What does it mean for a parrot to be a coachman?

A parrot as a driver is a metaphor, which is used to describe a person or a group who forcibly does something that they are not good at, but the result is meaningless or ridiculous. The origin of this metaphor can be traced back to an ancient joke story in China, in which a man tied a parrot to a wheel and tried to use it instead of a horse-drawn cart, but the result was ironic. This metaphor tells us that we should be clear about our abilities and limitations, and we should not blindly believe in ourselves or try blindly, otherwise it will lead to failure and ridicule.

The metaphor of a parrot as a driver can also be used to refer to some absurd policies or behaviors. For example, some government officials, out of the need of performance appraisal or bonus distribution, will set some absurd indicators or goals that the people must meet. These indicators or targets are not only far from the actual situation, but also lack of scientificity and feasibility. This is like tying a parrot to a wheel and letting it pull the cart, which is meaningless and ridiculous.

The influence of parrots as drivers can also extend to the field of education. Today's education system pays attention to knowledge output and test scores, but ignores the cultivation of quality education and innovation ability. This leads our students to be keen on rote memorization, but they don't know the cross-application and innovation of mathematics, physics, literature, history and philosophy. Under this educational system, we can't help asking, are our children singing old poems and doing topics mechanically like parrots, or are they keen to see and innovate the future like human geniuses who create and explore?