1960s And 1970s Essay

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Pages: 7

Interview about the Chinese education in the 1960s to 1970s
The interviewee for this assignment is my mother: Xiaowei Xia. My mother is 54 years old now, and she received her education in the 1960s to 1970s in China. The 1960s to 1970s was a hard time of education in China because of the Cultural Revolution. Most secondary-schools and universities were stop to operate. However, the elementary school and secondary school system were still operating during this period. To my mother, the Cultural Revolution did not influence her education very much. In this historical period, the personality cult of Mao Zedong and the belief towards communism reached their heyday. Education in this period definitely emphasized on the cultivation of children to form the correct philosophy of life rather than academic achievement. It meant that students should learn how to respect and follow the ideology of Mao and his communism. Excellent academic achievement was not necessary to pursue advanced education that was not available
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Most contents of textbooks in this period were related to the praise about Chairman Mao and communism. Many literatures, speeches, and poems by Mao were collected in textbooks, and students needed to memorize most of them as the primary task for study. All teachers would analyze these writings of Mao cautiously, and then they could teach the core theme of these writings to their students. Students were taught that all good flowed from one man, and this man was Chairman Mao (“Mao Who?” 2001).My mother still remembered the first few words she learned: “Long Live Chairman Mao” (毛主席万岁). From the beginning of their elementary education, students in the 1960s to 1970s must be learned how to respect and being loyal to their great leader. The textbooks definitely played a significant role to this