This summer has been unusual, with long and scorching heat.
The global climate is abnormal, and typhoons are also coming one after another in rare cases.
The torrential rains for days have washed away the undesirable conditions in every corner of the earth over and over again.
School is about to start in a blink of an eye, and time really flies. Looking back on the entire summer vacation, apart from the necessary work and life, I can only be accompanied by books and computers.
"Either reading or traveling, both body and soul must be on the road." Such a beautiful sentence is always exciting to read. However, due to limited mobility, I could only spend the summer by reading behind closed doors.
Fortunately, this can be regarded as the fulfillment of another lofty maxim: On the life journey facing the world, eyes can reach places that the body cannot reach; thoughts can reach places that eyes cannot reach.
I met an old colleague who worked at Xiaozhuang College a few days ago. He told me that Xiaozhuang College now has two campuses, one in Fangshan and one in Mochou. The old school is small and the new school is huge.
The school’s official website describes it as “two districts, one park and three affiliated schools” with more than 16,000 students enrolled. I just don’t know if Xiaozhuang today still implements Tao Xingzhi’s original intention of training rural Chinese teachers.
Tao Xingzhi said, "Xiaozhuang is a collection of poems that will never be finished."
[Teachers are the foundation of education]
Tao Xingzhi The emphasis on and practice of teacher education lies first in concepts. He believes, "We should know that in the Republic of China, there were only people among people. If there was no one who was superior to others, there would be no one who was inferior to others." Education should cultivate people for competition, but it should also cultivate people for cooperation and collaboration. . The most ideal interpersonal relationship in society is "competition within cooperation, and collaboration within competition." An ideal society is one where everyone is equal, so school education should cultivate citizens with an awareness of equality. One of the most basic equalities in society lies in educational opportunities and conditions. As long as this bottom line is maintained, we can "be free at the beginning" and realize the differentiated development of people.
"The biggest difficulty in popularizing education is the training of teachers. If we want to popularize early childhood education, we need at least 1.5 million teachers." Tao Xingzhi had a broad vision. Among his peers, he not only cared about male For children's education, he paid more attention to girls and rural young people; in the vertical age group, he paid attention to both early childhood education and education for the elderly, thus realizing that teachers must be trained on a large scale.
Regarding elite education, Tao Xingzhi’s views are roughly in line with today’s popularity. Today's common saying is: the real elite is about 5%, and the number of children with extremely poor talents is about this number, and the rest of the population is almost the same.
Therefore, promoting primary and secondary education in a relatively equal and balanced manner has a sociological foundation. "If we arrange a thousand people in rows according to their intelligence, we will know that the smartest are a few, the stupidest are also a few, and each one is not much different from the people closest to him."
He opposed authoritarian thinking in the field of education and encouraged people to strive for "personal freedom", which was the same as the "independent spirit and free thought" advocated by his contemporaries Chen Yinke and Wang Guowei. He said, "Most entrepreneurial emperors are geniuses. It is natural for geniuses to avoid geniuses." "The most powerful thing in the world is the genius who has gained true wisdom. If a political genius gains true knowledge and insights about politics from experience, whose The country is not stable."
He revealed that the essence of education under ancient Chinese autocracy was to guide scholars to become rich, become officials and become famous. "The emperor has several ways to lure geniuses into the trap of pseudo-intellect. One is to work on pseudo-intellect according to his intention, and there is hope of a good meal. The other is to work on pseudo-knowledge according to his intention and there is success. The hope of a high official. The third is the hope of glorifying one's ancestors by studying according to his wishes. "As we read it today, this passage was written by Song Zhenzong and has been passed down for a long time. The vernacular expression of this poem:
"A rich family does not need to buy fertile land, there is a thousand bells of millet in the book."
There is no need to build a high building to live in peace, there is a golden house in the book.
Don’t hate the unscrupulous matchmaker when marrying.
Don’t hate having no one to follow you when you go out.
The man’s desire is fulfilled. Life history, read the Five Classics diligently in front of the window. "
However, if the future of studying (study) is only one or a few relatively simple or narrow career options, then the relationship between personal reading and social richness. There must be something wrong. Thousands of troops are working to become officials and thousands of troops are preparing to take exams. This obviously not only hinders the rich development of society, but also limits the diversified development of talents themselves, thus causing society to degenerate.
