My educational philosophy is: shock the soul, open wisdom, perfect personality, and make students become a broad-minded and energetic person.
I tell my children to think about three questions all the time: Who am I?
? Where did it come from? Where are you going? These three questions have no answers, but they are the most meaningful and can lead our lives to high places. "
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This is a "million-word letter" written by a middle school Chinese teacher in Xi 'an to students and parents. He called it a "confession of the soul". Sincere feelings and sincere thinking about China's education deeply touched us.
Education in China has been indulged for a long time. Criticism of "exam-oriented education" and "utilitarian education" has also been endless, including this newspaper's cry for the phenomenon of Olympic mathematics class that has long been mutated. However, this problem is too heavy. Today, thousands of children are still growing up under this seemingly solidified educational concept. Children's glasses are thicker, their hearts are more fragile, and their growth is still confused.
"Education is the influence of one life on another." Teacher Yang described his education view. He expounded his educational philosophy: "It is to shock the soul, open wisdom and perfect personality. The purpose is to let students learn to think independently and judge independently, so as to achieve independent action and become a broad-minded and energetic person. " Compared with the exam-oriented education, which is interpreted to the extreme, and the enrollment rate is the only evaluation criterion, he believes that general education and comprehensive personality education are more beneficial to children in the long run, but the real change seems so slow and difficult.
"If we let students only have the poor words" struggle ","struggle "and" success "in their dictionaries, then I want to ask: Where is the life of students? Where do you live? The education that has always lagged behind life and happiness is doomed to be unsuccessful. Because life can't be preserved, everything has a shelf life. Can you return to sixteen when you are sixty? With what to care for the happiness and quality of life? "
This is his cry and query about the whole education in China.
This high school Chinese teacher who advocates that education is a "conscience project" runs through his letters with confusion and pain. Although his thinking may inevitably be subjective and one-sided, between the lines, it is sincere and warm, full of love and passion for education. Behind his eager cry and deep anxiety, it is closely linked with the future of his children and even the future of China. On the one hand, we publish this letter to share his views with readers, and at the same time, we hope to think with dear readers: Is Teacher Yang's loud voice reasonable? How do children grow up? And where is the future of education in China?
I've been struggling these days. Because of the "petition" of several parents, I was told to go to the headmaster. For a "senior" teacher, this is undoubtedly a serious event. Although I can understand the positions held by all parties, I still face a lot of confusion. Not long ago, there was a parent-teacher conference. After the meeting, a parent communicated with me and said some words of praise and encouragement, saying that there are really too few teachers like me now. It is not easy not only to teach, but also to be a spiritual teacher for children. I have even heard the word "worship". I once told students not to worship anyone and not to let others worship themselves. All men are created equal, and everyone is a rare and priceless treasure. This is modern consciousness. When I heard the parents say "worship" again, I immediately interjected: "Don't worship, I am friends with my children." I told my parents that I had been educating myself. This is not modesty, but a self-need.
Unexpectedly, the next day, the situation changed suddenly. The leader asked me to "talk" and said that several parents had opinions on me, mainly because the students did not believe what I said and had doubts; I am not superstitious about my parents' words, and even argue with my parents with facts and reasons; It is said that I make critical remarks in class, expose the dark side of society, and educate students to understand society correctly with "positive sunshine". That's about it.
I deeply understand the painstaking efforts of the leaders. Under the realistic background of education marketization, parents pay tuition fees and buy school education services. As a "service unit", can a school ignore the requirements of "God" for the sake of "sustainable development"?
Although I made some explanations afterwards, it seems very tiring to communicate in different thinking spaces. In fact, the one-sided words of individual parents can explain a little problem, but it is easy to cover up bigger problems. I talked about the reasons for my value choice in the light of some college students' suicides. It is hoped that life education will be used to control and restrain the utilitarian impulse under the examination-oriented education, and life education and ideal education will be placed in an important position. Of course, from the perspective of real life, college entrance examination results are also very important, but we must find a balance in the middle. We must use the big goals of life to control the small goals of the college entrance examination. If the goal is high, the action will be more powerful.
