Reflection on the story of “The Country Boy Who Quits School” by Lao Hsiang

The country boy quits school wants to convey three important things we need to think about it:

First, culture, if misunderstood becomes a barrier in learning. Two different cultures in

the short story were presented. Tea parties are commonly done in Western countries like in the
United States of America, whereas in China, it is very odd to be held. Cultures, sometimes block
the success of learning of the children if not thoroughly explained to them both sides of the said
cultures. Teachers are facing a diversity of learners. Aside from common differences like gender,
age, intelligence and such, culture is one of the things that should be considered. Learners that
come from different ethnicity will often be misunderstood by their classmates, and the role of the
teacher is to create bridges to connect each other's culture. In this way, students can now better
understand and appreciate the culture of one another.

Second, literal translations also hinder effective learning to happen. In the story, the boy's
parents and grandparents translate what is in the book, thus resulted in confusion and eventually
pulling out the boy to the school because of the language that became a barrier. Teachers should
be reminded to teach his or her students to think critically and read beyond lines to truly get the
essential information that the book wants us to convey.

Lastly, education is really important. Less fortunate ones lack the opportunities to attend
a valuable school. In the story, the parents and grandparents of the boy were not educated that
eventually lead them to the decision to pull out their child to the school. One of the main goals of
an effective teacher is to make the students realized that education is truly essential. Greener
pastures are found after finishing education.