(Wen Rumin, Guangming Daily, June 12, 2013)
Once upon a time，We are worried about universities sticking to the “ivory tower”，But today，When universities open their arms to society，When we are no longer separated from real life，The intrusion of some social trends has caused us to once again explore the proper meaning of universities。Professor Wen Rumin uses simple and vivid language，Thoughts on universities returning to their original meaning from the perspective of university academics and talent cultivation，It’s worth pondering。
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If you do not correctly understand and adhere to the "original meaning" of university，Not working on the “big deal” of undergraduate education，I just want to invest some money and get results and talents immediately，Then the so-called "innovative talents" are just a bubble
The original meaning of university is to cultivate talents,Cultivating Undergraduate Students，Is the foundation of the entire university education。Students of this age are entering adulthood，In the golden period of life，Their outlook on life、World view，Academic Interests、Knowledge structure and future development direction，Mainly established during this period。Can a person who has received systematic education form a sound personality and psychology，Can you develop good study habits and continuously improve your behavior pattern，Whether you have the basic knowledge and abilities needed for future career development or entry into scientific research institutes，A lot depends on the undergraduate level。So from the perspective of talent training，In all stages of education，Undergraduate degree is undoubtedly the most important。Compared to professional graduate education，Undergraduate education is more basic，It is holistic education、Professional education based on general education，Discipline scale requirements need to be improved，There needs to be more investment in teachers and other aspects of education，Requires cooperation from all aspects，Requires considerable academic accumulation and "small environmental climate"，The overall cost of education is higher，And it is more difficult to show "results"。If a major has one or two academically strong teachers，Have corresponding teaching conditions，Recruited another master’s or doctoral Bet365 gamesstudent with good potential，It takes a few years to write a good paper，Or win important projects，It’s not difficult to do。But we must run a certain undergraduate department well，Some outstanding talents can be cultivated among students，Requires a lot of academic accumulation，It will be difficult to do it in the short term。Which university did an outstanding talent come from，People generally pay more attention to their undergraduate degree，Instead of graduate student。What awards has a university received，How many papers are there，What projects have you had?？People may not remember，But which outstanding talent comes from which university and which department，Everyone still understands it clearly。So，Undergraduate teaching should be the core criterion for measuring the level of a university。
The problem is that this principle is now generally ignored。Impetuous and overjoyed mentality，Make many university administrators look upward，They all hope to get more PhD points、Key disciplines and projects，Fighting back and forth，Most universities can train graduate students and even have doctoral programs，The university focuses almost all its energy on doctoral programs and scientific research projects，Undergraduate teaching is getting less and less attention，As a result, more and more doctors and masters are being recruited，"Don't wash the mud when the radish is too fast"，Quantity versus quality，The decline in training level is an indisputable fact。Undergraduate degree，It’s called general education，In fact, most of the teacher’s thoughts are on obtaining scientific research data，Few people care about the cultivation of college students。The "original meaning" of university is abandoned like this。Nowadays, we are always calling for the cultivation of “innovative talents”，If you do not correctly understand and adhere to the "original meaning" of university，Not working on the “big deal” of undergraduate education，I just want to invest some money and get results and talents immediately，Then the so-called "innovative talents" are just a bubble。
How can we change the culture of universities eager for quick success，Come pay attention to undergraduate education？The key is that education management and academic management departments must reform the existing evaluation system，Not based on thesis、Determine the number of projects，Not one size fits all，Let us pay attention to undergraduate education、Distinctive schools and departments have promising prospects，Having a sense of accomplishment，Get benefits。This issue has been discussed for many years，We need to reflect seriously，Determined to promote reform。
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Universities are being coerced by the so-called "review culture"，Conform academic evaluation to Bet365 games"human feelings"。Hello, hello, hello, everyone，Life is good，But learning is boring
20 years ago，Master’s or doctoral thesis review is very serious，The review system was not as strict as it is now，Mainly depends on the teachers’ consciousness。At that time, most professors were still in awe of academic dignity，Don’t dare to “let go” easily。I remember that I graduated with a master’s degree from the Chinese Department of Peking University in 1981，Nineteen students from the whole department，Three people failed to pass the defense。Real criticism and arguments at the defense meeting，It’s normal。The overall level of dissertations during that period was very high，One of the reasons is that there is strict review and control。