In this way, I suddenly entered a crack: on the one hand, some students and parents praised and worshipped, on the other hand, parents of individual students rejected and petitioned, and my heart was mixed.
1
I just hope that my life will not sink, and I can bring some use to the world. In educational actions, let children understand that living is to seek the value and meaning of life.
Come to think of it, parents also have their own basis. Whether officials or ordinary people, whether successful or not, their children must enter this world, establish a kind of identity with this world, and listen to the words of "adults." After all, this society is dominated by "adults". If children have rebellious thoughts or don't study hard, they won't be admitted to a good university. Where can they lose face? My parents' worries can't be said to be unreasonable, but some parents have great misunderstandings about me.
Back to myself, my educational philosophy is: shocking the soul, opening wisdom and perfecting personality. The purpose is to let students learn to think independently, judge independently, and then act independently to become a broad-minded and energetic person. In knowledge education, I try my best to practice general education and whole personality education. I think general education and whole personality education are more beneficial to children in the long run.
From the utilitarian point of view, some children can't write articles. The key is that they have no thoughts, and their courage and talent come from thoughts. Without the accumulation of reading and life experience, they don't pay attention to and think about reality. How do they form ideas? We often say "humanistic spirit", but in fact, the problem of "literature" is fundamentally a problem of "people". "Literature" is issued by the pulse of human heart. Water flows from the fountain and blood flows from the blood vessels. Article is the most intuitive reflection of a person's inner ecology and the most fundamental existence of a person.
Teachers should have life and people, not just "education". I don't want to prove my transcendence. I just hope that my life will not sink, and I can bring some use to the world. In the educational action, let children understand that to live is to seek value and meaning, and to control their own destiny. In many systems of a society, education is the most important basic system to promote and change the society, and it undertakes the main task of cultivating qualified citizens for the society. I know my ability is limited and my influence is limited, but countless people with limited ability take action and the world has hope of change. Although we dress our teachers as "engineers of the human soul", we need to ask who is shaping the children's souls.
From another perspective, people only see that the social status of teachers has improved, and the school fees seem to be quite high. However, if we go deep into teachers' lives and hearts, we can see what kind of days teachers live with holidays, but they often make up lessons during holidays; There are weekends, but classes are held on Saturday. I missed a good movie, I don't know the name of the singer, and my learning time is limited. In the wave of educational industrialization, schools have become "service units". To satisfy students and parents, and to satisfy superior leaders, teachers should not only face the external embarrassment of "one servant and two masters", but also face the internal shame of conscience trial. It is difficult to reconcile "satisfying others" and "satisfying yourself", and we often have to endure inner tears.
Although the external quantitative evaluation involves the life and death of the school, the treatment and dignity of teachers, after all, education is a conscience project, and the voice of conscience is the most authentic power of education. In the struggle and compromise with all kinds of contradictions and troubles outside, those teachers with conscience never give up their efforts.
2
After all, what teachers give students is limited, and if students are hungry and try their best to find their own homes, they will have inexhaustible motivation for lifelong learning and enterprising.
Over the years, after my busy teaching work, I spent almost all my time studying, even reading books when I went to the toilet to soak my feet at night. I read no less than 6.5438+million words every year, write about 800-6.5438+million words in reading notes, and write no less than 30 articles and teaching essays (these have nothing to do with school requirements).
The purpose of doing this is not to earn a meal, let alone to get a diploma and get institutional recognition. The main purpose is to get spiritual salvation, discover the truth, seek the truth, and then influence students and people around them. In a language environment with many problems, I hope I can become a rich language resource. Under the realistic background of training more and reading less, I can use my reading to drive and influence students and realize higher educational value. I know my path is not deep and my practice is limited. I just try my best to be a person who knows later, and I don't want my children to become unconscious like many mediocre people.
