Chapter 50 Education
December 9, 1866.
Today another school has opened in Hechingen, the Hechingen Cultural School. This school is actually a primary school. Unlike the Hechingen Military Academy, it not only recruits Chinese students, but also recruits students from the Hechingen area.
After all, going to Hechingen Military Academy means going to East Africa in the end. Which German parent would rush to send their children to Africa.
So apart from the Chinese students at the Hechingen Military Academy, most of the other German students are orphans from all over Germany.
The Hechingen Cultural School is different. It is a regular school, while the Hechingen Military Academy is actually a pheasant university.
Hechingen Military Academy is not included in the Prussian education system. Its students come entirely from the academy’s independent enrollment, and the destination for graduation is clear.
The Hechingen Cultural School has been registered with the Prussian government, and the Chinese students here study as "foreign students".
Ernst, a student at the Hechingen Military Academy, could be issued an East African colonial household registration, while the Chinese students at the Hechingen Cultural School were still Chinese in the Prussian government's files.
After all, these Chinese students will study in other German schools in the future. They do not have identity certificates issued by the government. In theory, they are all illegal, so they simply use the name of international students to cover up, and Ernst It's the guarantor.
The Hechingen Military Academy can only meet the needs of military talents, while Ernst will need professionals from all walks of life in the future.
In order to make use of limited educational resources, those with outstanding academic performance can enter German middle schools to continue their studies, and Ernst also plans to open a middle school.
Then the best one, Ernst, would recommend going to various universities in Germany to attend and study.
As for those who are not good at studying, they can only enter Ernst's factory to make screws after graduation. Of course, they can also apply for the Hechingen Military Academy and eventually serve as soldiers in the East African colonies, or become German teachers.
Now Shanghai Binhai District has started to pilot German education, and the first German primary school was established in the first town. The East African colonies required all Chinese immigrants in the first town to send their children to the German primary school in the first town.
The teachers at the school are students who graduated from the Hechingen Military Academy, and the teaching materials are the ones they have used.
As for the education of immigrants, of course it starts with these children. The older generation of immigrants does not require them to speak German. They only need to master a few common vocabulary.
These adult Chinese have long been stereotyped in their thinking and have passed the age that is most suitable for learning. If we directly eliminate illiteracy, the cost can be imagined, and the final effect may not be satisfactory.
As long as they realize that German is the future of the colony, the smart people among them will take the initiative to learn German.
In fact, some bright-minded immigrants had already learned simple German through interactions with colonial officials, and were thus assigned as managers.
For the immigrants in the colonies, there was no psychological burden in sending their children to school. After all, there is a saying that everything is of inferior quality, only education is high.
Those bureaucrats in the Far East really rely on monopolizing knowledge and education to block the upward path. It is said in folk dramas that as long as you get the top prize, you will have everything you want. The common people have never eaten pork. But I have seen pigs run away.
The local scholars, judges and officials, and those who have studied and read are all real benefits. Even the scholars can rely on teaching and educating people to get away from physical labor, not to mention some exemptions. Economic privileges through taxation, and improvement in social status.
Of course, the education in the East African colonies was not the Far Eastern education model that screened officials, or simply educated these ordinary immigrant children.
Of course, in the early stage, the earlier those who receive compulsory education, the greater the dividends they will receive. For example, in the better job arrangements in the colonies, immigrants who have received colonial education will definitely be given priority.
In the future, with the spread of compulsory education in the East African colonies, this dividend will become less and less, and it will become the lowest threshold.
The educational content of the first school in East Africa was actually very simple. In addition to German education, there were only simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and finally the idea of "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism".
So these children only have half a day of classes every day. They go to school to study in the morning and go home to help in the afternoon.
In order to improve the quality of life, immigrants will engage in some small income-generating activities, such as growing vegetables near the house or raising chickens and ducks, but these colonies are ignored. As long as you complete the work assigned by the colony on time, you can arrange the remaining time as you like. Because the land is relatively rich, there is a lot of free land in the East African colonies.
For example, the houses of colonial immigrants were not as crowded as those in the Far East and were relatively scattered. When planning these houses, they arranged two open spaces in front and back, a garden, and a drainage channel.
Gardens have never been heard of by Chinese immigrants. These lands are better used for growing vegetables. The drainage channel is behind the house. In fact, there is no need for so much land. Next to the channel, the land Turn over or plant crops.
The additional income generated by using idle land is earned by the immigrants themselves and does not need to be handed over.
Only the German residences have gardens and lawns in front, while the land behind the drainage ditch is deserted.
This can only represent the different life attitudes of the two people, and the wages of Germans are indeed higher and their work is relatively leisurely.
The Germans were also curious about Chinese immigrants growing vegetables in their gardens. Sometimes they would take the initiative to ask these immigrants what vegetables they were and what the tools were for.
The Chinese did not come completely empty-handed when they boarded the ship to East Africa. The colony would not confiscate their belongings, but those that were too large could not be boarded.
Some Chinese carried plant seeds in their arms and were brought to East Africa, causing various Far Eastern vegetables to appear on African soil.
African land is most suitable for the growth of vegetables. After all, vegetables are essentially grasses, and Africa is suitable for grass growth, so it has the largest savanna in the world.
There is no winter here. As long as the water supply is guaranteed, plants can keep growing.
There are also some ideological differences between German and Chinese immigrants. For example, Germans value territory and others cannot enter their yards without their consent. The Chinese immigrants visit each other and have no sense of territoriality.
The Chinese will not take the initiative to go to the German courtyard. After all, the Chinese immigrants naturally feel that they are shorter. In fact, these Germans do not have that domineering idea. After contacting the Chinese, their impression is not bad. , after all, we are all farmers, and our senses are pretty good after exchanging some agricultural experiences.
Chinese immigrants without braids, coupled with their industriousness and hygiene, are all the result of colonial regulations, but the Chinese are highly obedient, so some shortcomings are covered up.
The Germans in the East African colonies were also the bosses in Prussia and did not care about small details.
The only difference between the two sides is that the Germans have received compulsory education, so their cultural level is relatively high, but they have only received primary school education, so those with high quality are limited.
In the eyes of these Germans who are farmers, Chinese immigrants are easier to deal with. The thinking of ordinary farmers is relatively simple and there are no twists and turns.
Unlike later generations, some people who went abroad randomly picked flowers and grass in other people's yards. After being criticized, they pretended to be aggrieved and made excuses. You can say that they are uneducated! He has gone abroad, and his academic qualifications are generally not low, so academic qualifications have little to do with quality.
This is what happened to the Chinese in developed countries. When Ernst was in Africa, the Chinese could be said to be tired of people and dogs. There were many workers from the motherland at the construction site where Ernst was working.
Their academic qualifications are not high. At least many of the people Ernst knew had high school and junior high school degrees. But in Africa, they would just treat the indigenous people like monkeys.
Every day, I look like I’m two hundred and fifty, giving some snacks to the indigenous children, and then teaching some "silly words". I can snap a picture of them with my mobile phone and say a certain sound, which makes me look full of superiority.
In fact, didn’t the natives treat them as a joke? Even taking some people for granted.
Although Ernst also looked down on the natives, the education of his motherland prevented Ernst from doing that kind of impolite behavior. It was too cheap to do so.
In this era, due to the weakness of the country, the poor livelihood of the people, and the enslavement of education, Chinese immigrants overseas dare to act like the boss and the second child like later generations overseas.
Submissiveness is a true portrayal, so Chinese immigrants who voluntarily take a step back to explore the world can get along more harmoniously with the Germans.
(End of this chapter)