A child who can fluently read everything in an English newspaper at the age of 8; a child who has read through the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of 8; a child who has been alone at home at the age of 8 to accept his father's words and deeds; a child who has been snatched by the irreconcilable educational concepts of divorced parents at the age of 8; a child who has to cope with the repeated "bombardment" of the media at the age of 8 and treats media interviews as a "big war".
How tortuous can a child's fate be? How many options can a child have for the future? What are the advantages and disadvantages of private school education and China's mainstream education model? When these problems are still unsolved mysteries in most people's minds, the parents of 8-year-old Yangyang have a contest to let him follow a learning path that they think is right.
November 29, 2006, Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court
Reporter: What are you learning now?
Yang Yang: Now, I still study now, I don't learn much now, I run out every day.
Reporter: What are you running outside for?
Yang Yang: Hire a lawyer, consult with a lawyer, go to court, and so on.
September 7, 2006 Beijing Shijingshan District People's Court
Yang Yang's father Hou Bo: Above the whole court, there are twenty or thirty people, reporters from major media, I would like to ask you, there are many university graduates among you, and maybe there are master's students, I would like to ask you, how many people can understand this, how many people? Whoever understands me and listens, if you do not answer, then I can only think that none of you can understand, the problem is that my children can understand, this is the truth, I did not lie half a sentence.
At that time, there was another person who impressed the reporter, she was Wang Yu, YangYang's mother, Hou Bo's ex-wife.
Wang Yu: Son.
Yang Yang: Don't pretend.
Wang Yu: How can I call it pretending, you misunderstood your mother and son, and your mother loves you!
Yangyang's mother Wang Yu: Very heavy, this is not the child's original appearance, this is not, this is completely instilled in him by a paranoid and distorted psychology, hard instilled in him, this is an unsound personality, this is the biggest failure of education, so I hope that the child must be educated, going to school is only one aspect, the child must have a normal social life and family life and school life.
The child who is different, the father who is absolutely conceited, the mother who is unwelcome, what kind of family this was once, and what happened to this family later, we must start from the beginning to understand this.
Hou Bo graduated from Nanjing Railway Medical College with a bachelor's degree and entered a hospital in Beijing in 1990. In 1997, Hou Bo met Wang Yu, a reporter from a newspaper, through marriage, and three months later, the two registered for marriage, and Yang Yang was born in 1998. However, Hou Bo and Wang Yu's married life was not happy, various contradictions appeared one after another, after consultation the two divorced in 2001, Yangyang's custody was awarded to Hou Bo at that time, but these are only the beginning of this story.
Hou Bo said that after the divorce, his son Yangyang actually followed his mother Wang Yu to live, more accurately, was sent by Wang Yu to a kindergarten for full care.
Yang Yang's father Hou Bo: went to a boarding kindergarten for three years, and then the child changed from a two-and-a-half-year-old, innocent child with a blank piece of paper to the worst child in the kindergarten, fighting every day, not a day without fighting, the child himself said that he was bullied by a big man, and then he began to bully others, and then tortured and killed small animals, lying, deceiving people, bullying classmates, petty theft.
In 2003, Hou Bo terminated his labor relationship with his original employer and has not worked since. In June 2004, Hou Bo, who was extremely disappointed in kindergarten education, took the 5-and-a-half-year-old Yangyang back to his side and began to educate Yangyang on his own.
Yang Yang's father Hou Bo: The Four Books and Five Classics, the Way of Confucius and Mencius, the things that Are learned in Mongolia, and then there are modern things, the world's outstanding Chinese primary school students essay selection, from there we are equivalent to saying that from reading to literacy, so that learning the first modern Chinese reading. Passed, read the reference message.
Interviewer: What kind of books do you like the most, literature, biography, or?
Yang Yang: Literature, biography, novels are all liked.
Reporter: You just told me that your biggest entertainment is watching TV.
Yang Yang: Right.
Reporter: What kind of TV show do you like to watch?
Yang Yang: Looking at "National Treasure Archives" and "Cross-Straits", I can't remember anything else.
Reporter: Do you watch cartoons at seven or eight o'clock every day?
Yang Yang: Dismissive.
After half a year of Chinese basic education, Hou Bo began teaching English to Yangyang in January 2005. This calendar records yangyang's learning results, and in the sixth month, yangyang mastered 6,000 words.
Reporter: What kind of person do you like to associate with.
Yang Yang: Anyway, as long as it is an adult.
Reporter: Why do you like to associate with adults?
Yangyang: Increase your knowledge and broaden your horizons.
Reporter: What about the children?
Yang Yang: Too shallow.
Reporter: Why, you're still seven or eight years old.
Yang Yang: Are they better than me in terms of mind, ability, literature, and professionalism?
Yangyang's private school life in this 60-square-meter two-bedroom apartment has lasted for two and a half years, and now basic readings such as "Four Books and Five Classics" and "Ancient Literature and Guanzhi" have long been unable to meet his needs.
