Xie Yiguan/Chinanews.com
Summer is coming, and it's time for "mythical beasts out of the cage" again. In order to enrich their children's summer vacation life, many parents have signed up for study trips for their children.
However, many parents have found that the cost of thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan has only been exchanged for "traveling without learning", and during the study period, some have encountered problems such as uneven instructors and children's safety cannot be guaranteed.
Why are there so many problems in this study trip to increase children's knowledge?
Thousands of pieces at every turn, who is "harvesting" on study trips?
As low as more than 100 yuan of one-day study, as high as nearly 90,000 yuan of American transfer study, open an online service platform, a variety of research projects.
Screenshot of the online service platform. Image of this article by Chinanews.com
The person in charge of the East China business of a tourism platform said that this summer, research products focusing on history and humanities, outdoor nature, science and technology are the most popular. In terms of product duration, the products with the theme of scenic spots/exhibition halls and long-term 5-9 day tours in many places are the most popular. From the price point of view, the per capita price of multi-day tour products is about 6,000 yuan, an increase of about 20% compared with the summer of 2019.
However, a careful comparison of these study trips shows that many programs are similar in itinerary settings, such as going to the grassland to study, mostly experiencing nomadic culture, enjoying grassland food, and visiting herders' families. However, similar projects vary in fees, some as low as a few thousand yuan, and some as high as tens of thousands.
According to parents, some study trips will have additional fees in addition to the marked fees. For example, the staff of a research institution told reporters that the Beijing inspirational research camp opened by him charged 4,980 yuan, but the cost of going from the place of residence to the Beijing camp needed to be paid by himself.
The reporter noticed that some schools will also organize study trips, although they follow the principle of voluntariness, but some students said on social platforms, "the fee is too expensive, tangled whether to go." In the pictures posted by him, it shows that the cost of studying in Beijing for 6 days is 6580 yuan.
The study trip has even caused anxiety among some students. Lele is from a county town in Shandong, and although she really wants to participate in the Beijing study organized by the school, considering the poor family conditions, she told reporters that she finally decided to give up.
Walking around and watching flowers, study trip "not worthy of the name"
Even if you spend a few thousand yuan on a study trip, the results may not be as good as you imagined.
Some study trips, although in the name of learning, are still mainly tours. In terms of route setting, there is no obvious difference from the ordinary tourist routes launched by travel agencies, and the study place is only a "horse and flower" visit.
At the same time, due to the mixed and uneven level of current research institutions, the poor service experience also made some parents bluntly say: "Instead of signing up for study, it is better to take your children to play." ”
Dandan, who lives in Jiangsu, recently signed up her children for a parent-child study tour in Beijing at an institution, including the Forbidden City study on July 4 and the China Science and Technology Museum study on July 6.
According to Dan Dan, originally bought a group of 10 to 20 people in the live broadcast room, but when they went to the Forbidden City, not only did they have 12 people follow a group of more than 50 people, but the explanation was not aimed at children, and the level of docents was even inferior to that of ordinary tour guides.
"At 11 p.m. on the 5th, the event side informed us that the tickets of the China Science and Technology Museum were only bought for two adults and two children, and the remaining 8 people did not have tickets, and blamed the Science and Technology Museum for the strict ticket inspection and the inability to mix in." Dandan told reporters, "We could only get up early to swipe the tickets, and after entering, we found that it was another group of thirty or forty people." ”
In the research activities, Tsinghua Peking University and other famous university research camps are particularly popular. Many institutions have launched such studies with the psychology of prospective parents looking forward to prestigious schools, but because Peking University and Tsinghua University were not open for visits, children could only take photos at the school gate against the sun to "check in".
The picture shows the entrance of Peking University.
In the name of "entering Tsinghua Peking University", some research institutions do not hesitate to "collude" with teachers and students on campus. Recently, the security department of Peking University issued a notice of violations: on July 5, an off-campus research team called "Wolf Daddy Tribe" split the appointment by contacting the campus personnel and borrowing accounts to publish appointment help information on the tree hole platform, and a number of teachers and students on campus made an appointment to enter the campus.
As for the publicity of some research institutions, teachers from Tsinghua Peking University teach efficient learning methods to campers. A former leading teacher of a famous school research camp revealed on social platforms, "It is said that it is from Tsinghua, but it is definitely not." ”
Swarming, how to regulate study trips?
With the increasing popularity of research and study, it has also attracted travel agencies to carry out research and study business.
Mr. Zhang, who works as a tour guide, told reporters that where there are interests, everyone will flock to it. "In the past, when the shopping group made money, everyone did the shopping group, but now the flow of customers for the study has come up, so they will 'makeover' the study camp, but in any case, they need to find someone to lead the group, so the previous shopping group may also be pulled to lecture, whether he will talk or not."
Under the rapid expansion of the industry, problems such as arbitrary pricing of research projects, "misnomer" of research content, lack of qualifications of practitioners, and unsafe safety of students have come to the fore.
In recent years, the state and local governments have also taken steps to standardize. For example, in 2016, the "Opinions of 11 Departments including the Ministry of Education on Promoting Study Tours for Primary and Secondary School Students" clearly pointed out that study trips should adhere to safety first; It is not allowed to carry out profit-making business income, and students from poor families must be exempted from fees; It is necessary to carefully design study travel activity courses to avoid the phenomenon of "only traveling but not learning" or "only learning but not traveling".
"However, the problems of 'traveling without learning' and 'traveling without learning' are still common in study trips. In order for the study trip to play a role in promoting the comprehensive quality development of students, it is necessary to adhere to the educational and public welfare principles of study trips. Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, told reporters.
In Xiong Bingqi's view, the development of health promotion study trip activities requires the formation of a joint force of the whole society. Whether it is a school as the main body or an external institution as the main body of research activities, supervision should be strengthened. "In addition, the social level can also provide students with study trips, provide more places for public welfare activities, reduce parents' dependence on school and external institutions, and carry out independent study trips."
In the face of the lack of unified standards and norms for study tours, the uneven quality of research institutions, and the inconsistency between the research content and the actual results, resulting in poor learning effects and safety risks, Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, also suggested strengthening the supervision and management of the study tour market, formulating relevant laws, regulations and standards, clarifying the responsibilities and obligations of research institutions, and ensuring the safety and rights of students.
"In addition, it is necessary to improve the professional quality and service level of practitioners, strengthen the information disclosure and transparency of research institutions, and enable parents and students to have a clearer understanding of the content and risks of study trips." Jiang Han told reporters.
On July 11, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism issued a warm reminder for summer travel, which also mentioned that it is necessary to pay attention to whether the subject of "study" travel has the qualification to "brush the edges". If you choose the "study" product provided by a travel agency, you must provide the product manual of the study trip in accordance with the requirements of the "Study Travel Service Specification", which must include the study trip safety prevention and control measures, study travel education service items, evaluation methods and guardianship measures for minors, which must not only ensure the safety of minors participating in the trip, but also ensure the content and quality of "study and study". (Some of the names in the article are pseudonyms)
Editor of this issue Xing Tan