Recently, the results of the re-examination of the 2024 juvenile class of Xi'an Jiaotong University were released, and 247 people are planned to be admitted across the country, all of whom are junior high school graduates, under the age of 15.
This also means that if you are admitted to the junior class of Xi'an Jiaotong University, you can enjoy the "one examination and three examinations" - exemption from the high school entrance examination, college entrance examination, and graduate examination, and obtain a master's degree in 8 years.
The news caused heated discussions on the Internet, and the comments were polarized, with some netizens saying that these children are the future of the country, and the junior class can help them grow up according to their aptitude. There are also netizens who oppose it, believing that the juvenile class is a failed talent selection method, which will involve children in educational competitions and bring learning anxiety to the society.
On April 3, Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, analyzed in an interview with Jiupai News that this shows that the public, including some parents, has a more rational and three-dimensional understanding of prodigies than a few decades ago, "From my personal experience, there is no need for parents to compare whether their children have entered the juvenile class."
He believes that in the teaching process of the juvenile class, whether or not students are given the right and space to make their own choices is the key to success or failure.
[1] Tsinghua University and Peking University have closed their juvenile classes
China's first junior class was born in March 1978 and was hosted by the University of Science and Technology of China.
In May 1974, Professor Tsung-Dao Lee, a Chinese-American physicist and Nobel laureate in physics, suggested to national leaders that "a very small number of young people around the age of thirteen or fourteen who have the conditions for training should be selected from all over the country to go to universities for training" and cultivate a "small but refined basic science work force."
Tsung-Dao Lee's proposal was endorsed by Vice Premier Fang Yi, who was also the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at the time, and under his instructions, the first class of the junior class officially opened on March 8, 1978. Unlike later, this junior class is a preparatory course, and students cannot immediately obtain a bachelor's degree, nor do they enjoy the living treatment of an undergraduate.
On July 11 of the same year, the Ministry of Education agreed to continue to enroll students in the juvenile class, and the second phase was also formed in the true sense of the juvenile class. Subsequently, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Xi'an Jiaotong University and other colleges and universities across the country successively opened juvenile classes, and a few high schools even set up educational experimental classes.
After entering the 21st century, all walks of life have raised public doubts about juvenile classes, and the number of colleges and high schools that have set up juvenile classes has gradually shrunk, and at present, only three colleges and universities in the country, the University of Science and Technology of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University and Southeast University, still offer juvenile classes.
Although the junior class has been suspended, many colleges and universities, including Peking University and Tsinghua University, are still recruiting students for the lower grades who are not in the third year of high school, but the names of these enrollment programs do not contain the word "junior class", such as "Tsinghua Yau Chengtong Mathematics Leading Class" and "Peking University Physics Excellence Program", both of which are enrolled in junior high school students, and the former also admitted a 14-year-old junior high school student in Guangxi at the end of 2022.
Xi'an Jiaotong University is one of the first batch of universities to open a junior class and persist until now, and the number of students is far ahead, Zi Yanyang, who was the director of the admissions office of Xi'an Jiaotong University, has explained the significance of the junior class during his tenure:
Whether it is at home or abroad, it is recognized that there are some children with outstanding intelligence and obvious superiority over their peers in some aspects, if we do not adopt special mechanisms and educational means to cultivate these children in a targeted manner, then as they grow older, their specialties will gradually be assimilated, and their special talents will slowly disappear.
[2] What kind of students can attend the junior class?
Released in 2015, the movie "Youth Class" starring Sun Honglei, Zhou Dongyu and others tells the story of five "genius boys" who were selected by the mysterious tutor to form the "World Mathematics Competition" research team, and its prototype and director Xiao Yang is a student of the 1994 junior class of Xi'an Jiaotong University.
The students in the juvenile class in the above video are all super intelligent and young, so what are the specific enrollment criteria for the juvenile class?
Jiupai News found that when the media reported on the students who were admitted to the Xishao class this time, in addition to the learning situation, they would also focus on the students' interests and hobbies after class.
For example, a report by People's Daily Online mentioned that Li Yuyue is a child who loves sports, and in 2022, he represented Hangzhou in the 17th Zhejiang Provincial Games and won the ice hockey group A (mixed gender) team championship with his friends.
In 2024, Liu Xiaoning, the head of the junior high school of Wuhan Guohu No. 2 Middle School, where three students were admitted to the West Junior Class, also said, "The students who were admitted to the junior class this time are not actually the best in their grades, but without exception, they have a wide range of interests and hobbies, such as reading, basketball, violin, piano and even music. ”
In addition, the University of Science and Technology of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University and Southeast University, which also offer junior classes, will also make requirements in the enrollment brochure released every year.
Age is one of the most mandatory requirements, and basically all of them are under the age of 16. In addition, intelligence and grades are also very important, especially the results of science, although this is not clearly stated in the enrollment brochure of the Western Youth Class, but the content of the written test for the re-examination is the current study and examination (mathematical thinking, innovative design).
According to the recollections of the candidates in the Western Youth Class, the preliminary examination is a comprehensive examination of mathematics, liberal arts, English and science, and the re-examination includes a written test (mathematical thinking, innovative design), a comprehensive quality test (mental health and comprehensive quality) and a physical fitness test.
Regarding the importance of psychological quality and physical fitness, Zi Yanyang publicly said in 2015, "There are many learning courses and high pressure in the junior class, and it is not possible to have a good mental and physical fitness." In the past, too much emphasis was placed on intelligence and achievements in the selection process, but if the mind is not sound, one is afraid that I can't keep up, and the other is that even if I become a talent, I can't go far, and there are many examples of failure in this regard, so although parents will have some complaints, such as whether to choose talents or female men, etc., but we are very strict in this regard, and we must have a sound physical and psychological quality. ”
[3] The fall of the prodigy
Not long ago, the video of Sun Moumou, a doctor studying in the United States who studied at Fudan University, wandering on the streets of New York, caused heated discussions, and his educational experience was mentioned in the follow-up report: a young talent, a former student in the junior class of physics at Fudan University, and a photo with Xie Xide, the old president of Fudan who is also a physicist.