Tao Xingzhi also has his own understanding of "knowledge". He believes that not all knowledge is valuable knowledge for reality and the future, and there is also pseudo-knowledge. "The world after the 20th century belongs to nations that strive to explore true wisdom. All nations that worship false wisdom will gradually weaken and even perish." At that time, China was in the period of "establishing morality and speaking without asking about the West and the East." During the period, "New China is the product of two civilizations, the East and the West. The combination of these two forces gives color and shape to China's current situation and determines its future destiny and hope."
"China's education should learn from the strengths of others, share all the outstanding achievements of human civilization, and then bring into play the charm and new life of Chinese traditional culture.
? [Teachers should have spiritual pursuits]
? Tao Xingzhi believes that education is "service" and "contribution", and only those with such ambition can enter this door. Teachers' life achievements are reflected in the growth, quantity and quality of students. Just work hard and do your best. As the motto of fellow countryman Hu Shi said: "Work hard to be a camel."
"Educators should know that education is a nameless, profitless and honorless thing. The opportunities that educators receive are purely opportunities to serve and contribute, and there is no honor at all. His opportunities can be divided into four types: (1) There are people who can be taught; (2) Those who can be taught cannot be taught completely; (3) Those who can be taught cannot be taught evenly; (4) Those who have been taught cannot be taught. good. ”
Tao Xingzhi’s ideas of “life education” and “integration of teaching and doing” are consistent. “The school is centered on life. There are both dead and alive schools, and only those schools that center on the students’ whole person, whole school, and whole-day life can be considered a living school. Dead schools only focus on working on books. Between the two, it can be regarded as a school that is neither dead nor alive. "
The school is a living space, a place of culture, an environment of harmonious interpersonal relationships, and a place for mutual influence. "The school is a place where teachers and students live together. They must endure hardships. Spiritual communication and emotional harmony can only be achieved through ups and downs. National events and world trends must also be concerned by teachers and students. Teachers and students in schools should rely on each other, without any barriers, let alone class distinctions. Personalities must influence each other, and habits must exercise each other. People only know that teachers influence students and train students, but they do not know the power of students influencing and training each other and the influence and training of teachers. When the teacher gets along with young people, he will unconsciously become a few years younger mentally. This is the influence of the teacher's love for the students. When students ask questions and ask questions, the teacher must not slack off in his studies for a moment. It is the teacher who is trained by the students. This is inevitable and a good phenomenon. In short, to the extent that teachers and students live together in harmony, to the extent that the school's vitality is promoted, this cannot be faked at all. ”
“School life is the starting point of social life. Look from afar and start from afar. Transforming the social environment must start with transforming the school environment. Teachers and students of the whole school should jointly transform the school environment in the spirit of art. Only by not letting go of anything that needs to be reformed can we show our true spirit. Teachers and students cannot agree with the reformed school environment and talk about social reform, which is to deceive themselves and others. "
Tao Xingzhi advocated that school education should lead people to experience and create a noble spiritual life and "dematerialize". "The noble spirit of life does not need to be bought with money, does not rely on money to cheer up, and cannot be excused by the lack of money. . Things that can be bought with money cannot be bought without money; things that cannot be bought with money can be obtained without money. A noble spirit is like the bright moon in the mountains or the cool breeze on the river. It is inexhaustible and has endless uses. Having no money is one thing, but having no spirit is another. I have seen schools with money but no spirit and schools with no money and spirit. Spirit cannot be bought with money. The spirit is within us, and as long as we are willing to let go of it, we will have the same spirit. It doesn’t matter if I have money or not, it just asks if I am willing to put my spirit out. ”
“Mr. Yangming said: ‘Knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge. ’ I think it’s wrong: action is the beginning of knowledge, and knowledge is the completion of action. "Perhaps at this point, he changed the original name "Zhi Xing" to "Xing Zhi".
