First, the purpose is "being a man"-this is the purpose and goal of education.
Ye believes that the purpose of education is nothing more than to let the educated learn to be human. It is not correct to regard education only as reading books and reading several textbooks. Reading books and textbooks are just means, and the ultimate goal is to learn to be a man. To be educated, we must learn to be a man, not only by reading books, but also by reading textbooks at school; Out of school, into the society, contact with all kinds of problems, deal with all kinds of contradictions, and absorb all kinds of information are all educated. On the question of "being a man", it should be never too old to learn and there is no end to learning.
When it comes to "being a man", people have all kinds of people and do it in various ways. Ye said: "The meaning and purpose of education is to be a man, a qualified member of society and a qualified citizen of the country." What is "qualified" in Ye's mind? First of all, we must understand that people live to promote the development of society and the country, not for personal gain. As early as 1932, he raised the question of "why study" to middle school students. He believes: "Learning cannot be without a center; In other words, learn this, learn that and know what to do. Will it tend to be' authoritarianism and capitalist individualism in feudal times', or will it tend to be' collectivism that makes the human labor force develop indefinitely'? Without making a decision on this issue, learning is like a blind man riding a blind horse. " This is the direction and foundation of being a man. In modern society, only people with a broad mind of collectivism can really benefit mankind, society and the country. Secondly, we should understand the truth and practice of some things in the world, that is, being able to "know" and "act" when encountering problems and contradictions. Ye said: "To be a man, we must deal with things and things, and we must rely on knowledge and ability to deal with them. If you don't know the truth and practice, you won't deal with each other and your life will be in a mess. How can you get it? " Knowledge and skills are the minimum conditions for being a man. In modern society, new problems, new contradictions and new things are constantly emerging, and various social relations are becoming more and more complicated. A "qualified" social member and national citizen needs "knowledge" and "ability", both in quantity and quality, and the requirements will be much higher than before. Education is a fundamental theoretical issue, which will enrich new historical content in practice.
How to be a man? Ye believes that students at school are learning to be human, but in fact, the process of "learning" must also be the process of "doing". It can't be said that the student days are only the "preparation" stage of being a man in the future; Otherwise, it means that being a student and being a man are two different things, which is absolutely unreasonable. Ye said: "Students study and do their homework at school to prepare for future life and work. This is the idea of thousands of teachers and parents and the reservation of thousands of students. In other words, students are not living, but preparing for life. Therefore, all actions and thoughts are looking at the future ahead from a distance, but they obliterate the present. Therefore, all creatures from primary school to university can only be counted as students, not as people. They only studied some subjects and did nothing. " This concept is very harmful, because the future is important, but the present is the foothold and starting point leading to the future, which is equally important. Learn to be a qualified student now and a qualified citizen in the future. Learning is doing, which is to implement it step by step. Therefore, Ye stressed that in the process of seeking knowledge and ability, the educated must devote all their energy to seeking knowledge and seeking truth, not only in ideological understanding, but also in words, and in action.
Since the purpose of education is to let the educated learn to be a man, everyone must learn to be a man, otherwise it will affect the progress of the whole human civilization and the development of the whole society and country, so the beneficiaries of education must be all the educated, not a few "super" people. In the 1940s, Ye's family shouted loudly: "Education should be designed for the whole society and for cultivating people to make a difference to society; Education should not be designed to select a few people. As a result, these people will be glorious, stand on everyone's head, reach out and accept everyone's support. " 1978 After the Gang of Four was crushed, when he called for "vigorously studying Chinese teaching and improving it as soon as possible", he also emphasized: "Chinese is a tool, in natural science, in astronomy, geography, biology, mathematics, science, culture, literature, history, philosophy and classics, in learning, expression and communication. Only when all students are good at using this tool (it is not enough to say that most students are good at using this tool) can Chinese teaching be considered as doing their part to greatly improve the scientific and cultural level of the whole Chinese nation and realize the four modernizations. " "Majority" is not enough, it must be all. This is a serious denial of the educational idea that general education is only for cultivating a few "top students"
Second, focus on "habits"-this is the key to achieving educational goals.
The highlight of Ye's educational thought is not only to emphasize that the fundamental purpose of education is to cultivate qualified social members and national citizens, but also to emphasize that the key to "cultivation" is to cultivate all kinds of good habits. Learning to be a man, in a word, is to gradually develop various good habits of being a man.
Ye asked all educated people to become people with real talent and practical learning. What is the sign of this "real skill"? Ye's point of view is: just get used to it. Ye said: "No matter what kind of ability, we are used to it. If we don't get used to it and do it reluctantly, then we don't have that ability. " "The more habits you form, the stronger that person's ability. We need all kinds of abilities to do things, so the most important thing is to develop all kinds of habits. " In this sense, Ye believes that the purpose of education is to cultivate good habits and benefit them for life.
