One afternoon in February 2007, my classmates and I visited the Chen Middle School Alumni Association of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. This is a teaching link in the general education course "The Structure and Process of School Knowledge" offered by Professor Xiao Jin, which makes students feel the real school education. As an observer of this course, I also got a rare opportunity to learn about education in Hong Kong.
First of all, a typical Hong Kong middle school
At two o'clock in the afternoon, we came to this school in Maanshan. The students are already in class, and the school is very quiet. Professor Xiao Jin was busy with contact, so I carefully observed the school. This is a very typical standardized school in Hong Kong. The school is located in a dense residential building, surrounded by towering residential buildings, which makes people feel depressed. The school only has a small playground, which can accommodate two or three basketball courts. In addition, it is a six-story multifunctional teaching building. The space on the ground floor below the teaching building is very similar to other primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. There are canteens, plastic tables and chairs, benches, table tennis tables and some publicity columns in the school. On the bulletin board, I saw that the student union was holding a competition called "Millennium Daughter Red", and posters of this activity were posted on many wall stickers. A display board shows a batch of stationery with different specifications and brands, including different prices and pictures, which I estimate are for students to refer to when buying. Another publicity column caught my attention: the organization and activities of the Teachers' Parents' Union, which has various training courses, including computer tutoring and flower arranging. I think the close cooperation between home and school is a very important feature of education in Hong Kong. Not only in this school, but also in other schools, I also see the status and role of parents in school education.
Second, the unique "school profile"
Under the leadership of the school staff, we came to the underground exhibition hall of the school. The headmaster is a very gentle gentleman and an alumnus of CUHK. After we introduced each other, the first content of the activity-"School Introduction" began. To my surprise, it was not the headmaster or other teachers in the school who introduced us, but several female students in school uniforms. I saw that the school specially made a PPT for this activity. One child operates the computer, two children explain in front, and others stand behind us. When introducing the "glorious history" of my school, I was very proud to see these children's faces glowing red. Although they speak Cantonese, I can hardly understand it, but through PPT, I learned that this school has developed a very rich school-based curriculum and educational activities. One of the contents that particularly attracted my attention was that the school allowed students to choose their own uniforms. In mainland schools, many schools often have conflicts with students and parents because of school uniforms. I once took part in the evaluation of a school in Chinese mainland, and many students reported that school uniforms were expensive, not strong, and had no spirit in style, but because of school regulations, they had to wear them if they didn't like them. I see that students in Hong Kong are also required to wear school uniforms, and most of these uniforms are traditional. This school is no exception. What is commendable is that although students have little choice, the school still gives students the right to choose. This reminds me of the display board that helps students choose to buy stationery.
Third, "school guidance" that embodies "educational wisdom"
After a brief introduction, we began to visit the campus. Five or six elegant and polite girls as guides. They pay special attention to me, a "guest" who can speak Mandarin, and try to communicate with me in less proficient Mandarin, trying to explain everything worth showing off in their school to me. I found that this content was called "school tour guide" instead of "campus tour" in the visit arrangement sent to us by the school. I wonder, what kind of educational idea does the literal difference between the two reflect? Behind the word "reward", what kind of ideology and educational conspiracy does it contain? As far as I know, some well-run schools generally have some daily reception tasks, and the reception staff are often school leaders or faculty members, and students are rarely asked to undertake this work. Chen Middle School, on the other hand, dares to let students take up this post, make full use of the opportunities of daily activities, give students the opportunity to participate and exercise, and let students experience the pride of being a member of the school in the process of guiding their own campus. Although on the surface, the participating students may lose a class, but I think these students may get more! Isn't it a kind of educational wisdom worth learning to take daily work as an opportunity for education, find unusual educational significance in daily life and give full play to educational functions?
Fourth, teachers and students have their own independent space.
In the next campus visit, my biggest feeling is vividness. I think this school has a very commendable place: it provides a space for teachers and students to express themselves. On the stairs in the corridor, I saw the posters posted by the students to promote the "Millennium Daughter Red" activity, and there were also very personalized professional arrangements and publicity on the walls of various professional classrooms in the school. Some members of the organization, such as the school radio station and the employment guidance service group, also convey their work information to the whole school in a very vivid way: "Who are we? What can we do for you? What have we done? ..... "The wall and poster layout of each class, the decoration of doors and windows of each class, and the design of class schedule are all varied and have their own characteristics. Near the Spring Festival, some classes still retain the western Christmas style, while others put red couplets and blessings on the doors and glass, showing a strong traditional China New Year color. In the corridor outside each class, there are also flowers and plants used in each class. The types of flowers and plants in each class are different, and the surrounding decorations also have their own characteristics.
Looking up, you can see the walls of the corridor, full of students' works, which can be changed frequently. This reminds me of a headmaster in Chinese mainland who told me affectionately that she had worked in this school for many years and regarded it as her home. Many famous works of school wall decoration are carefully selected by her. I also think there are many famous calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls of many mainland schools. But when I asked my classmates if they liked these calligraphy and paintings and understood their contents, they replied that I had never paid attention to them. I still remember that there is a rule in the school that the class is not allowed to put any posters on the class wall. From this, I can't help but think of such a question: Whose school is it? How can we make the wall really talk? These questions are actually quite complicated to answer. In Hong Kong, the school belongs to the government, the board of directors and the principal, but I feel that the school belongs to students and teachers, because the wall of the school is for teachers and students to speak for themselves.