Reporter: Do you know what this book is about?
Yang Yang: Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States.
Reporter: Do you like to read this "On Leaders"?
Yang Yang: "The Theory of Leadership" is relatively deep.
Reporter: What views and theories in it are more attractive to you?
Yang Yang: The Power of Leadership, Chapter 1, We passionately pursue leadership and try to own it and harness it.
Reporter: You said you like to do what you like when you grow up.
Yang Yang: Leaders.
Reporter: Why?
Yang Yang: That's why.
Just when the father and son were proud of the results of more than two years of learning, the mother Wang Yu could not sit still, she felt that sooner or later the child was out of touch with society, and after many fruitless negotiations with Hou Bo, in May 2006, Wang Yu sued Hou Bo in court, asking the court to change Yangyang's custody relationship to herself. More than 4 months later, the court made a first-instance judgment not to change the original custody relationship under the premise that Hou Bo sent Yangyang to school as soon as possible. Wang Yu was not convinced of this, so there was a later second instance trial.
At this trial, Wang Yu and Hou Bo were very cautious, most of the time by their respective lawyers to express their positions, but occasionally because the emotions were difficult to restrain, they said a few words. But at first instance, it was a different story.
September 7, 2006, Shijingshan District People's Court, Beijing
Hou Bo, Yang yang's father: I don't think it is possible to let the slow pace, I personally think that such a school education that is not good for children will turn a genius teenager into a mediocre talent.
Wang Yu, Yangyang's mother: The new compulsory education law was implemented on September 1, and children must receive compulsory education, so do you want your children to enroll?
Yang yang's father Hou Bo: When I graduated from college at the age of 23, I couldn't read an English newspaper, and when I was 28 years old, I studied on my own, I understood it, and my children understood it before they were 8 years old, and in fact, many people who followed the same old path as me and were educated in school now, you can think about it.
Yangyang's mother, Wang Yu: There is no love in the child's heart, there is no love anymore, what he has is the so-called knowledge brought to him by his father, but a person's healthy and normal growth is far from what the so-called knowledge can represent.
Hou Bo, Yang yang's father: There is a good child that is rare in the world, and this good child is cultivated by a good father who is rare in the world.
Yang Yang's mother Wang Yu: But a child's growth has no love for his mother, can you imagine, can he trust this society?
The child fell generously, the reporter asked what, he answered it very smoothly, very sincere and friendly to everyone, this is a handsome, intelligent, mature young heart.
In fact, whether it is the first instance or the second instance, the reasons and views held by Wang Yu and Hou Bo have not changed much, in order to make you more clear, we will summarize it a little here. Wang Yu's cause of action was that if Hou Bo did not have a job, he had no income; Er Hou Bo did not send his children to school, violating the Compulsory Education Law. Hou Bo's defense for this is that although he does not have a job, he still has the ability to raise Yangyang with the support of relatives and friends, and he has a bet on Yangyang's educational achievements, which is definitely not worse than going to school, and the most important thing is that Yangyang loves himself from the bottom of his heart and is willing to live with himself. So as a core figure, how does he think about this lawsuit?
Yang Yang practices dumbbells at home
Reporter: Do you have to practice every day?
Yang Yang: I have to practice almost every day.
Reporter: How many times do you practice every day?
Yang Yang: If you have time every day, you can practice more.
In addition to exercising, Yang yang also has a hobby, which is to write a diary.
Reporter: I read in your diary that you want to buy a copy of Yi Zhongtian's "Three Kingdoms", right?
Yang Yang: That was the old view, but I don't want to think about it now.
Reporter: Which of the three kingdoms is your favorite character?
Yang Yang: Liu Guanzhang.
Reporter: Liu Guanzhang, why?
Yang Yang: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, they are brothers, life and death are inseparable.
Reporter: Are you saying that you were touched by the comparison between their brothers?
Yang Yang: Hmm.
Reporter: In real life, which feeling do you think is the most worthy of your cherishing.
Yang Yang: My dad.
Reporter: What about with Mom?
Yang Yang: Mom didn't mention it, anyway, it has nothing to do with her.
Although he was reluctant to mention his mother, the lawsuit between his mother and his father made the 8-year-old Yangyang suddenly become a celebrity, and for this reason, Yangyang also wrote such words in his diary.
Yang Yang's diary: "These days have really been a big contact with the law, and I am trying to prepare for another appearance on September 19th." ”
Reporter: What do you mean by expecting to show your face?
Yang Yang: It's to silence your reporters.
Reporter: So what kind of impression do you want to give us?
Yang Yang: An indelible impression.
Reporter: So what kind of a child do you want you to be in our hearts?
Yang Yang: A child like a normal child.
September 19, as mentioned in the diary, is the day the verdict of the first instance trial of the case was pronounced.