Habit is a lasting and stable way of action. Habits are good and bad. Good habits are cultivated and benefit for life; When bad habits are formed, they will be implicated for life and even endanger others and society. Ye believes that among countless habits, there are two habits that must not be cultivated: one is the habit of not cultivating any habits, and the other is the habit of disturbing others. The so-called "habit of not forming any habit" means to treat everything casually, do whatever you want, don't follow any rules, and don't want to follow any rules at all. Such thoughts and practices have become habits, so all really good habits cannot be formed. The requirement of "qualified" is to be strict with yourself and qualified. People who care nothing can never meet this requirement. So, in essence, this is a habit of not wanting to receive any education. The other is "disturbing other people's habits", as simple as spitting and talking loudly; Generally speaking, it's like embezzling public property and invading other countries. These are all harmful behaviors with individualism as the core. All evil people, the first step is to "hinder others."
Ye believes that to form good habits, we should start from "early" and "small". Starting from "early" means emphasizing "starting" and grasping the first step of starting. Ye said: "What you need all your life needs to form good habits. Before the habit is formed, start properly, concentrate on it, and do it reluctantly. Gradually, I don't feel reluctant, and gradually I get used to it, and I can't do anything. This is a good habit that has been formed and will last for a lifetime. If it is not appropriate at first, it will become a bad habit in the future. " The so-called "small" is to pay attention to developing good habits from subtle words and deeds and every move, so as to be fair and decent when dealing with major events and handling the overall situation. When discussing the necessity of "changing one's life" during the Anti-Japanese War, Ye made an incisive analysis of "being a public servant". He said: "When it comes to developing behavior habits, we should start from the smallest and most common occasions and gradually reap more achievements. When we meet subtle and unusual occasions, we can naturally serve the public. Public envelopes and letterheads don't write private letters at all. What tickets you buy and what cars you get on come in order. These things seem insignificant, but when they become a habit, they can ensure that they will not be corrupt and will not infringe on the freedom of others. " When students are studying at school, most of their words and deeds are not important events related to society and the country. However, good habits should be gradually cultivated from these little things.
Ye said: "To form a habit, in other words, education." In this way, in Ye's mind, forming habits and receiving education are two different things.
Third, it is important to be "complacent"-this is the principle of implementing education.
Ye confirmed that the key to implementing education is to cultivate all kinds of good habits, so the cultivation of habits must rely on the educated themselves to try and do it according to the prescribed requirements. Habits are cultivated by self-motivation, and all knowledge and abilities are obtained by self-satisfaction; Extracorporeal perfusion is useless, at least it is more work and less gain.
For education, Ye put forward a famous principle, that is, teaching is to achieve the purpose of not needing teaching. He said: "I often use monolinguals recently, and the purpose of teaching is to realize that there is no need to teach." What is the so-called "no need to teach"? That is: I can study without waiting for the teacher to tell me; I can write my own composition without waiting for the teacher to correct it. In other words, I have the ability of self-education. In Ye's view, an educated person must be a person with enough self-learning ability to educate himself anytime and anywhere. Otherwise, you are not an educated person. Therefore, Ye further stressed: "The main functions of schools at all levels, as well as tutorial and further education institutions, are constantly guiding students to learn by themselves."
Ye Zeng demonstrated the importance of self-study ability from two aspects: the breadth and depth of knowledge. Judging from the breadth of knowledge, there should be too much knowledge to talk about in order to be a "qualified" modern person in modern society. All kinds of educational institutions can only teach students with their important and basic examples; There are many other things that students must learn to draw inferences from others, learn by themselves, study by themselves, master by themselves and expand by themselves. From the depth of knowledge, the accumulation of human knowledge wealth is not mainly mechanical addition, but development and evolution. Therefore, the educated should never "only know what to keep, but not what to change" about the ready-made knowledge; We must make some discoveries, reforms and innovations through our own independent thinking on the basis of accepting the experience of our predecessors. This kind of discovery, reform and innovation is irreplaceable by others; We must gradually achieve this situation in the process of self-study.
