“学校是用来发呆的”：孩子们为什么要上学

On the first day of term Dr Zhihao Yan watched a father drag a crying child through a metro barrier by the ear, and took the scene into his philosophy classroom — not to talk anyone out of refusing school, but to ask what school is for. The children give the adult answers first: a good job, then knowledge. One boy builds a valid syllogism on two false premises, which nobody attacks; they change the ground instead. Then a girl says the best thing about school is that you are allowed to help, because at home her parents do everything for her. Later the class dismantles every other reason — good teachers, friends, facilities — showing each can be bought outside school. The last hand up before the bell belongs to a child who says school is where you can stare into space. He spends the rest of the piece working out what that child meant.