Fang Yun continued, "I won't use my childhood as an example, because my childhood was relatively poor, and less than 10% of the human race has a family similar to mine. I'll use my friend Lu Zhan as an example. His intelligence and family background are average in all aspects. According to the census results of the Holy Academy, about 30% of families are better than the Lu family. And among the children who grew up in the 30% of families better than the Lu family, about 10% of the children don't have much advantage over Lu Zhan. Then we can make a rough estimate that about 80% of the human race children are affected by similar external factors during their studies. Is this statement not too much?"
Zeng Yuan nodded gently and said, "Yes, if we only discuss the factors that affect children's education, the difference between children living in families with an annual income of 50 to 500 taels of silver is not that big. However, for families with an annual income of more than 1,000 taels of silver, the impact on children in various aspects is obviously different."
Fang Yun said: "Yes, it seems that you have understood what I mean. In other words, 80% of the children in Shengyuan Continent are not much different from Lu Zhan. As for intelligence, no more than half of them are really smarter than Lu Zhan. We can discuss this last. Okay, let's start comparing Lu Zhan with you."
"First, let's compare diet. Medical scientists have done a lot of research and found that diet plays a huge role in the growth of the human race. A child who can only eat ordinary meals, compared with the children of your aristocratic families, will have a physical improvement of at least 10% compared to ordinary children when he is sixteen years old. Do you agree with this statement?" Fang Yun asked.
Zeng Yuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Simply speaking of the improvement of the body through diet, you said that we lack the advantages of children from noble families, but it is not too much. Do you mean that if the physical strength of the disciples from noble families is 10% better than that of ordinary students, then their academic performance will also be 10% better? I don't think so."
"Then let me explain in detail. A healthy body means good health in all aspects. When you are studying, you can hear the lectures more clearly than Lu Zhan, read the words more clearly than Lu Zhan, and remember faster and more accurately. To use the word 'information' I used before, it means that you receive more information and are more accurate. Is that right?"
"That's true." Zeng Yuan had no way to refute.
"So, your brain has fully grown. In addition to having a good memory, you will also have a better understanding and a stronger ability to apply knowledge or information. If your brain is 10% better than theirs and your final results are 10% better than theirs, is there anything wrong with that?" Fang Yun asked.
Zeng Yuan didn't know how to answer.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Then I will give you an example from reality. Some academies in the capital of Jingguo recruit students according to their age every autumn. For example, in the case of elementary schools, only children aged six are recruited. If they pass the examination, they can leave. If they fail, they usually graduate at the age of fifteen. The children in these academies are either rich or noble. They not only have to study, but also learn the six arts of a gentleman, such as horse riding, archery, swordsmanship, etc. Later, someone did some random research and found an interesting phenomenon, that is, in terms of horse riding, archery or swordsmanship, children born in winter perform better than children born in summer. Do you know why?"
Zeng Yuan was originally a juren, and now he is a jinshi, and he has rich experience. He understood as soon as Fang Yun finished speaking.
"Students can probably guess roughly. Taking September enrollment as an example, a six-year-old born in October of a certain year and a child born in June of the following year will be classmates, but because the former is eight months older than the latter, his physical development is better, and riding, archery, and swordsmanship are greatly affected by the body, so the child born in the winter is stronger."
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Yes, being born early not only gives you an advantage in archery or swordsmanship, but also in learning. So, when I was in Ning'an, I advised some parents not to send their children to elementary school too early. It is better to send them a year later than a year earlier. Because unless their children are rare geniuses, otherwise, once they grow up in an environment where they are inferior to others in all aspects, if they do not learn from their mistakes and become braver, they will misunderstand that they are born inferior to others, which will cause a devastating blow to their confidence."
"You... have studied the human race so thoroughly. No one has ever talked about such an important matter before. It seems that it is right to send the child to elementary school early, but you must ensure that the child's classmates are of the same age. I will send a letter to the head of the family tonight and ask him to rearrange the studies of the Zeng family based on your research results. Of course, I suggest that you submit the results of your research to the Holy Academy and the Li Hall to correct some misunderstandings in education, which will be of great benefit to the human race." Zeng Yuan looked at Fang Yun with sincere admiration.
"Well, now I say that diet alone causes your grades to be 10% higher than Lu Zhan's, do you agree?" Fang Yun asked.
“The students agree.”
"Very good. In addition to food, all of you holy families have holy objects. Holy objects attract the vitality of heaven and earth, making the vitality of heaven and earth where you are much thicker than where ordinary students live. The influence of this vitality on academic performance is also 10%. Do you agree?"
Zeng originally wanted to refute, but remembering what Fang Yun said before, he could only nod and said: "You are right, now it is two-tenths."
"Well, the teachers who teach children in the Saint Family are at least Jinshi, and some are even Hanlin. They are all carefully selected. Whether in terms of intelligence, teaching level or other aspects, they are far superior to ordinary scholars. However, the teachers who taught Lu Zhan and us were only Tongsheng. Is it true that the influence of teachers on your and Lu Zhan's grades is 10%?"
"I cannot refute this. The teacher has a great influence on the students. Many people are actually mediocre in all aspects, but because they met a good teacher, their final achievements far exceed their peers."
"Very good. For the fourth item, let me put it in general terms. You, disciples from aristocratic families, can borrow any books at will. You can not only read the original works of the saints' classics, but also read a large number of 'notes' that explain the saints' classics, and you can also read all the 'explanations' that explain the 'notes'. All the pens, inks, papers and inkstones are the best that students can use, and the learning environment is also the best. Your way of getting information is a broad road. Lu Zhan couldn't buy a lot of books at that time, and he couldn't even borrow them. His way of getting information was a narrow path. So, because of this advantage, your grades can be 10% higher than Lu Zhan's. Does it make sense?" Fang Yun asked.
Zeng Yuan looked ashamed and said, "Sir, what you are teaching me is that I only knew that we, the children of noble families, have advantages, but I also thought that the reason why the children of commoners did not perform as well as us was mainly because they did not work hard. After listening to what you said, I realized that I was completely ignorant and stupid."
Fang Yun smiled and continued, "The fifth item is the time to study. Lu Zhan's family runs a grocery store, and he is occasionally called to help out. It's not a heavy job, but over time, it will naturally delay his study time. Moreover, after Lu Zhan left school, his parents were often not around, and there was no one to discipline him. As an ordinary child, it was difficult for him to persist in studying. You can blame him for being ignorant, but you can't deny that you have someone to look after you and help you. Just in terms of study time and efficiency, your grades can be 10% higher than his."
"You're right." Zeng Yuan nodded, knowing that Fang Yun was right.
.(To be continued.)