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Quote by Adeline Yen Mah

Work

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter

This book presents a poignant tale of resilience and survival, set against the backdrop of traditional Chinese culture. It depicts the struggles of a young woman who is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, reflecting the universal themes of perseverance and the triumph of the human spirit. The story is a blend of historical context and personal narrative, offering a unique perspective on the challenges faced by women in ancient Chinese society. more

Author

Adeline Yen Mah
Adeline Yen Mah

Adeline Yen Mah is a renowned author, born on November 30, 1937. Her works are known for their profound insights into Chinese history and culture, particularly recognized for her memoir 'Frog Princess' which gained international acclaim. more

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“For many years I have been asking myself why intelligent children act unintelligently at school. The simple answer is, "Because they're scared." I used to suspect that children's defeatism had something to do with their bad work in school, but I thought I could clear it away with hearty cries of "Onward! You can do it!" What I now see for the first time is the mechanism by which fear destroys intelligence, the way it affects a child's whole way of looking at, thinking about, and dealing with life. So we have two problems, not one: to stop children from being afraid, and then to break them of the bad thinking habits into which their fears have driven them. What is most surprising of all is how much fear there is in school. Why is so little said about it. Perhaps most people do not recognize fear in children when they see it. They can read the grossest signs of fear; they know what the trouble is when a child clings howling to his mother; but the subtler signs of fear escaping them. It is these signs, in children's faces, voices, and gestures, in their movements and ways of working, that tell me plainly that most children in school are scared most of the time, many of them very scared. Like good soldiers, they control their fears, live with them, and adjust themselves to them. But the trouble is, and here is a vital difference between school and war, that the adjustments children make to their fears are almost wholly bad, destructive of their intelligence and capacity. The scared fighter may be the best fighter, but the scared learner is always a poor learner.”

ChildrenEducationLearningSchoolingUnschooling
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“I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside of you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow.”

Learning
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“Grades really cover up failure to teach. A bad instructor can go through an entire quarter leaving absolutely nothing memorable in the minds of his class, curve out the scores on an irrelevant test, and leave the impression that some have learned and some have not. But if the grades are removed the class is forced to wonder each day what it’s really learning. The questions, What’s being taught? What’s the goal? How do the lectures and assignments accomplish the goal? become ominous. The removal of grades exposes a huge and frightening vacuum.”

EducationLearningTeachingGradesPublic SchoolSchool SystemGrading Systems
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