["Xing" together]
Over and over again, I experienced Tao Xingzhi's "doing" "Middle school" and "teaching and doing" pale in comparison to my own educational career. I am ashamed and it also deepens that "the first scene of education is among students", in the living world, learning world, inner world and future of teachers and students. ***A real understanding of Xu Zhong.
Since the holidays, I have been thinking about the situation of those children.
If I don’t go to visit, school will start. /p>
Yesterday, with the help of colleagues, we once again spontaneously set foot on Ningwu Road, passed by the "old place", and walked into the rented home of the triplets in the old city.
The children's father went to work
This was the first time that he did not wait for our visit as usual
The children's mother said again: "My child." If Dad had not put his savings into the transportation business the year before last and lost money, his life would be easier now. Now, he can only drive trucks for others. When there is goods to haul, he will be paid, but if there is no goods to haul, he will have no money. During the summer vacation, I went to Nanjing to buy goods, and I had the opportunity to take my three younger daughters to the Nanjing construction site.
The eldest daughter was admitted to college this year, and she went to Golden Eagle Hotpot during the holidays. Working in a store, I can earn 80 yuan a day. The tuition for college costs more than 10,000 yuan a year, as well as food, accommodation and clothing expenses. I have to find a way to earn some money.
The eldest daughter told us: The restaurant owner is afraid of this. A "quasi-college student" and future "stewardess" (flight attendant major) was burned, and she was deliberately not allowed to touch the hot pot or stove.
The head teacher of the triplets who were traveling with her told us: The three children were studying. They work very hard, their grades have improved, and they are all good athletes in sports meets.
Speaking of the sports meeting, Teacher Song once again said with excitement: With the three of them, our class only needs to recruit one more girl for the "women's relay event", and it will be complete, and she will definitely win the prize.
Next semester, the eldest daughter will go to college in a big city, and the triplets will all be promoted to ninth grade. During every home visit, the topic of livelihood and financial pressure must be discussed. This pressure often turns into a cloud of sadness in the corners of the eyes of the children's mothers, which lingers. Her smile always makes people imagine the kind of "tears-filled smile."
Of course, every time she visits this "popular" home, the teachers tacitly agree and bring along The school supplies and gifts are all based on the children's wishes after consultation in advance, and any donations are never made public.
This time, regarding the new difficulties at home for the children, on the way home, everyone was thinking about how to continue to help.
This is a family that is temporarily facing financial difficulties. Tuition fees and living expenses are an eternal knot in the hearts of these parents.
This is also a family full of unlimited hope: in less than three years, the eldest daughter will fly through the air with a commercial airliner and realize her dream of blue skies. The triplets' eyes always showed intelligence and ambition. They are in good health and are making progress in their studies. I believe that with the help of society and more people, their outstanding growth will be very imaginative.
You don’t have to think about helping others in return. Of course, this is related to the cultural tradition of our family-friendly society. Mencius studied Chinese culture deeply, and his views had a profound impact on later generations: "I am old, and I am related to the old of others; I am young, and I am related to the young of others." From this point of view, the love between Chinese people has differences, intimacy and distance, and is generally a concentric circle.
The real purpose of helping others is the transmission and expansion of the recipient's consciousness and behavior. Love is not one-way, but the love of education should create ripples, even waves.
What’s more, every interaction with students’ families enriches our educational vision and social observation, and every communication with students also gives us a lot of inspiration and motivation. There is no absolute teaching or absolute learning, nor are there teachers who only teach but not learn, and students who only learn but do not teach. This is exactly Mr. Tao's point of view.
If one person “does it”, there is hope for the small world of education. If three people "walk", they must have my teacher. By "walking" together, the "pond" of education becomes "clear" because of the "coming of living water".
Thanks also to my colleagues for participating!
[Note]? Derived from the previous article China’s Educational Reform: Answers to Cao Cao’s Questions/How to Popularize Early Childhood Education/The “Pseudo-Intellectual” Class/Artist Teacher Education System Answers Guest Questions; the next article Supplement to related articles: ***Hejingyi/China in Transformation/Opportunities and Responsibilities of Educators/Education and Scientific Methods/My View of School/Action is the Beginning of Knowledge