I-Search Paper
Introduction: I did this writing assignment at the first semester of grade 10. This assignment is to do research on the topic of Generations. I mainly focused on the education of three generations, which includes my grandfather, my mother, and me.
Reflection: I think the hardest part of this assignment is research. If I have to do this assignment again, I would interview more people so that I can make the information more accurate. I think I did well on getting primary source of historical information from my family. I talked to them, and they would tell me their story. The thing that I learned from doing this assignment is how quickly time changes, and the things people learn is changing, too. Therefore, I’ll keep learning even after I leave the school.
Reflection: I think the hardest part of this assignment is research. If I have to do this assignment again, I would interview more people so that I can make the information more accurate. I think I did well on getting primary source of historical information from my family. I talked to them, and they would tell me their story. The thing that I learned from doing this assignment is how quickly time changes, and the things people learn is changing, too. Therefore, I’ll keep learning even after I leave the school.
Laura Li
English II
Mr. Ward
10/25/2013
The Education of Three Generations
Part I: Introduction
Before I started doing the research, I know that education is very important to people of all generations, because it can change people’s lives. However, since China is a quickly developing country, the education of different generations is very different from each other. Therefore, I want to know more about the education of different generations, so that I can know the lives of different generations, and the development of the society.
Part II: What I Want to Learn
In this research, I want to learn several things. First, I want to learn what kinds of education that people from three generations had. Second, I want to know how what we learn affect our lives. Third, how the things we learn caused the differences between generations.
Part III: The Story of My Research
The story of my research includes three parts.
The first part is an interview of my mother and my grandpa. I chose to interview them because they are from two generations. I hope to find out what kinds of education they had when they were young, and how their education affected their lives. In the interview of my grandpa, he told me that when he was young, most people didn't go to school, because for farmers, learning how to take care of plants is more important than reading and writing. Luckily, my grandpa went to school, because he likes to study. The school he went to was a very “traditional” school, which is called the old-style private school. In that school, they only study Chinese, and books written by Confucius. The books they read are actually all about truth of life, but the teacher wouldn't tell them the meaning of the books. His teacher was a very strict man, if they didn't do well, the teacher would beat them. The teacher would teach them how to read and write, and then let them recite the books. When my grandpa finished middle school, he became an apprentice of an herbalist doctor for a few years. Later, after he started working in a local hospital, he got a chance to learn medicine in collage. After he graduated, he became a real doctor in a big hospital. That’s how the education that my grandpa had.
In the interview of my mother, she told me that when she was young, all the schools are founded by government, and there wasn't any international school in China. Most children in cities went to school, and the things they learn are almost the same. Their subjects include Chinese, Math, PE, English, Biology, Chemistry and Physical Science. However, the things they learn at school are influenced by politics a lot, especially their leader Chairman Mao. Most children went to primary school and middle school, but after that, some of them went to work, and the others went to high school and college. My mother studies very hard and her grades were very good, so she went to one of the best universities in China after she left high school. My mother told me that, at that time, studying can change their life. If they get good grades at school and during the exams, they could go the best universities. After they graduated, they will have good jobs. However, it is very hard to change one’s life by just study hard these days.
From the interview, I learned that in my grandpa’s generation, most people were farmers, so education wasn't really important for them. However, my grandpa likes to study, and he went to school. Studying changed his life, he became a doctor in a big hospital, and he lived in city after he graduated, while the others were still farmers. In my mother’s generation, most people were workers, so people were not rich, or poor. Most children in cities had chance to go to primary school and middle school founded by government, and the competition wasn't so terrible like these days. At that time, study hard can change people’s lives, but if you don’t study hard, nobody will blame you. The reason is that parents usually will have more than one child, so children don’t have so much pressure from their parents.
The second part is the information from a book called Tuesdays with Morrie. In this book, Morrie, as a college professor, always passes some life lessons to his student Mitch and some students from Mitch’s generation. I hope to find Morrie's opinion about Mitch’s generation, and how he educates Mitch. From the book, Morrie thinks that Mitch’s generation is poor and selfish, and they don’t really think about the truth of life. They are so wrapped up with egotistical things. People should learn how to love each other, and devote ourselves into our community. In the book, Mitch said:“Each time we talk, he listens to me ramble, then he tries pass on some sort of life lesson. He warns me that money is not the most important thing, contrary to the other popular view on campus. He tells me I need to be ‘fully human.’ He speaks of the alienation of youth and the need for ‘contentedness’ with the society around me.” (Page 46-47)
From the book, I learned that good education is so important for people, especially people from Mitch’s generation, because the world is getting more and more complicated, and people can get lost easily.
