The author of Xueji summarizes the lessons and lessons of the successes and failures of education since the pre-Qin period, and puts forward the principles and methods that must be followed in the process of education and teaching from the point of starting point by pointing out the problems.

First of all, the author points out the problems that existed in the education and teaching process at that time. He said: Today's teachers rely only on reciting texts, instilling a lot of them, and blindly rushing the progress, without regard to the students' ability to accept them, so that they cannot settle down to study. Teaching people cannot be taught according to their aptitude, and students' talents cannot be fully developed. The teaching methods are contrary to the principles of teaching and the requirements put forward are not in line with the reality of the students. In this way, the student will hate his studies and resent his teachers, suffering from the difficulties of his studies and not understanding its benefits. Although he finishes his studies, he will inevitably forget what he has learned quickly.

Teachers only allow students to read texts aloud and do not allow students to think independently; It only asks tedious questions, blindly teaches and indoctrinates, and does not pay attention to the cultivation of students' initiative spirit; In the teaching process, teachers only focus on rushing the speed and rushing for time without considering the students' receptivity. Teaching is punished only from the wishes of the educator, without taking into account the inner needs of the students; Teachers do not take into account the differences in students' personalities and talents, and teach students in a one-size-fits-all manner. These major drawbacks are very good for teaching work, it leads students to hate learning and resent teachers, to regard learning as a painful thing, and not to experience the joy of it, so that although students are learning every day on the surface, they have not made substantial progress in their studies, and even if they barely finish their studies, they will quickly forget. In order to correct the problems existing in teaching, Xueji discusses the factors of educational success and the reasons for educational failure, and puts forward the principles and methods that should be followed in the teaching process:

Principles of university education: Educating before the development of adolescence is called placing rebellion; Educating at the time of moral and academic achievement is called timeliness; Education that does not exceed the student's receptivity is called smooth; Pondering each other's questions and answers to reach their own understanding is called observation. These four points are the foundation of educational success.

If you try to ban it after the problem has occurred, the student will have a strong resistance and it will not be effective; If you miss the best time to study, it will be difficult to be effective even if you are diligent and hardworking. If teaching is disorganized and not progressive, teaching will fall into chaos and students will not be effective. If you meditate and study alone without learning from each other, you will be shallow in knowledge and will not be able to see widely; Associating with friends with bad character will lead to some bad habits and disobedience to the teacher's teachings; Engaging in some indecent conversation will ruin your studies. These six points are the reasons for the failure of teaching.

"Xueji" advocates the principle of prevention first, and when students' bad thoughts and bad problems have not yet formed, they should be eliminated in the bud. Practice has proved that it is much more difficult to transform the old than to shape the new, as the "Xue Ji" said: after the problem has occurred, and then try to prohibit it, the students will have a strong resistance and no effect. Therefore, whether it is the teaching of civilized knowledge or the cultivation of moral character, we should adhere to the principle of giving priority to prevention, shaping first, and reform as a supplement.

Education and teaching should follow the principle of timely teaching. The "Xue Ji" requires that teaching must grasp the right time and teach in a timely manner. This has two meanings: first, young people should enter school at the right time, enter school at the best learning age, and do not lose the best opportunity; Second, teachers should grasp the key opportunity to teach in the teaching process, develop students' curiosity for knowledge, and give timely ignition when students have a strong thirst for knowledge. Otherwise, we will miss the best age for learning, miss the critical period for forming a certain psychological quality, and it will be difficult to be effective even if we are diligent and hardworking.

Education and teaching also follow the principle of gradual progress. The main meanings of the "Xueji" emphasize that learning should not go beyond the order, but should be gradual, and the main meanings include: first, the order of students' cognitive activities must be considered, that is, the teaching content and social teaching methods must be arranged according to the students' receptivity; The second is to follow the logical system within scientific knowledge for teaching, otherwise the teaching will be disorganized and cannot be done step by step, the teaching will fall into chaos and the students' learning will not be effective;

Education and teaching are also based on the principle of mutual observation. "Xueji" emphasizes the exchange between teachers and friends, learning from each other's strengths and complementing each other's weaknesses, and making progress together with the help of collective strength in collective discussion, contention and competition. Otherwise, if a person studies alone, detached from the collective environment and refuses the help of his classmates and works behind closed doors, it will inevitably cause the embarrassment of being lonely and unheard. However, we must be cautious in choosing friends, if we make friends with people who are not careful, not only will we not be able to answer the purpose of mutual observation, but we will also go against the teachings of the teacher, and even abandon our studies, as the so-called association with friends with bad character will learn some bad habits and disobey the teachings of the teacher, and engaging in some improper conversations will waste our studies.

The greatest contribution to the history of Chinese education and to the history of world education is that it put forward for the first time the teaching principles of "being good at discovering students' strengths and guiding students to correct their own mistakes and mistakes" and "teachers' explanations should be combined with personal understanding in order to digest knowledge", inheriting and developing the enlightenment and guidance advocated by Confucius, that is, the teaching principle of being good at teaching metaphors.