Abstract
In Michael Apple's famous article Ideology, Reproduction, and Educational Reform issued in 1978, he compared educational institutions to a black box, arguing that it only measures what students put in before they enter school and what they have gained when they enter the labor market. In the black box, what teachers teach and the specific experiences of children and teachers do not matter, but rather it is a reproduction of the division of labor. The model of school as a black box cannot reveal how impacts occur in the school.
In County Children, Lin is engaged in an endeavor that might be understood as “opening the black box.” She not only reveals the interactions between the different subjects of education, but also spares no effort in portraying the daily happenings of the 40-minute class and the real-life experiences that occur in the counties 1 . As a result, the “black box” of county education shows the tip of the iceberg, and how to open the “black box” depends on details. This book contains many insightful and subtle descriptions. For example, “the seemingly open-minded” attitude of parents in the counties towards their children has often been regarded as a matter of daily routine. However, as the author is keen to point out, “this seemingly open-minded attitude, to a certain extent, is also the result of a conspiracy between the social structure and parental habits, which has been legitimated, neglected and turned into something taken for granted” (p. 184).
County Children also provides an in-depth portrait of the two core groups that shoulder the responsibility for education in the counties: the most common group of teachers and headmasters in county education. But these administrators and teachers in the county ecology are still working creatively, rather than serving in passive ways within the subordinated and marginal situation of county education. Headmasters in the counties are highlighted in a special way in the author's writing. In her view, headmasters are the key actors in county high schools, and local headmasters give rise to the intrinsic vitality of county high schools, embracing education in the counties with “spontaneous cautiousness and responsibility for students” (p. 314). According to the author, these headmasters design courses with “a practicality in teaching that a specialized designer would not have considered” (p. 234). Many headteachers try to activate county education in all ways possible but this may still seem trivial or ineffective in the face of all the constraints of a burdensome appraisal system.
And for many ambitious county teachers, it is painful and difficult to try to be a good teacher within this poor educational ecology and they will then lose confidence in their profession. Furthermore, the educators will be at greater risk by shrinking back during their work. It is because of the author's attention to the inherent problems in the everyday practice of education in counties that we can see more clearly how inequality is rationalized and becomes entrenched through the seemingly helpless and compromising strategies of teachers and parents. This at least pulls down the curtain that covers the black box of county education and makes it possible to present a true picture of the inner workings of county education.
It can be said that this book provides us with an opportunity to observe and understand county education in a panoramic way, with both internal voices and external perspectives, and with a vivid picture of the scene and candid reflections that give the book a special luster. Furthermore, the author also proposes systematic strategies, which gives those who care about county education and are actually working within it tangible ways to understand and think about specific problems. Many of the stories she tells are unexpected and thought-provoking, and could be understood from different perspectives by different stake-holders. Even though discussions about county education may not always seem to intervene directly in reality, they can always contribute to a reflective critique of education by those involved. This can lead in turn to a change of mindset and hold promise for the future of education in the counties. In a word, exploring the many possibilities of teaching and learning practices in the counties is at the same time a way of exploring the possibilities for the future of children in the counties.