The third part is the information from an article named Generations, which comes from Made in China, Discovering Today’s Culture in Modern China and Its Future. From this article, I hope to find what kinds of education that three generations had from another family. From the article, Li Wu, who is about the same generation as our grandparents, never had education. The reason is that “This was down to the fact that his family did not have enough money. Some families did manage to save enough money to send a child to school and priority was always given to sons.” That’s what the article tells me about Li Wu’s generation.
Li Wang, who is about the same generation as our parents, had enough education. “More and more people like Li Wang were able to get a decent job in the city thanks to their schooling and earn enough money to bring their families out of poverty but it wasn’t always easy. Li Wang’s generation struggled to get the skills needed to get a job even with an education because China changed so rapidly.” That’s what the article tells me about Li Wang’s generation.
Li Pan, Who is about the same generation as us, has very good education since he was really young. “He has very good English and is much more technologically advanced than his parents. There is a lot of pressure on children to do well since they are an only child and competition is fierce. These days having an education does not guarantee you the best possible life. Li Pan needs to prove he is talented.” That’s what the article tells me about Li Pan’s generation.
From the article, I learned the education that our generation have is better than our parents’ and my grandparents’ generation, so I know that the education is getting better and better among each generation. However, there is lots of pressure on children these days, and they have to do well in school, because there are too many students wish to go to the best schools, so only the best students can go to those schools.
Part IV: Reflections on My Research
I learned that in my grandpa’s generation, only a few people had education, and even fewer people went to school. Also, there were no standard subjects that they should learn in school. In my mother’s generation, most people in the cities went to school and had enough education. At that time, all the students learn the same thing at school. In my generation, all of the children go to school from six to sixteen. After they graduated from middle school, they can choose to go to high school and college, or they can go to work. There are many kinds of schools we can choose to go to, because there are local Chinese schools, international schools or bilingual schools. However, students these days have lots of pressure, both from their family and teachers. They should study hard, because they are the only child in their families, so they are the only hope. On the other hand, there are too many students wish to go to the best schools, so the competition is terrible.
On the other hand, education affects people’s lives a lot. Sometimes, it can bring people out of poverty, or it can make people’s dreams come true.
The thing that surprised me most is how quickly the world changes. From my grandpa’s generation to my generation, from books written by Confucius to our K12 courses, there are huge differences between the things we learn.
Now, after I wrote this paper, I know how quickly the time changes, and the things people learn is changing, too. Therefore, I’ll keep learning even after I leave the school.
English II
Mr. Ward
10/25/2013
The Education of Three Generations
Part I: Introduction
Before I started doing the research, I know that education is very important to people of all generations, because it can change people’s lives. However, since China is a quickly developing country, the education of different generations is very different from each other. Therefore, I want to know more about the education of different generations, so that I can know the lives of different generations, and the development of the society.
Part II: What I Want to Learn
In this research, I want to learn several things. First, I want to learn what kinds of education that people from three generations had. Second, I want to know how what we learn affect our lives. Third, how the things we learn caused the differences between generations.
Part III: The Story of My Research
The story of my research includes three parts.
The first part is an interview of my mother and my grandpa. I chose to interview them because they are from two generations. I hope to find out what kinds of education they had when they were young, and how their education affected their lives. In the interview of my grandpa, he told me that when he was young, most people didn't go to school, because for farmers, learning how to take care of plants is more important than reading and writing. Luckily, my grandpa went to school, because he likes to study. The school he went to was a very “traditional” school, which is called the old-style private school. In that school, they only study Chinese, and books written by Confucius. The books they read are actually all about truth of life, but the teacher wouldn't tell them the meaning of the books. His teacher was a very strict man, if they didn't do well, the teacher would beat them. The teacher would teach them how to read and write, and then let them recite the books. When my grandpa finished middle school, he became an apprentice of an herbalist doctor for a few years. Later, after he started working in a local hospital, he got a chance to learn medicine in collage. After he graduated, he became a real doctor in a big hospital. That’s how the education that my grandpa had.
