On the evening of August 20, 2020, Zhang Jiling had just finished her evening self-study in the tutoring class. Beijing News Data Picture
Last year, 51-year-old Zhang Jiling was admitted to the preschool education major of Shanxi Business School , which attracted the attention of many media. Recently, according to the Beijing News, she has entered her sophomore year and is living the life of a college student seriously.
A year ago, Zhang Jiling's college entrance examination score exceeded the second-tier C category 45 points - she became a veritable middle-aged college student. Now, more than a year has passed, she has passed the English Level 4 exam and is preparing for this year's Level 6 exam. She exercises every day. In order to pass the physical test, she has to test sit-ups and 800-meter running with her classmates around the age of 20.
Although she is the oldest student in the history of the school and attracts the attention of security guards every day, she is another "ordinary student" - she does not seem special because she becomes a news figure. In an interview with a reporter from the Beijing News, she said she lived a "luxury life". This describes her current state very accurately: a person who truly enjoys the fun of learning and seeking knowledge without utilitarian considerations is indeed an enviable "luxury".
Most ordinary college students do not have her mentality. When young people get into college, they know how hard they will be to find a job in the future, and they know that there is a more difficult "social university" to face. Many people regard university as a ladder with strong purpose. Some people have been preparing for postgraduate entrance examinations or civil servants since the first year of college, and have turned their college life into an extension of high school.
In contrast, Zhang Jiling is in another state. By the time she graduated from college, she almost reached the legal retirement age of female . Her rich life experience and her study during this period may bring her a second career spring in the future. In life, she also completed her "social role" - the child grew up and she gained a more free life as a mother.
During the military training in the first year of the year, Zhang Jiling (third from left) was with her classmates. Beijing News Data Picture
This "pressure-free" also allows her to look at learning from a new perspective: a pure pursuit of knowledge, seriously study every knowledge point, take every exam seriously, and enjoy the joy of gaining new knowledge every time - this is what she calls "luxury". Because in the long years she has passed, such joy is rare.
In fact, we have experienced this kind of fun of seeking knowledge in childhood, but as the competitiveness of learning increases, we gradually lose this simplicity. For individuals, competitiveness, the ability to integrate into society and teamwork is of course very important, but if you get too lost in it, you will simply regard learning as a tool.
It can be seen that some people feel "completely liberated" after graduating from university, and no longer study or study, and their knowledge structure remains in school education. Some people even gave up their real study after the college entrance examination and were addicted to having fun in college. This is actually a kind of boredom with learning. In contrast, Zhang Jiling's learning state is both valuable and of great reference value.
A friend who was studying for a doctorate in anthropology at Cambridge University told me that among her classmates, there was an old man in his sixties or seventies, and this kind of learning state was close to Zhang Jiling. People choose to learn because they want to gain knowledge, or answer their own questions and study a "question". The so-called " to live until you are old and learn " not only refers to general learning, but also serious and standardized study.
With the progress of society and the improvement of people's living standards, more and more "Zhang Jiling" will appear. People solve basic living problems and have more time to think and explore, so they will also develop more interest in knowledge.
At a certain stage of life, breaking away from the routine of career and social roles and engaging in a "luxury" learning journey is not only to improve one's own needs, but also to increase the total amount of social knowledge - to read, research, invent and create. Perhaps this is " learning society ".
Written by Zhang Feng (columnist)
Editing / Liu Yunyun
Proofreading / Liu Jun