To cultivate self-study ability, teachers must work hard on the word "guidance". In other words, a good teacher must be a good guide first. Ye said: "Of course, teachers should teach, and it is especially appropriate to devote themselves to' guidance'. Guided reading, do everything possible to make students gradually find out for themselves. The bottom of death is not waiting for the teacher to teach. " The key here is to always pay attention to "reducing students' dependence". Students form the habit of relying on teachers, which is a failure of education. Understanding a problem depends on the teacher's story; Record the main points of knowledge and rely on the teacher to write on the blackboard; To know the mistakes in chapters and sentences, rely on the teacher's correction; Further, check how you are learning and rely on the teacher's test; Restrain your words and deeds, do not indulge, and rely on the teacher's discipline. In this way, can he become a person with autonomy and self-care ability after leaving school? Therefore, Ye believes that education work is "like holding a child to walk. Although you hold it carefully, you will never forget to let go". This "never forgetting to let go" is an educational principle expressed by Ye's image.
We firmly believe that the principle of education lies in "self-seeking", and we must fully understand that any educated person has the inherent potential of "self-seeking". Ye said: "Teachers who are good at inspiration regard students as organic seeds and have the function of germination and growth. As long as they are properly cultivated and cared for, they can naturally grow into beautiful grains, beautiful vegetables, good trees and good flowers. " A student, even a child who has just received enlightenment education, is not an ignorant and omnipotent wood. He always has some foundation to accept new knowledge and master new skills. A good teacher is nothing more than being good at making use of this foundation. Through inspiration and induction, students can gain new knowledge and exercise new skills by virtue of their original potential. The poor teacher always underestimates students' learning potential, and talks endlessly about where students can fully understand and master by their own efforts, so that students are bored and sleepy.
The ways and means of education can be varied, but the principles of implementing education should be determined. Ye said: "I don't think the method should be fixed in one (equivalent to the popular' one size fits all' in recent years)." The goal of various ways and means should be "to reach a situation where teaching is not needed" and "to cultivate students into a new generation that surpasses their predecessors in all aspects".
Fourth, the effect lies in "intuition"-this is an effective way to implement education.
"I always feel very shallow when I get the paper. I should know it should be done. " The old concept that education is reading has caused the bias that school education simply and unilaterally attaches importance to book knowledge. Ye argues that the best effect of education requires us to attach importance to intuition. Ye's "intuition" means more than just using pictures or other intuitive teaching AIDS in classroom teaching. Its connotation is much richer and deeper.
Ye believes that school life is also an integral part of social life, and even a microcosm of social life. The education students receive at school is actually to learn how to live and how to be a man. Therefore, schools should set up various environments for students, so that they can learn to live and be human directly in these environments. As early as teaching in Wuxian, Ye and friends such as Wu Binruo and Wang founded Life Farm and Liqun Bookstore, as well as a reading room, a music room and a seal cutting room, and organized a drama team and a speech team. A variety of extracurricular practical activities have been carried out to let students get in touch with life as early as possible and exercise their living ability. In 1930s, he pointedly pointed out that it was inappropriate to study only Mandarin, but in natural science and social studies, he only read books. What is this? A cat, a fly, a historic site and a public security bureau are all practical things that can be directly contacted. Why not let children touch it directly, but write these things in a notebook so that they can only touch some words? In this way, words become an obstacle to wisdom. Until now, he still firmly believes that education must attach importance to intuition, and intuition "is direct contact with things." "From the perspective of the school, it is conditional to open up animal and plant mineral specimen rooms, physical and chemical laboratories, reading rooms, practice workshops, plantations and the like; Outside the school, students should be organized to visit and study in zoos, botanical gardens, museums, planetariums, geological museum, science and technology museums and libraries; In other words, factory visits, rural visits, social surveys, holiday trips, etc. It is also a good way to educate students from intuition. Therefore, Ye's "intuition" theory is a simple and simple expression of education facing life, reality and society.
Ye's "intuitive" education not only refers to direct contact with various things and things, but also refers to direct contact with various people. The ancients said, "Those who are pro-Zhu Zhechi are pro-Mexico, and those who are pro-Mexico are black." Therefore, Ye stressed that a person should get in touch with people with good conduct and people who are good enough to be role models in his youth and get a good influence from them. Ye said: "Is there an intuitive way for students to' really' practice good behavior? I said yes. First, the teacher sets an example and always acts as a teacher, which is the closest intuition for students. Second, it is extremely beneficial and intuitive for students to get close to advanced figures in all aspects. " It is very important and intuitive for teenagers to see their future from noble and upright adults.
Ye's emphasis on the effectiveness of intuition is directly related to his firm belief in the practicality, appeal and comprehensiveness of education. Education should not only make people "know", but also make people "walk" and be able to do things on the spot, that is, contact things directly; Education should not only appeal to people's reason, but also appeal to people's emotions. It should be able to be infected and edified emotionally and produce a subtle effect. Only in the process of direct contact with relevant people and things can it germinate and stir up waves. Education should not only impart some knowledge and skills, but also make the educated develop in all aspects, so that they can really adapt to the needs of real life. Therefore, we must pay attention to comprehensiveness and integrity, and this kind of comprehensive and holistic education can often be effectively realized in the process of direct contact with things.