Although there is a review system now，For example, anonymous review of doctoral thesis，But often in vain。Some schools provide external review for doctoral dissertations，The list of reviewers may be designated by the instructor himself，They all invite some "easy to talk" comrades，Invited review experts，I also fully understand who directed the thesis，Tacit understanding，I can only say something complimentary about the paper，It is rare that the quality is too poor and gets stuck。This level is in vain。Arrived at the second level，Enter thesis defense，This time we are face to face with the instructor，Even more polite，Even if there are criticisms，It’s also “a little scolding but a big help”，Few people dare to stick to principles，Vote against unqualified papers。Some teachers think that the defense is actually to help people，If you stick to your principles，voted against the unqualified paper，Or the criticism is too strong，I’m afraid that my students will suffer a “loss” in their defense in the future。I have no choice but to base my academic evaluation on “human feelings”，Hello, hello, hello, everyone。What’s the result，There are very few doctoral dissertations that are not passed during review and defense。The review system is there，Experts participating in the review may also be knowledgeable，But everyone is subject to this "human sentiment" trend，Even in the face of poor papers，I finally let it pass。Experts can only follow the crowd，If you compete in knowledge，On the contrary, it seems out of place，Who is serious about learning，The fewer people invite him to review。And what about the students，Seeing the so-called review defense is just that，The sense of academic dignity is gone。This is the so-called "review culture"。
In fact, it’s not just a thesis review，In other aspects such as teaching review、Project Review、Professional title review，Bet365 Casino loginetc.，Similar to each other，They are all coerced by this "review culture"。
In this "review culture" atmosphere full of compromise，No matter how good the system is，Also fictitious。Is there any way to curb this unhealthy trend from the system？Hello, hello, hello, everyone，Life is good，But learning becomes boring。Not long ago I read the article "Intellectuals" by Mr. He Huaihong of Peking University，Putting independence as the first priority》，Calling for the exploration and protection of knowledge，There are already many similar reminders，I still feel quite emotional after reading it。In recent years, many scholars have admired Chen Yinke’s “independent spirit”，But where is the independence？Only in the imagination that rebels against the powerful words of reality？Or only in "angry youth style" happy articles？In a space where you can be completely "independent"，Have we all given up the necessary "independence" again？
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View of life、Cultivation of world view，Originally, it is the proper meaning of university education，Even more important than knowledge acquisition，But the snobbish notion that people study for a living is hollowing out the bedrock of university culture
Compared with the 1950s and 1960s，Even compared with college students at the beginning of reform and opening up，Nowadays college students seem too sophisticated、Shrewd。It can be said that the "four major doctrines" are popular nowadays，includes individualism、Money worship、Hedonism and vulgar realism，Filled many college campuses。Why？Of course it is related to the entire climate and environment，But review from the perspective of school education，There are also direct reasons。
Why go to college？Entrance education may also explain some big principles clearly，But in fact the concept of running the school is pragmatic，This cannot but affect the growth of students。I went to give lectures at a university in the south，A freshman student complained to me: it was their first class in college，It was actually taught by a teacher from the “Employment Office”，It talks about how to prepare to find a job。This classmate said，Oh my god，I was so breathless by the college entrance examination in middle school，It was easy to get into college，There will be pressure to find a job again！This classmate’s complaint，It is worth pondering for our university administrators。Although employment of college students is indeed a big problem，The school cannot ignore it，But university education is all controlled by the indicators and needs of "employment"，The original meaning of university education is bet365 online gameslost。In this atmosphere that is completely practical and practical，There is no place for idealism？
Also，The content of ideological and political education that we have focused on for many years is outdated，Crude method，Unable to answer students’ doubts based on real-life problems，It is more difficult to help students establish lofty ideals。Learned in class，You may be deconstructed and subverted by the vulgar atmosphere after class。Require students to understand the history and current situation of the country，Carry out patriotism education，is required。In our socialist country，Providing core value education to students，Also required。But it can’t be blunt、Forced “indoctrination”，Cannot be someone who preaches from a high position，Out of touch with reality，The feasibility of acceptance by the new generation of students must be fully considered。
What’s more important，Education also needs to increase worldview、View of life、The weight and content of values，Provide spiritual nourishment for the all-round development of people。Outlook on life and worldview，The basic view that determines the meaning of life and the value of the world，Including the meaning of life、Truth, goodness and beauty、The nature of life and death、Man and nature、Human nature and society、Principles of social justice、The bottom line of ethics，etc.，These problems are all fundamental，Involving the basic views on life and society，Some are even rich in philosophical meaning，Involving ultimate care。Discussion and exploration of these original issues，It also leads to the outlook on life、Establishment of world view，It may fundamentally determine a person’s life pursuits and their thought and behavior patterns。This outlook on life、Cultivation of world view，Originally, it is the proper meaning of university education，Even more important than knowledge acquisition。We should reflect on our ideological education，Find ways to increase the effectiveness of ideological education，Vigorously strengthen the education of students’ outlook on life and worldview。Maybe we can’t change the entire social trend，But at least the university should be somewhat ideal，Some pursuit，How much responsibility can you take on the spiritual high ground。
(The author is a famous scholar，Distinguished first-level professor of liberal arts at Shandong University，Formerly served as the director of the Chinese Department of Peking University)