A letter to my dear students

Dear students,

     I know you find it harder and harder to be absorbed in study due to the unbearable hot weather. I do know that you can’t concentrate in class when thinking about the approach of summer vacation. And I even know that you are always absent-minded and show little interest in study (e.g. English) as a result of lack of motivation(动力), or rather(确切的说), you doubt whether what you are leaning is relevant to your future life, or whether it will make any difference to you. I doubted that, too, at your age. As a much-older person, who has been through what you are going through, will give you my answer “well, it all depends on your own attitude.”

You may not help blaming your teachers, the school, and even the government for their failing toimplement(实施) quality-oriented education(素质教育). That is true and nobody denies it. For all these years, the slogan(口号) of quality-oriented education has never worked. On the contrary, the students’ study load(负担) has been increasing rather than been reduced. But you can’t blame teachers, schools and government, who are not responsible for this. Nobody is to blame except our national economic strength(国家经济实力). Our present condition doesn’t admit of(允许) setting a diversity of courses(课程) in middle schools like America, which can include scores of even hundreds of courses, such as languages, various branches(分支) of arts and science , social studies and so on. As a developing country with a huge population, our country is not able to provide us with so many choices and similarly, our country can’t afford to train so many teachers who are adequate to the teaching posts. On the other hand, our present economic power can’t cover the expenses（花费，开支)  of quality-oriented education, and neither can our parents.

Therefore, it is no use complaining teachers, the school, because they are victims of exam-oriented education(应试教育), just like you. Take me as an example, I also enjoy the moment when we watch movies, listen to songs and chat casually. Nobody hates that! However, your test scores will be used to judge whether a teacher is qualified(合格的) or not, your chaos(混乱) in class will be considered the fault of the teacher, and your disobeying the school rules will also be regarded as the teachers’ negligence of duty(失职). When the teacher is giving you homework, he/she is also increasing load on himself/herself (because he/she has to check your homework!). When you are required to arrive at school on time in the morning and not to leave until nine o’clock in the night, so are the teacher! In other words, if your study load is relieved(解除，减轻), so is the teachers’ work load.

Since we can’t change the reality, we can only change ourselves. As I have stated earlier, whether what you are leaning is relevant to your future depends on your own attitude. It depends on how you look at it. Having graduated from senior school for so many years, I have become aware that knowledge is not the most important thing that I have learnt in senior school. Because knowledge can be forgotten easily as time goes by. If I had to take CEE(高考) now, I would not get more than 200 in score! CEE doesn’t determine your whole life, but it reflects your hard work for the past three years and also your luck in the test. Then what is the most important value of senior school study? What can you benefit from the three years? For one thing, if senior high school life is an adverse situation(逆境) that tortures(折磨) you, then you can treat it as a stepping stone(垫脚石) or a stumbling block(绊脚石). It is up to you. Those who fear it and view it as a stumbling block may get negative, depressed and give it up easily, but  those who face it, fight it and view it as a stepping stone will get more perseverant(有毅力的), passionate(激昂的), and tougher, which are very essential(必不可少的) qualities for your future, not only in your career, but also in your life. So what really matters is not only your test score, but also the process in which you suffer, fight, fail and succeed. For another, your knowledge may be forgotten, but the way you solve the problem and the way of thinking you develops and the attitude towards others and the world really influence you in your life ahead. In addition, the most sincere friends that you will keep in touch(保持联系) and depend on for all your life are probably your schoolmates who have accompanied you, sharing happiness, sorrow and the same goal  with you, for three years!

Then value our senior school life, no matter how much pain it causes you (you will find pain and struggle can make you tough and mature(成熟.) Treasure it, because it is only experienced once. Make the most of it and live it well for yourself. Thank you for reading this letter. Wish you were happy and positive forever!

(One more warning: don’t make me beg you to hand in your homework one by one, because I am really, completely, and extremely exhausted. If you give up on yourself, it is useless however hard I try. Get it?)

                                                                              Yours,

                                                                                      Miss Ye