The school may be \”second-rate\”, but you are not

There is a stratification and classification standard for China\’s good universities on the Internet, which classifies universities into flagship universities, famous universities, A-tier universities, B-tier universities and C-tier universities. Although this classification keeps saying that it is not based on word-of-mouth or school status such as \”985\” or \”211\”, I glanced at the 108 universities it classified, and it is obvious that they are still the same as the \”good universities\” we know. Yes, that is to say, it is still inseparable from word-of-mouth and \”985\” and \”211\”. For many students and parents, this classification is of reference significance before applying for schools, but is this also the actual situation? Dear book friends, starting today, we will read \”Excellent Sheep\” together. This book is divided into 12 chapters in total. You can read one to three chapters every day based on the 10 theme points I have broken down. It is recommended to finish reading Chapter 10, pages 175 to 185 today. Before you start, you may wish to think about the following questions: 1. In your eyes, private schools are better than public schools? 2. Do you agree with the \”strict admission and lenient exit\” mechanism in Chinese universities? Many people around me, including myself, lamented that when filling out applications for the college entrance examination, they were completely \”resigned to fate.\” We don’t know what kind of school we should apply for, what is the difference between school A and school B, and why 985 and 211 colleges are better… In short, we have many questions and we are very confused. But no matter how troublesome it is, we still have to fill in a few schools on the application form. What should we do at this time? We will check the university rankings. We know which universities are good and which are average based on the rankings, and we also mentally define those institutions that fail to make it into the rankings. However, \”Excellent Sheep\” tells us that such lists often compare two unrelated schools, or make meaningless ratings between two very similar universities. The ranking reflects the school\’s market position, rather than the school\’s educational atmosphere and teaching quality. Someone once asked the author for advice: Should I go to Harvard, Yale or Stanford? The author smiled and asked, \”Which of the three campus colors, crimson, bright red and royal blue, do you like?\” In the author\’s opinion, there is no substantial difference between these top schools. And if students can find a school that truly cares about their students\’ growth, it will be far better than such top schools. So how can we find a school that is truly concerned with student growth? Should we all send our children to liberal arts colleges that provide liberal arts education? In fact, it is not necessary, public schools are a good choice. Many people believe that the quality of education in private schools is much better than that in public schools. After all, the children of the upper classes are educated in private schools. For example, a British international school in Beijing has an annual tuition of more than 100,000 or 200,000 yuan, and countless celebrities\’ children attend this school. Once there are many news reports like this, the public will naturally think that the education in private schools is better than that in public schools. But public schools have an advantage that private schools can’t match—diversity. Maybe you will say that today\’s top universities are also diversified. Students come from all over the world, but they have different skin colors and different countries.Is it diversified? Not really. Maybe for kids who go to a top school like Yale, if one classmate is from Missouri and another classmate is from Pakistan, or if one classmate plays the cello and another is good at hockey, then this is diversity, but They forget that the parents of these classmates are doctors or bankers. In other words, these students did not hang out with “all kinds of people,” as they put it. In fact, their classmates are all the same people. They only have different races, skin colors, and genders, but their class is the same. Their economic conditions are not diverse. Public school education may not be personalized in the first two years of college, but the truly diverse family and social backgrounds brought by the student body are a hidden and high-value educational resource. The students in a class are not only racially diverse, but also have very different growth paths and family conditions since childhood. In such an environment, every time students receive a point of view in class, they dare not easily use abstract concepts or quote other people\’s analytical conclusions to make up for it, because there may be people sitting in the class who know a certain field or point of view very well. . In addition to the advantages of diversity, the academic style of public universities is also more rigorous than that of top universities. Because the first priority of professors from top universities is academic research. If a student misses the exam time, the teacher will give him another chance to pass the test, and a tacit understanding between teachers and students will not offend each other. But public school teachers are stricter. Professors don’t have to worry about offending future alumni or hurting students’ fragile self-esteem. These schools place more emphasis on teaching, so teachers pay more personal attention to students. We must admit that today’s universities are “strict in entrance and lenient in exit”. We studied hard for twelve years, passed the college entrance examination, and got the admission notice from the ivory tower. When we get to college, it is not difficult for us to graduate successfully. Graduation is no longer linked to CET-4 or CET-6, nor does it require a GPA of 4 or above, nor does it require any honors. As long as you don\’t fail the course and pass the thesis defense, you can wear your bachelor\’s cap and graduate successfully. It is not difficult to pass the course and graduation thesis. Teachers usually highlight the key points before the exam, and the tutor will check the thesis before it is finalized. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, as long as you work hard enough and enter a top prestigious school, there are basically not many obstacles in your life. The author strongly opposes this view. In his view, the exit of university education is as important as the entry. When we choose a school, we must consider how it will help us transition from undergraduate to post-college life. When new students are admitted, many universities simply hand over the course catalog to the students, hold an orientation ceremony, and then exit to let the students start to feel the stones to cross the river. When students are about to graduate, they just make a last-minute effort and simply package vocational skills as leadership and “sell” them to them. An ideal school should set up some courses when freshmen enter to help students discover new things and become more independent. Public schools have always done a good job in this regard. For example, Lawrence University in the United States has provided \”Introduction to Liberal Arts Education\” to freshmen since 1945.course. In this class, students discuss big questions about life and human nature, such as what it means to live a good life. In addition, the course will also cover humanities subjects such as Einstein, Stephen Gould, Plato, and Virginia Woolf. Even if you choose this type of public university, don\’t think that you can be a \”hands-off shopkeeper\” and pass all the responsibilities of education to the school and teachers. As a student, you must learn to take control of your own education rather than letting education control you. First of all, teachers are key. Therefore, when we first arrive at university, we must have a keen sense to quickly find mentors and have the courage to build relationships with them outside of the classroom. Second, be sure to listen to your gut and choose a major that will excite you for four years. Please remember that college belongs entirely to you. College represents an opportunity in life. Treat this opportunity well. Don’t rush to become the person you have planned in your heart. Instead, become the person you have never met. That better version of yourself!