The news once again ushered in doubts about the juvenile class, and some netizens mentioned the former prodigy Ning Bo, thinking that they were all geniuses who were ruined by the education of the juvenile class, and they were typical cases of "hurting Zhongyong".
Ning Bo once made a name for himself with a photo of him playing against former Chinese Vice Premier Fang Yi. He was admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China to study physics at the age of 13, and stayed on to teach after graduating from his bachelor's degree at the age of 17. In 1998, Ning Bo recorded the CCTV program "Tell the Truth" and lashed out at prodigy education on TV. In 2003, Nimbor became a monk.
In fact, since the University of Science and Technology of China launched the juvenile class in 1978, the existence of the juvenile class has been controversial. Including the above cases to prove that "the juvenile class is to pull out seedlings to grow", and there are also doubts that "considerable manpower and material resources have not been trained to train cutting-edge scientists".
In response to the former, Yang Sen, then deputy director of the top-notch talent training office of Xi'an Jiaotong University, once said, "The juvenile class is a training model for the precocious teenagers with extraordinary intelligence to teach them according to their aptitude, in fact, in the 30 years of exploration and training, the advantages of the juvenile class have been very obvious, the success rate of the juvenile class graduates is more than 85%, most of them are admitted to the graduate students of famous universities and scientific research institutions at home and abroad, and one-third of them have obtained doctoral degrees, which is much higher than the proportion of ordinary undergraduates of the university." Among them, hundreds of outstanding talents are active in key universities, scientific research institutions and economic fields at home and abroad. ”
There are indeed many talents in the junior class, including "models of the times" who moved China, academicians at home and abroad who are well-known in the academic field, and entrepreneurs and financiers who have the courage to take on social responsibilities.
For example, Zhang Yaqin, dean of the Intelligent Industry Research Institute of Tsinghua University and foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chen Xiaowei, former CEO of Telstra China, Ma Dongmin, one of the founders of Baidu, Zhuang Xiaowei, foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and biophysicist, and Cai Tianxi, professor of Harvard University, are all students in the junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China.
Zhigang Suo, a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an academician of the National Academy of Engineering, and an academician of the National Academy of Sciences, Chen Xi, a tenured professor of the Department of Civil Engineering at Columbia University, and Yan Xinfeng, chairman of Shanghai Runwofeng Equity Investment Management Co., Ltd., were all born in the junior class of Xi'an Jiaotong University.
In addition, Shen Yifei, who developed 5G, Sun Xiaodong of Bell Labs, Zheng Yuhong, senior engineer of CISCOSYS-TEMS (USA), and Chen Tao, director of the China Strategy Office of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, are all members of the "junior class" of Southeast University.
For the latter question, "Shaanxi Daily" wrote in 2015: Just imagine, even among the graduates of the first junior class of the University of Science and Technology of China in 1978, the oldest is only in their fifties, and the average age of Nobel Prize winners is over 60 years old.
[4] The first batch of students is over 60 years old and no one has won the Nobel Prize, experts analyze
In 2024, the first graduating class of the junior class will be over 60 years old, but none of them have yet won the Nobel Prize.
In this regard, at the Basic Education Reform and Innovation Development Forum of the China Private Education Development Conference held at the end of 2023, a number of education officials, representatives of the private education industry, and education scholars invariably mentioned that in the past, it was a big mistake to cultivate top-notch talents. Some have even directly called for the abolition of juvenile classes.
In addition, Jiupai News also noticed that in today's reports and public opinion, it is no longer common to refer to these students who are admitted to the juvenile class as "prodigies".
In this regard, Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences, said that this shows that the public, including some parents, has a more rational perception of prodigies than a few decades ago, and can look at them in a more three-dimensional way.
He told Jiupai News that in the nearly 50 years since the juvenile class was opened, there have been some achievements, but it is true that many students have been ruined in improper education. Based on these histories and experiences, he believes that in the teaching process, whether students are given the right and space to choose independently is the key to success or failure, and this choice includes horizontal and vertical: horizontal is to choose their favorite major and direction.
For example, he said, "If a student is recruited into a junior class, can the other student choose his own major? If the student is interested in the direction, can the school provide corresponding teachers and formulate a complete training plan? Vertically speaking, from junior high school, high school, university, and master's degree, does the student have the right to choose again?"
Chu Zhaohui believes that the most important principle of opening a juvenile class is to teach students according to their aptitude, which is not how much knowledge and skills they have mastered now, but changes according to the state of growth and development, and is dynamically changing, rather than static and fixed, "the early cultivation of genius itself is not wrong, but in the actual operation process, if the concept of education and evaluation is contrary to the development of human nature, it is too utilitarian, then it is difficult to bear sweet fruits in the end."
As for the learning anxiety brought about by the juvenile class, Chu Zhaohui said that there is no need for parents to compare their children with these children in the juvenile class, because the future is still very long. He took himself as an example, "When I was in junior high school and high school, many of my peers had the urge to enter the juvenile class, and some of them really entered the juvenile class, but now, I think that whether it is professional or personal growth, it is no worse than the classmates who entered the juvenile class, and from this point of view, I also think there is no need to compare."
Jiupai News reporter Li Yang
Edited by Wu Di
[Source: Jiupai News]
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