In the interview of my mother, she told me that when she was young, all the schools are founded by government, and there wasn't any international school in China. Most children in cities went to school, and the things they learn are almost the same. Their subjects include Chinese, Math, PE, English, Biology, Chemistry and Physical Science. However, the things they learn at school are influenced by politics a lot, especially their leader Chairman Mao. Most children went to primary school and middle school, but after that, some of them went to work, and the others went to high school and college. My mother studies very hard and her grades were very good, so she went to one of the best universities in China after she left high school. My mother told me that, at that time, studying can change their life. If they get good grades at school and during the exams, they could go the best universities. After they graduated, they will have good jobs. However, it is very hard to change one’s life by just study hard these days.
From the interview, I learned that in my grandpa’s generation, most people were farmers, so education wasn't really important for them. However, my grandpa likes to study, and he went to school. Studying changed his life, he became a doctor in a big hospital, and he lived in city after he graduated, while the others were still farmers. In my mother’s generation, most people were workers, so people were not rich, or poor. Most children in cities had chance to go to primary school and middle school founded by government, and the competition wasn't so terrible like these days. At that time, study hard can change people’s lives, but if you don’t study hard, nobody will blame you. The reason is that parents usually will have more than one child, so children don’t have so much pressure from their parents.
The second part is the information from a book called Tuesdays with Morrie. In this book, Morrie, as a college professor, always passes some life lessons to his student Mitch and some students from Mitch’s generation. I hope to find Morrie's opinion about Mitch’s generation, and how he educates Mitch. From the book, Morrie thinks that Mitch’s generation is poor and selfish, and they don’t really think about the truth of life. They are so wrapped up with egotistical things. People should learn how to love each other, and devote ourselves into our community. In the book, Mitch said:“Each time we talk, he listens to me ramble, then he tries pass on some sort of life lesson. He warns me that money is not the most important thing, contrary to the other popular view on campus. He tells me I need to be ‘fully human.’ He speaks of the alienation of youth and the need for ‘contentedness’ with the society around me.” (Page 46-47)
From the book, I learned that good education is so important for people, especially people from Mitch’s generation, because the world is getting more and more complicated, and people can get lost easily.
The third part is the information from an article named Generations, which comes from Made in China, Discovering Today’s Culture in Modern China and Its Future. From this article, I hope to find what kinds of education that three generations had from another family. From the article, Li Wu, who is about the same generation as our grandparents, never had education. The reason is that “This was down to the fact that his family did not have enough money. Some families did manage to save enough money to send a child to school and priority was always given to sons.” That’s what the article tells me about Li Wu’s generation.
Li Wang, who is about the same generation as our parents, had enough education. “More and more people like Li Wang were able to get a decent job in the city thanks to their schooling and earn enough money to bring their families out of poverty but it wasn’t always easy. Li Wang’s generation struggled to get the skills needed to get a job even with an education because China changed so rapidly.” That’s what the article tells me about Li Wang’s generation.
Li Pan, Who is about the same generation as us, has very good education since he was really young. “He has very good English and is much more technologically advanced than his parents. There is a lot of pressure on children to do well since they are an only child and competition is fierce. These days having an education does not guarantee you the best possible life. Li Pan needs to prove he is talented.” That’s what the article tells me about Li Pan’s generation.
From the article, I learned the education that our generation have is better than our parents’ and my grandparents’ generation, so I know that the education is getting better and better among each generation. However, there is lots of pressure on children these days, and they have to do well in school, because there are too many students wish to go to the best schools, so only the best students can go to those schools.
Part IV: Reflections on My Research
I learned that in my grandpa’s generation, only a few people had education, and even fewer people went to school. Also, there were no standard subjects that they should learn in school. In my mother’s generation, most people in the cities went to school and had enough education. At that time, all the students learn the same thing at school. In my generation, all of the children go to school from six to sixteen. After they graduated from middle school, they can choose to go to high school and college, or they can go to work. There are many kinds of schools we can choose to go to, because there are local Chinese schools, international schools or bilingual schools. However, students these days have lots of pressure, both from their family and teachers. They should study hard, because they are the only child in their families, so they are the only hope. On the other hand, there are too many students wish to go to the best schools, so the competition is terrible.
On the other hand, education affects people’s lives a lot. Sometimes, it can bring people out of poverty, or it can make people’s dreams come true.
The thing that surprised me most is how quickly the world changes. From my grandpa’s generation to my generation, from books written by Confucius to our K12 courses, there are huge differences between the things we learn.
Now, after I wrote this paper, I know how quickly the time changes, and the things people learn is changing, too. Therefore, I’ll keep learning even after I leave the school.