Tu Huiyuan, a famous educator in modern China, is one of the important figures in the history of Chinese education. His educational thoughts and practices have had a profound impact on Chinese education, and he is known as the "founder of modern Chinese education."
1. The life of Tu Huiyuan
Tu Huiyuan was born in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province in 1879. He was a child of a scholarly family. His father, Tu Jingyuan, was a famous educator and poet who had a great influence on Tu Huiyuan's education. Tu Huiyuan was smart and studious since he was a child. He liked reading very much and had a wide range of hobbies, especially poetry and calligraphy.
Tu Huiyuan studied in many famous schools such as Suzhou Middle School and Nanjing Normal School, and then went to Japan to study. He studied in many schools such as Tokyo Normal School and Waseda University, and learned Western educational theories. and practice, deeply inspired.
After returning to China, Tu Huiyuan successively served as a professor at Nanjing Normal University, director of the Education Department of National Peking University, and president of National Central University, making important contributions to China's education. Tu Huiyuan passed away in 1941 at the age of 63.
2. Tu Huiyuan’s educational thoughts
Tu Huiyuan’s educational thoughts can be summarized as “people-oriented, learning-oriented, teaching-oriented, and teacher-oriented”. He advocated that education should aim at the all-round development of people and focus on cultivating students' thinking, innovation and practical abilities, so that students can become independent people.
Tu Huiyuan also emphasized the practicality and pertinence of education, believing that education should be closely integrated with social and production practices to cultivate students' practical abilities and skills so that they can contribute to society.
In addition, Tu Huiyuan also put forward the view that "education must be interesting", believing that education should focus on cultivating students' interests and hobbies, so that they can feel happiness and fun in learning.
3. Tu Huiyuan’s educational practice
Tu Huiyuan’s educational practice is mainly reflected in his teaching and management work. He focuses on cultivating students' practical abilities and skills, and advocates "integrating theory with practice" so that students can learn in practice and improve their abilities through practice.
Tu Huiyuan also paid attention to the training and management of teachers, and put forward the view that "teachers are the soul of education" and believed that teachers should have superb educational theory and practical abilities in order to have a positive impact on students.
Tu Huiyuan also focused on the internationalization and modernization of education, actively promoted the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western education, introduced Western educational theories and practices, and made important contributions to the modern development of Chinese education.
4. Tu Huiyuan’s influence
Tu Huiyuan’s educational thoughts and practices have had a profound impact on Chinese education. The educational philosophy of "people-oriented, learning-oriented, teaching-centered, and teacher-centered" proposed by him has become one of the important directions of China's education reform.
Tu Huiyuan also advocated the view that "education should be interesting", which promoted the humanistic and artistic aspects of Chinese education and laid the foundation for cultivating all-round development of talents.
Tu Huiyuan’s educational practice and management experience also provide important reference and inspiration for the modernization and international development of Chinese education.