When discussing education, modern parents generally oppose rote memorization. The term "rote learning" evokes images of disregarding children's interests and comprehension levels, often associated with their distress. Many parents and teachers have recognized the dangers of rote learning and are adopting approaches that allow children to learn through joy and play. This is undoubtedly progress in education.
Yet, a certain form of indoctrination disguises itself—wearing the mask of "joy" and cloaked in the guise of "play," making its indoctrinating nature difficult to detect.
The other day, a friend brought her child over to play. The child, not yet two years old, was fascinated by the brightly colored stacking rings and sat on the floor to play with them.The child's mother sat nearby, ready to guide her, instructing: "Start with the big one, then the small one." After the child stacked just two rings—naturally not in size order—the mother promptly intervened: "That's not right, you need to start with the big one," her tone gentle as she removed the incorrectly placed ring. She then held up the largest ring:See, this blue one is the biggest. We start with this one." The child continued stacking. Whenever the child made a mistake, the mother immediately pointed it out and helped correct it. And when the child got it right, the mother was certainly generous with praise and encouragement. With her mother's help, the child soon stacked them all correctly. When the mother clapped and praised her for doing a great job, the child smiled, but I felt like there was something missing in her eyes.Throughout the game, the child didn't seem unhappy, but wasn't this still a form of indoctrination?
Let's peel back the layers of indoctrination step by step.
Did the child truly learn? Under her mother's guidance, the child might "learn" to stack the towers quickly, but she likely only memorized the sequence (children's memory is indeed astonishing) rather than genuinely grasping the concept of size.
Is the child truly happy? During the game, the mother didn't seem to force the child, and the child smiled, appearing joyful. But does this happiness stem from the game itself, or from the applause after winning? In reality, the adult imposes their will through psychological cues and inappropriate encouragement: mistakes are corrected, while following the adult's method earns praise.
Is the child interested? The mother, driven by an adult's efficiency mindset, seeks to quickly impart the concept and knowledge of size. Yet she denies the child the opportunity to explore and make mistakes independently. Can the child's interest endure under such conditions? Sure enough, after two minutes of play, the child began to show signs of boredom.
How fundamentally different is this approach from rote teaching? Seeing her waning enthusiasm, I said, "Come on, Auntie will play with you for a bit." I first demonstrated the correct sequence, deliberately starting with a mismatched piece: "Oh dear, it won't fit. Let's try another one." After the demonstration, I let her try on her own.When she picked the wrong piece, I didn't stop her. Instead, I said, "Okay, give it a try... Hmm, nice! It fits, though it seems a bit small." Whether she wanted to switch or not, I let her continue. Once she finished all the pieces, I remarked, "Great job! That's one way to do it. There are still two left unmatched. How about we try a different method?" At this point, her interest was reignited, and she began fiddling with the pieces herself, trying this and that.Seeing her focus and engagement, I remained silent, signaling to her mother with a glance not to correct her. When she kept making mistakes, to prevent frustration, I’d pick up the correct piece: "Try this one, how about it?" For a nearly 2-year-old, this game wasn’t difficult. Though she’d never played it before, she quickly grasped the pattern after a few tries.When she finally succeeded in stacking them, she looked at us with excitement, her eyes truly sparkling.
I recall an educator once saying, "Every time you give a child an answer, you deprive them of a learning opportunity." I deeply agree with this. Moreover, I believe that giving a child the answer at the wrong time is essentially forced indoctrination, even when done through fun and games.