will even inform parents of their children's failures at any time, and force students to "carry schoolbags to class."

In the view of "Yun Zhongyan", these "strange phenomena" all revolve around the dilemma of university education quality, and also reflect the three tensions in current university teaching: the first is the tension between the college's curriculum setting and professional teaching. If the credits and number of courses are unreasonable, students may not have the energy to cope with all courses, and the teacher's class content arrangement will also be affected; the second is the tension between public courses and professional courses. If the proportion of public courses in universities is too high, students may not have enough time to think about major-related issues, and cannot understand the spiritual core of their majors and have no interest in exploration; the third is the tension between teachers' teaching and students' learning. Teachers' teaching abilities must meet standards and students must study hard. Both are indispensable.

After the popularization of higher education, a large number of students lack sufficient learning ability

In Chen Zhiwen's view, with the popularization of higher education, a large number of students who are not good at learning, have relatively insufficient knowledge reserves, or are even unwilling to learn have entered colleges and universities on a large scale. "Yun Zhongyan" also pointed out in an interview: "Nowadays, many students do not focus on learning. Professor Wan Junren of Tsinghua University said that the virtue of students is learning, but in fact, many students have forgotten this "virtue" and do not focus on learning."

Cai Yuandi cited two examples in his article: First, the exam question asked who are the two protagonists of "The Peacock Flies Southeast"? The error rate of this question is over 50%. Second, a student who scored less than 40 points in a certain course in the first course or above will get more than 60 points when retaking the course, especially before graduation. Cai Yuandi said that the difficulty of the test paper has not been reduced, and there is no special care for students who are about to graduate.

On the Internet, some people said that the reason for this incident was "the source of students" and "the vocational school is worthy of its name." According to information, Zhejiang University City College is located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It is a full-time public undergraduate college approved by the Ministry of Education and organized by the Hangzhou Municipal People's Government. It is currently ranked 261st in the China University Rankings by Soft Science.

It is not advisable for college students to be students in charge, and talent training cannot be "one size fits all"

Chen Zhiwen told reporters that in the era of universal higher education, we can no longer use the yardstick of research universities and the traditional elitist era to run a large number of local universities, especially vocational colleges. We need to solve the problem of "different schools, different positioning", especially to change the "same face for all schools" and truly implement the classified evaluation of universities.

"At present, our junior colleges are trying to catch up with undergraduates, undergraduates are trying to catch up with 211, 211 are trying to catch up with 985, and 985 are trying to catch up with Tsinghua and Peking University. This is the biggest problem. We need to consider how to change the training model. Unfortunately, when local universities are 'forced' to position themselves as undergraduates, they still start counting papers right away. This is a serious problem. Junior colleges are always thinking about upgrading to undergraduates, and undergraduates are always thinking about setting up master's programs. Junior colleges and local undergraduates are also aiming to run schools in the model of Peking University and Tsinghua University. This is the root of the problem. In other words, we need to be clear about what kind of talents we are training. There is a type of child who is unwilling to study, he is unwilling to do questions, but he may be willing to get his hands dirty."

In addition to the problem of school-running model, Chen Zhiwen believes that it is necessary to consider the reality that the quality of students will decline after popularization. Chen Zhiwen told reporters: "We cannot let a large number of students fail and fail to obtain graduation certificates. Neither China nor the West can achieve this. We can learn from the practices of Western countries and manage graduation diplomas in a graded manner. For example, most people can graduate, but they are divided into ordinary graduates and honorary graduates. The types of honors can be distinguished, so that the value of the diplomas is different. This not only protects the basic rights and interests of students, but also maintains the quality of higher education, and everyone gets what they want."

In an era where "surrender" has become the norm, we must uphold the responsibility and dignity of teachers.strict

In the Cai Yuandi incident, some netizens questioned, "Who is the protagonist of "The Peacock Flies Southeast"? How does it relate to the students' real development?" In Chen Zhiwen's view, such questions are not the key issue of the incident. "As long as it is within a reasonable framework, it is the right of university teachers to set any questions, and no one can question it. Moreover, as a basic subject, it is disconnected from application. For example, how much does the knowledge learned in the philosophy department of Peking University have to do with reality?"

An An told the reporter: "A considerable number of students do not come to class with the mentality of learning a professional course well, but just want to complete the credits and get a 'good grade' by the way. The school does not look at the process but only the results. Although the teacher has put in a lot of effort and the starting point is also for the good of the students, sometimes he ends up pleasing neither side."

Cai Yuandi mentioned in his article that teaching seriously is his nature and that the spirit of scientific research cannot be simplified. He also said: "'A scholar can be killed but not humiliated.' 'The commander of an army can be deprived of his general, but the will of a common man cannot be taken away.' If I do not believe in and follow these words of the saints, how can I call on future generations to learn? Even if I am over 40 and face the risk of unemployment, I cannot give up my dignity and belittle myself in teaching."

Chen Zhiwen told reporters that the key problem of this incident is the unilateral requirement for teachers to "rectify". "First of all, I think there is no problem with the school's process. It is a responsible approach to ask teachers to analyze the abnormalities found, but it must not be just the teacher's unilateral "rectification". Everyone should dissect this "sparrow" and discuss with the school, teachers and students to find a solution."

"As far as I know, many young teachers have encountered this situation. At the beginning, they are full of enthusiasm and want to teach well. Later, they encounter difficulties and are educated by reality. Then they back off and are no longer so serious. In the end, teachers and students 'water' each other, which is in line with Mencius' words, 'water helps water'... This is also a dilemma for university teachers." An An told reporters frankly during an interview.

Regarding Cai Yuandi's persistence and courage, Chen Zhiwen said: "In an era where 'surrender' has become the norm, Cai's choice is particularly valuable. He has interpreted the dignity and responsibility of teachers with his actions."

Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Zhong Jinhan