From the Readers

Practical education a must

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-23 07:56

Yao Yu, a 23-year-old Chinese woman who had arrived in New York just two months ago, was raped and fatally beaten up by a man in a suburb. Shock and anger was my first reaction to the news. But the tragedy tells us more.

Rapid globalization has made studying overseas a trend in China. More and more students are going abroad for higher studies. But not all of them prepare well for their studies and the different life they would encounter abroad. They have to face a lot of difficulties such as communication, cultural differences and the vagaries of a completely new environment.

Actually, our education system is to be blamed for this. In China, teachers seldom teach students how to protect themselves. Even as an adult, Yao might not have known what to do when encountered with danger. If we teach students how to behave in and tackle such situations, the result could be different.

I suggest schools and teachers in China pay more attention to self-protection in times of danger. China's exam-oriented education system focuses on knowledge and ignores practical skills. This system has to be reformed.

Zhang Ting, via e-mail