教育不公还是差异呈现?——对中小学教科书插图的反思

Inequality or Differences: A Reflection on Textbook Pictures of Primary and Secondary Schools

不少学者批评教科书插图设置存在着城市倾向、重男轻女现象,因而有违"社会公平"。但确切地说,这样的插图设置并不总是在制造或放大社会不公平状况,其中很大一部分只是呈现出客观存在的一些差异。了解这些差异本身也是教育内容和任务之一。如果一切唯"公平论",要求插图中不能出现任何性别、城乡差异,这是一种单一而片面的思维方式,不利于教育质量的提升。教科书的社会公平,不是指消除差异、追求绝对平等,而是通过有适度倾向性的内容设计,为弱势群体的教育提供更大的帮助。

Many scholars are criticizing the problems of urban tendencies, sexism in textbook pictures and they think this has violated social equality. However, in fact,these pictures do not make problems or amplify the unfair statement, but reflect some differences in reality. Moreover, it is one of educational contents or tasks to know difference itself. If the equality is highly focused that there will not exist gender differences or those between cities and villages, we will fall into unilateral thinking and it is hard to improve education. The social equality in textbook pictures is by no means pure and absolute; it should provide more help for unprivileged groups.