I know that the world of ideas is a rigid world, and it is ridiculous to try to simply inject something into the brain. Thought is at work, and the change of thought is subtle. No matter how good external education is, it should also play a role through internalization. Therefore, the best education is often self-education. For teachers, especially liberal arts teachers, the best education for students is to educate themselves first, so as to reach the height of the world and truth and have some spiritual radiation for students. From this point of view, teachers are just students, who have to keep learning, absorbing, digesting, eating grass and milking, so I emphasize reading. After all, what teachers give students is limited, so that students have a sense of spiritual hunger and strive to find their own home, which will give them inexhaustible motivation for lifelong learning and continuous progress.
As for the specific problems mentioned by parents, for example, children don't believe some news reports and say that they are influenced by me, because I did say something like "Don't live in the news, life is much bigger than news". The purpose is to let students learn to think rationally and judge independently. Don't simply affirm that "the situation is excellent" because of good news, and don't draw the conclusion that "society is corrupt and people are not old" because of bad news.
Any news is a point in society, and life is much bigger than news. You should open your eyes and see for yourself. Use your head and think for yourself. There should be more question marks in your mind than just exclamation points. You should be full of curiosity and doubt about the world, and don't be satisfied with the ready-made answers given to you by others. It is wrong to be wary of judging the extreme thinking of life, whether it is heaven or hell, sanctifying or demonizing. I recommend Xiong Peiyun's "Freedom Above" to students, hoping that students can go to high places, because at low places, they can only distinguish size, while at high places, they will find that the world is flat (isn't it good for students to learn to see things from different angles and be broad-minded? )。
For big shots, I tell students not to be blind and superstitious. I recommend paul johnson's "Intellectuals" to students, just to let them know that great people, like us ordinary people, are not made of special materials and are inhuman. Great men are not great in every respect.
The eagle sometimes flies lower than the chicken, but the chicken can never fly as high as the eagle. I don't want them to be educated like me. Heroes and idols are big shots, arrogant and unreasonable, and they don't tell us that they are actually very kind. They are also human beings.
If we let the poor words "struggle", "struggle" and "success" be the only words in students' dictionaries, then I want to ask: Where are the students' lives? Where do you live? Because life can't be preserved, everything has a shelf life. Can you return to sixteen when you are sixty?
(Continued from A 15)
To understand light, we must also know the projection of light on the other side.
This understanding is comprehensive; The same is true of social understanding. There is no "pure castle" in society, neither schools nor families. The so-called "pure" is only relative. Moreover, schools are not an educational vacuum, and society cannot be isolated from schools. All kinds of positive or negative things of social reality can be obtained without going through schools in the contemporary era when information media technology is so developed.
In order to protect children, we should tell them that the world they will enter sooner or later is not so ideal and beautiful, even cruel, but we must face up to this cruelty and let them expect bad things in advance to avoid "from ruin" and abnormal mental distortion. There have been many student suicides in recent years. Why? We need to think about it.
For a long time, all we have done for students is "successful education", which is a utilitarian education that stands out from the crowd. Revolution is accompanied by hard work, and learning is not fatal. We hung our heads and tried to get into college. At that time, we all went to study by ourselves at night with kerosene lamps lit, so that many students' hair was permed. In order to prevent dozing off, we ate green onions and peppers in the evening lessons. "Compare, learn, catch up, help and surpass" was our slogan at that time, so that we were in poor health. We caught a cold for two months at a time, and the height of one meter eight was only 1 10 kg. Today's slogans are even more bizarre, such as "success or death", and all kinds of radical slogans make people laugh and cry.
If we let students only have these poor words "struggle", "struggle" and "success" in their dictionaries, then I want to ask: where is the life of students? Where do you live? The education that has always lagged behind life and happiness is doomed to be unsuccessful. Because life can't be preserved, everything has a shelf life. Can you return to sixteen when you are sixty? Why care for the happiness and quality of life?