On September 19, 2006, the court of the Shijingshan District People's Court of Beijing Municipality pronounced the verdict
Chief Judge Wang Ping: Since June 2004, under the defendant's self-education, Yangyang's English and Chinese reading ability has indeed achieved remarkable results beyond that of his peers, and he said that "reading for pleasure" shows the harmony of his emotional relationship with the defendant, and in his contact with the outside world, in addition to expressing his "unwillingness to live with the plaintiff", other innocent and happy behaviors are no different from those of children of the same age. Therefore, it cannot be proved that the plaintiff's claim that Yangyang's physical and mental health was adversely affected by the defendant is established. However, it should be pointed out that the Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China clearly stipulates that "compulsory education is an education that must be received by all school-age children and teenagers uniformly implemented by the state", and the defendant should solve the problem of foreign enrollment as soon as possible so that they can receive comprehensive compulsory education. The Court does not support the plaintiff's claim for a change in the maintenance relationship.
It can be seen that Yang Yangyang, who held up the victory gesture at that time, was quite satisfied with the results of the first instance trial, but he also said that he really did not want to go to school, and the court forced himself to go to school, which was simply a waste of his time. A few months have passed, the case has also entered the second trial, has Yangyang's attitude changed?
Reporter: Do you still want to go to school?
Yang Yang: I don't want to.
Yang Yang said that although he did not want to go to school, his father Hou Bo still signed an agreement with a nearby primary school in accordance with the court's opinion, but for various reasons, he has not yet officially enrolled. This is an important reason for mother Wang Yu's appeal.
Wang Yu's agent: The first-instance people's court mentioned that it was asking the child's father to contact the school as soon as possible, but so far, the child still has not been enrolled normally.
Hou Bo's agent: Although the child is not currently allowed to go to school, it is not to deprive the child of his educational rights, nor does he want to let the child go to school, but to find the right school for the child to go to a school that is more suitable for him, more suitable for his grade.
In the court of second instance, Yang Yang met his long-lost grandmother.
Yangyang's grandmother: The child (Yangyang) ignored me, just squinted his eyes, just like this, I personally brought him up, and treated me like this, I cried at that time.
Mother's friend: Hou Bo said the way of Confucius and Mencius, the way of Confucius and Mencius will never let a child hate his mother, hate his society, this is absolutely impossible, so I think he (Hou Bo) said the way of Confucius and Mencius, what he said in his mouth and what he actually did are two different things.
Despite the support of relatives and friends, in court, Wang Yu did not put forward more favorable evidence to support him than the first instance.
On December 26, 2006, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court rendered a final judgment, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment. Hou Bo signed a letter of guarantee with the court, promising to solve the problem of Yangyang's enrollment as soon as possible.
In the interview, the Hou family father and son once gave such an example to reporters, Edison was ordered to withdraw from school at the age of 8, and since then he has been educated by his mother at home, and eventually became the world's greatest inventor. It should be said that Edison's story is the most perfect excuse to choose to stay at home for children and parents.
Hou Bo, Yangyang's father: There is a pair of forty on the school campus, no matter which course is one pair of forty, how many one children are assigned to a teacher, one in forty, how many my children are divided into, enough for a teacher, we have no practice, no exams, no homework, our teaching methods are correct, our resources are rich, we are equivalent to the children of the school, they get forty times the resources.
Rather than Edison, who was far away in a foreign country, the Hou family father and son were more willing to use the story of the Chinese child Zhang Xin's admission to college at the age of ten to argue their point of view.
Reporter: Zhang Xin went to college at the age of ten, do you have any ideas for two years?
Yang Yang: I want to go to university at the age of nine, and I want to go to a foreign university, and you know that foreign universities are a little better than the kind of school in China, right?
Reporter: What's the good thing?
Yang Yang: Read whatever books you love, and get a certain freedom to ensure sufficient time for study.
Yangyang's father Hou Bo: Zhang Xin's parents are too powerful, we can't do it, too powerful, powerful beyond my imagination, this is also the result of home education learning, he was ten years old to enter the university, simply for me, I think incredible, if this thing did not happen in 2005, it is really incredible, our children are eleven years old, ten years old can not.
Reporter: You just said that you still hope that he can go to college after that?
Father: Mr. Zheng Yuanjie said that it is not a college diploma, I greatly appreciate, but I follow the rules of the game of society, the rules of the game should be to have a diploma, we want a diploma to go to the exam is, I think it is like taking a diploma, I hope it can be as easy as probing the bag.
"There is a great deal of humor in talking and laughing, and there is no white ding in the exchanges." Looking forward to the great development of their children is the wish of every parent, and Hou Bo must also hope that Yangyang will be able to become an adult when he grows up. I don't know how Yang Yang, who grew up a few years later, will look at the dispute about him now, maybe we have no way of knowing, but not letting children become victims of family struggles is the voice of each and every one of us today.
Yang Yang once told reporters about his ideals, he said: "I will have my own sky, under my own jurisdiction, fly freely." This sentence is enough to show that the child matures prematurely in the divorce and endless strife of his parents, prematurely away from the innate affection, away from the innocence that should belong to him.
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