Ye's educational thought is extensive and profound, which embodies the unity of distinctiveness and richness. Of course, the four aspects summarized above are far from exhausting all his theoretical achievements, but I believe this is at least some essence in his theoretical treasure house. These theoretical viewpoints still have guiding and reference significance for observing, researching and promoting our current educational work.
two
The formation of Ye Shengtao's educational theory has a rich and profound foundation.
The essence of China's traditional education for thousands of years is an important foundation for the formation of Ye's educational thought. Ye was a soldier who held high the banner of scientific democracy during the May 4th Movement and bravely attacked the old feudal education at that time. His innovative education began with criticizing and denying the classicism and legalism of the old-style education. His attacks, criticisms and denials all focused on the anti-scientific and anti-democratic decadent nature of old-style education serving feudal absolutism. He never arbitrarily denied the theoretical viewpoints and practical experience put forward by some ancient philosophers and scholars. On the contrary, he always brilliantly expounded these precious essence of national education, in order to shine again in the new historical period. He said a long time ago: "China people need modernization, but China people need to know themselves first." The so-called "knowing yourself" here means knowing your past, respecting your history and realizing all the advantages and disadvantages of traditional culture. Ye did do this. In his educational theory, we can see not only the sharp criticism of the dross in traditional education, but also the absorption and transformation of the essence in traditional education.
Confucius said, "If you don't get angry, you won't get angry. If you don't get angry, you won't get angry. If you don't take a corner, you won't get it again." This is an important educational principle. Ye has always advocated that education should focus on inspiration and guide students to draw inferences. In the preface of Chen Xia's recent book The Laws of Education and Others, he also emphasized: "Angry inspiration is a law." Mencius said, "A gentleman learns Tao and wants to be complacent. If you are complacent, you will be prepared for danger in times of peace. If you are prepared for danger in times of peace, you will have deep capital. " Advocating "self-satisfaction", Ye Can can be said to have devoted all his efforts, and explained the necessity of "self-satisfaction" from the height of "lifelong education", which endowed the times with new contents. Xunzi said: "The ancient people are themselves, and the present people are human beings." From the perspective of the educated, it is affirmed that learning must seek its own real benefits. Ye wrote an article entitled "For Yourself" for this purpose, which brilliantly explained Xunzi's "For Yourself" saying: "For Yourself, that is to say, learn to use it for yourself and lead a happy life. Being a man is what you learn, and it has nothing to do with life. If you haven't learned it, you will talk empty words and put on airs, making people mistakenly think that he has learned it. " Ye believes that if we aim at "serving ourselves", we must abandon the practice of studying hard, but "turn all kinds of truths and practices printed in books into our knowledge and ability" and "mix all kinds of lessons with our thoughts and behaviors anytime and anywhere", so as to truly become people who are beneficial to society. The famous sayings of these sages are undoubtedly an important basis for Ye's educational thought to embody national characteristics.
In terms of education and teaching methods, Ye should also abandon it and take it, and never adopt the attitude of historical nihilism. Confucius advocated "reviewing the past" and thought that "reviewing the past and knowing the new can be a teacher". Most bookstores in later generations also stressed the need to review old lessons. Ye has his own feelings about this. He said: "It was a good idea to study in a bookstore before and learn something new, so as to review the past and learn something new. It's a good idea to set aside some time to review what you have read before during your study. Teaching Chinese should be adopted now. " He believes that by reviewing the past, "recalling existing knowledge and experience and seeking new knowledge and experience will never be less than the last one." Another example is that ancient literature pays attention to "reciting", and Ye's deep thought is "the subject of Chinese, and you can't just learn it with your heart; Besides the heart and eyes, it is better to use the mouth and ears. Recitation is a learning method that combines the heart, eyes, mouth and ears to thoroughly explain the scientific basis of recitation. However, he also noticed the defects in the application of traditional chanting methods: first, "most people don't pay attention to content and truth, but only spend their time chanting", which is naturally not a good way; The second is to practice "cramming". This "spoon-feeding" method is unacceptable. After a while, I forgot all the words. How can I say it? " Therefore, Ye believes that it is biased to attach importance to the content and law of discussion and ignore chanting; It is also a kind of bias to focus only on recitation and ignore the discussion of content and laws. "Only if we don't ignore the inquiry and chanting, then it is complete and impartial. "
It can be seen that Ye cherishes the essence of traditional educational theory and educational practice experience, which can be analyzed with more scientific viewpoints and methods, so as to selectively absorb it. This innovative spirit based on excellent national traditions is a distinctive feature of Ye's educational thought.