I propose: enjoy the learning process! I hope that students can find interest, find direction and pay attention to the process, and don't just stare at grades, because grades are always a variable, and learning is a lifelong thing, not just because they are admitted to the university, but for the happiness of life. Why many college students are tired of learning, that is, they only regard the university as their life goal, and even think it is a free paradise, but when they really enter the university, they find that they are far from their true ideals. When they get what they are striving for, they find that they are not so happy, and a sense of loss arises spontaneously. Coupled with the psychological weaning of students and the lack of life education, many students are confused, and some students are numb, degenerate and even walk into a dead end. If you want to ask responsibility, don't talk about big social reasons. If you want to say the specific reasons, I think secondary education is to blame.
Six years of middle school education is the most important six years in life. Most students' outlook on life and values are established at this stage, and their basic understanding of society is also established at this stage. Looking back on our middle school education, what did the students do in six years?
A graduating class student scolded: "What do we learn besides doing problems?" Although this question is extreme, it speaks for the students. At the same time, we hardly give students life education, love education, legal awareness education and aesthetic education. Many times, we just do training, and the school becomes a training concentration camp. Due to the lack of the essential purpose of education, the utilitarian personality of exam-oriented is full of campus and life is empty. Some students can't think normally, lack common sense, simple mind, vague thinking, delicate feelings, fragile spirit and lack of sense of responsibility. When encountering problems, they often go to extremes, ignoring that they are a link in the big life chain of society.
It seems to be grown up, but it is only the body that has grown up, and the spirit is still in the early childhood stage, which is very immature. Because our education makes children study less and train more, children spend a lot of time on problem-solving training, and seldom take into account the inner meaning of life. Some parents also don't let their children read extracurricular books, thinking that it is a waste of time and delays their studies, and they don't want teachers to talk about so-called "extracurricular" things, only about exams. An excellent teacher can break through the limitations of textbooks and classrooms, let students see and get in touch with a bigger and more real world than the classroom, make children's minds broader and stronger, and prevent them from becoming "one-dimensional people".
Someone joked: "Education in China is hopeless than football in China." But what's the use of complaining about disappointment? Just like a mother to a disappointing child, a true educator will never give up hope for education.
Remember one sentence: the world is so bad, you have to be mentally strong. Education is a project to build the mind. Cultivating strong wisdom will have an inexhaustible source of power to explore the world, pursue ideals and establish meaning, and it is also a strong barrier to protect life safety.
four
As for Chinese, I have more than ten years of teaching experience in senior three. I think exam training is a low-tech craftsman's job, and a few months is enough, while knowledge accumulation, thinking training, spiritual cultivation and so on are mainly in peacetime. In Chinese achievement, "explicit achievement" is exam quantification, while "implicit achievement" is life growth.
Maybe some parents will say, what are you talking about? Let my baby enter a key university. Although I know that universities in China are not doing very well, I still want to tell my classmates that in order to survive and develop, you must work hard to get into universities. In an identity society, a college diploma is your lifelong cultural identity, and the benefits of "one book" and "three books" are still different. When the society recognizes something, if you don't fight for it, you may suffer in practical utility.
Liu Qing said: "Although the road of life is very long, only a few steps are often in jeopardy, especially when people are young." Three years in high school is the most important three years in life. As for Chinese, I have more than ten years of teaching experience in senior three. I think exam training is a low-tech craftsman's job, and a few months is enough, while knowledge accumulation, thinking training, spiritual cultivation and so on are mainly in peacetime. Chinese achievement is only a by-product of Chinese learning and personality cultivation, which can be divided into "explicit achievement" and "implicit achievement". "Explicit achievement" is the quantification of examination, and "recessive achievement" is the growth of life. The two complement each other, just like height and weight and physical health, we can't just care about height and weight and ignore physical health.
I know that survival depends on social support, and my ability to repay society is limited. Nothing seems to change, but I don't want to be satisfied with a meaningless life. I always want to leave something for this society. I don't know when I will live, because I am old, my blood pressure is high, I take medicine every day, I seem to read a lot of books, do a lot of things, and write a lot of articles, but work and various affairs tear people's time to pieces. Life is short, Lu Xun said, "Do it quickly!" But what can I do? Teaching, reading and writing seem to be my last choice in life. I think I did a lot of meaningless things to survive before I was 40: I published dozens of books, but all of them were perishable; Compared with migrant workers, making money is a lot, but I find that money is just a thing that keeps depreciating. What have I done for my life? What can be done? And not doing things for your own life is also doing things for the world?