In the process of visiting the professional classroom of the school, another outstanding impression I left was exquisiteness. Every classroom has a strong professional color and personality style, but at the same time it is not organized and standardized. We first came to the English classroom. This classroom is lively and comfortable, with a strong color of modern western life, and the word "cafe" is posted on the door. There are various teaching resources such as tape recorders, books and English cards neatly placed in the closet against the wall. A teacher and several students sat on a comfortable sofa, chatting enthusiastically, and didn't notice us foreign tourists.
When I came to the art classroom, the furnishings here opened my eyes even more. Every corner of the classroom is an art field, including photography, handcraft, oil painting and China landscape painting. The learning tools needed for art teaching are neatly arranged in different parts. There is a pool for washing hands and pens, an iron shelf for drying works, and a shelf for putting textbooks of all grades, which reminds me of some characteristics of small subjects in schools, such as fewer teachers and more lectures. I heard many primary school teachers in Chinese mainland complain that they are not valued, and they teach too many classes, so it is difficult to organize teaching. Seeing the art teacher sitting in the corner of the classroom preparing lessons with peace of mind, I can't help thinking, will this art teacher feel despised in such a professional environment? What would she be like to teach in such an environment? I don't know. However, I think, in any case, this classroom has provided her with enough professional self-esteem. This sense of professional self-esteem is extremely important to teachers' professional life and development.
We often talk about professional development of teachers. So what is specialization? In fact, it is an "irreplaceable". When a teacher's work is irreplaceable, the teacher's own labor has established an irreplaceable sense of value and professional dignity, which is a profound professional experience and self-achievement experience. When a teacher has such experience, he will participate in the realization of his own value more consciously and finally assume his own social responsibility.
Fifth, the details of humanistic education are reflected everywhere.
When visiting the art classroom, I was curious about the "Red Cross" sanitary box installed on the front wall of the classroom, and there was a record sheet next to it, which neatly recorded the inspection and supplement of the assembly contents in the "Red Cross" sanitary box. I asked the headmaster, how can there be this device in the art classroom? The headmaster said that their school is a standard school, all the equipment is equipped according to the government's standards, and the sanitary box is also equipped according to the government's requirements. Because in art class, students will use knives and scissors, which is a safety hazard, so this sanitary box should be equipped. In order to ensure the sufficiency of the contents in the medicine box and the effectiveness of the medicine, the school stipulates that it should be checked and recorded regularly. After listening to the headmaster's words, I can't help but feel the humanistic concern of Hong Kong education in the details.
When I walked into the science classroom, this feeling was even stronger. Various warnings are posted on the wall of this classroom to remind students to operate safely, such as "using dangerous drugs" and "precautions for heating". They also have clear regulations on waste disposal. A strange big glass cabinet against the wall aroused my curiosity. The headmaster said that this device is specially used to operate toxic gas experiments, so that the health of teachers and students can be effectively guaranteed under the condition of relative sealing and advanced ventilation equipment.
Finally, we walked into the school computer room. The equipment here is not first-class, but the students who guide me told me that the computer room is all open to students at noon and after school. I saw a full schedule on the door. This reminds me of a phenomenon. Many schools in Chinese mainland would rather leave facilities and resources idle than let students and teachers use them, for fear of equipment wear and tear, which inevitably leads to some regrets.
Six, a free and happy world of growth
At 3: 30 in the afternoon, we gathered in the library on the first floor on time for the final exchange. I seem to be excluded from this activity because of the language barrier. So, I carefully observed the environment here. The library is very advanced, except that there are fewer kinds of books and the scale is relatively small. The environment and layout here really make me feel no different from the university library: spacious borrowing desk, comfortable coffee table, fresh and elegant tables and chairs; Graduation photo, a former student, put it smartly under the glass plate of the coffee table; A public English dictionary that can be read at any time is placed in a conspicuous place; More than a dozen computers used by students to surf the Internet are scattered in every corner. On the exhibition board of the library, there is a column called "One-minute Good Book Recommendation", which has the name of the recommended teacher and the evaluation of this book. All this makes people feel very convenient and relaxed. I feel that this is a world for students and a paradise for learning.
At four o'clock, the students finished school and began to borrow books one after another. It is time for us to leave. Out of the teaching building, the school playground is full of active students. In the narrow space, some people play basketball or volleyball, some people train in table tennis, and some people go to the canteen to eat rice noodles with meals. The school presents a lively and noisy scene. I looked up at the most typical schools in Hong Kong ―― narrow space, three-dimensional structure, standardized equipment and standardized management. All this seems to make people feel monotonous and restrained, but behind this standard and restraint, I can clearly feel a kind of freedom and liveliness, an independent space shared by teachers and students, and a warmth and relaxation that is respected and cared for as a human being. Where does this space come from? I think it may come from their education and management ideas.
refer to
[1][ America] John? Dewey. Democracy and education [M]. Trans. Wang. Beijing: People's Education Press, 200 1.
[2] Huang Xiting. Psychology [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press, 1997.
Author: Basic Education Curriculum Research Center of Capital Normal University.
(Editor Wang Yongkang)