I remember a saying: "If the tombstone of the deceased does not stand in the heart of the living, then this person is really dead." If one day the body disappears, the spirit can still stay in a certain life in this world, isn't it a continuation of life?
As a teacher, teaching is my foundation. I have no choice but to prolong my life in the spiritual world of students. This is a trivial matter in the eyes of the supreme, because everything is just a process, and no one can guarantee immortality. But for me, this is a very important thing.
That's all.
five
I hope to inject a little life into the classroom, give Chinese a pair of flying wings, let students learn to think and write in their minds, and let them really leave something behind after forgetting a lot of things.
As for my criticism of social phenomena, history and culture, and even some practices in education or schools, some parents think it is a "complaint". I want to say, "I am not Qu Yuan, and I am not wronged." I have a car and a house, a happy family, a son with a job, and many colleagues and friends who respect me. I am also very grateful for the tolerance and relative freedom that the school has given me over the years, which can make me a dignified teacher, influence the society in a small spiritual space, and convey a kind of spiritual energy, thus bringing a little warmth to students. I hope to inject a little life into the classroom, give Chinese a pair of flying wings, let students learn to think and write in their minds, let them go to college, and leave something behind after forgetting a lot of things.
In terms of practical value, criticism is an essential quality of ideological development, and young people should be crazy. If they are modest, they should be proud, because modesty is to recognize others, pride is to recognize themselves, and pride can also make people progress. But the current education is to let children continue to recognize the conclusion, remember the "standard answer", and let children have no temper at all. Many children are alive and kicking when they are young, and gradually become dull when they get to school. When they are young, they like to think big questions like philosophers. The more you grow up, the more sophisticated, the deeper and the more modest you are. In fact, you are losing confidence more and more. And self-confidence is the core of personality.
We only say that children can't get high marks if they don't write well. How can they get high marks without thinking? How can you write a decent article if you don't let your children touch big problems, care about society, think about yourself and face life directly? Isn't there a big difference between what we want to achieve and the means we take? Moreover, without the ability to think independently, people can only be led by the nose when they finally step into society.
six
Looking back, I am still "alive" on this podium for more than 20 years, because among my colleagues and acquaintances, from young people in their twenties to middle-aged people in their forties, "giving their lives" for education is not unique; However, some people have long fled to become officials or do business in the face of this educational situation.
I sincerely teach these children as my own. I hope they grow up healthily and happily. Although I am not good enough, I have been working hard. In my opinion, education is the influence of one life on another. In this respect, the greatest success of teachers is that they can influence other people's brains and hearts. To impress students, we must first impress ourselves, convince students and convince ourselves. For the sake of children, I am under pressure to explore the road of classroom reform. For the sake of children, I often forget myself in the passion and romance of class. I am born stupid and can't "do it skillfully", but I think it is not difficult to adapt to the outside world and let myself go. For Chinese teaching, I don't think skills are the most important. What to say is always more important than how to say it. In an era of moral and technical performance, someone has to be stupid.
Of course, as a teacher, there will be many children who like you, agree with you and even "worship" you, but there will also be children (or parents) who misunderstand you, oppose you and even "despise" you, because people's value choices are diverse. Under the current system, students can't choose the teachers they really like, and teachers can't choose the "fertile soil" that really suits them. Everything depends on the "fate" created by the administrative hand. Like it or not is "fate". For students, a good teacher who suits them can be met but not sought. For teachers, it depends on whether they meet a "right person" who suits their own methods and ideas. Neither students nor teachers have the freedom to choose from each other. Textbooks are also difficult to choose freely. Although there are optional courses, which school really allows students to "choose freely"? Faced with a force that has no choice, the thinking of teachers and students must also be "institutionalized". Children are forced to adapt to the "dual discourse system" since childhood, learn to speak "moral language", can't say what they want to say, and constantly appreciate the power of "context".
Wang Furen said: "Only true expression can have a sound personality." However, in the division of "experience world" and "concept world", children can only be constantly confused and contradictory in the painful choice of "listening to the outside world" and "listening to the heart" (don't we literature and history teachers have contradictions and divisions? ), how dare children speak or write with expectations? Under the logical background that scores determine everything, who dares to joke about their own destiny?
Having said that, I have to admit that in middle school, I am one of the few teachers who pursue individuality. In my opinion, thoughts can only be full of vitality if they remain free all the time. However, "education is to strengthen a concept and ignore those who are absent." Holistic education has lost its purpose, and educators always have to make choices for the educated (in Wang Dingding), if not impossible. " This makes education an art of "free choice". Selecting one value means ignoring another value. It is not an extravagant hope, but an imposition to want a teacher with a specific style and personality pursuit to satisfy countless students with personality pursuit and style preference.
I think people, not RMB, can't satisfy everyone. Of course, there may be a "superman" teacher that everyone likes, but at least I'm not. In the expression of some knowledge viewpoints, I often express my awe and love for life in the spirit of freedom of mind and conscience. Don't our nation need these?
As a teacher, the influence on students is not only knowledge and language, but also personality spirit. Teaching by example is more important than teaching by example. Teachers are not only a kind of knowledge resources for students, but also a kind of spiritual and cultural resources. Teachers are the most important productive force in education. "Learning to be an excellent official" is not only a slogan, but also a practice.
Looking back, I am still "alive" on this podium for more than 20 years, because among my colleagues and acquaintances, from young people in their twenties to middle-aged people in their forties, "giving their lives" for education is not unique; However, some people have already fled in the face of this educational situation to become officials or do business; What's more, as a "preacher" in the spiritual sense, educational life no longer exists, leaving only an educational symbol. Because living needs a support, escaping freedom is only to escape the fear of living, and I can "exist" in a crack, which is a comfort.
For more than 20 years, I watched my classmates become leaders in my own small circle, and watched young people become their own leaders. They were called "Dragon" and "Ren". I am happy for them, and of course I am proud of myself. Because in an official society, a person who is "not motivated" or "unable to get ahead" can easily be considered "incompetent". But I think that no matter how the world exchanges contempt with you, one should respect oneself and cherish the value of one's existence. When the world is doing subtraction or division for you, you should learn to add or multiply for yourself. In my opinion, whether it is a prince or a Tang priest riding a white horse, whether the height is proportional to the shadow, we all have to face this magical world. I just want to say that people should persist and look up.
seven
I tell my children to think about three questions all the time: Who am I? Where did it come from? Where are you going? These three questions have no answers, but they are the most meaningful. They can lead our lives to a higher level.
Finally, I want to say a few words to several parents who have petitioned.
I don't know if it's because some of my words burned the sensitive heart of the child, or if what I said is contrary to the education you received since childhood, or because your child didn't study hard and got poor grades, which made you anxious. I deeply understand your anxiety. Facing an educational reality with no choice, your anxiety is actually my anxiety. There is not a teacher who doesn't want his students to make progress, and there is not a parent who doesn't want their children to succeed in school. However, have we ever wondered how many people have paid attention to the problem of "food" in our education and spirit when the problems of poisoned milk, rice, meat and vegetables are constantly exposed and concerned?
Although your way of reflecting and solving problems is simple, I won't blame you, but I am grateful from my heart. I thank you, because you made me better reflect on my education and teaching behavior. Am I wrong, or do we have different understandings of education and teaching? Give me a chance to calm down and deeply interpret myself. My misunderstanding may be that not everyone is a fellow traveler or can understand your value pursuit, and not everyone has the ability to interpret common sense. But I know very well: the blind can't lead the way for the blind. How can people shine at the moment when they are dizzy? I love every child as much as you love them. In fact, they are all excellent, some of them are excellent, which often makes me lament the gap between them at my age, but in quantitative evaluation, their achievements may not be as you wish. But have you ever wondered how painful their hearts are when there is only one hard standard left in an evaluation system? Isn't a healthy and happy life important?