Xiong
Xiaodong's Education Paper——
A
Few Issues in the Practice of Innovative education ——Reflections
on Shanghai's Construction of an International Metropolis at the Turn of the Century
Time:
October 14, 2000
Place: Xiong Xiaodong Education Laboratory
People Present:
Xiong Xiaodong vs. Wang Xinxiong
Wang: The 5th Session of CCP's 15th Conference
enacted the guideline of actions for our country's construction and reforms when
entering the new century. Shanghai is bound to encounter many reforms and innovations
to develop the education of such an international metropolis. Comrade Deng Xiaoping
has made his remarked on education in his "speech of three facings". Could you
please tell me your understanding of its significance on our country's education
in the coming century?
Xiong: Comrade Deng Xiaoping's remark that "education
should face modernization, the world as well as the future" will functions the
theoretical foundation for the strategic thoughts on China's education in the
coming century. Deng's thoughts and theories require that our education accept
the challenges of modernization, and we view education in the process of modernization.
They make another requirement to us that education should be open to the whole
world. In its exchanges with the other countries, we are to take in the successful
experience in the educational field of the other countries in the world and try
to avoid their failures. We should also participate in the common exploration,
practice and innovation in the worldwide education. In the meantime, our education
is to be combined with the researches on the future. The competition of future
world is that of human talents. The power of a country depends on whether the
education of its national comprehensive qualities can produce the innovative talents
needed by the future age, so as to specify our new training aims in education.
1. Socialist
Theories are Science. The Success of Moral Education Lies in the Whole-hearted
Devotion of the Moral Educationists.
Wang:
To strengthen the aims and effectiveness of the education on students' thoughts
and moralities in the new age, we have done a lot in the construction of courses
of moral education. In addition to this, moral education will permeate in the
designing on the standards of each course as well as the compilation of the teaching
materials. Please say something of your opinion on moral education in the new
century.
Xiong: Moral education is the core of quality-based education.
In our teaching of all the courses, special attention should be made to the education
of patriotism, collectivism, ideals and responsibility. One important issue among
these is how to understand socialist theories.
The
founding of socialist theories derived from the need of history, and it enlightens
the historical process of the evolution of human development. Socialism does not
equal fantasy, and it is science. Socialist theories are based philosophically
on materialism, and economically on the theories of surplus value. They have made
a thorough revelation of the necessity of socialism substituting capitalism and
of the realistic truth of the social forces in doing so. Consequently they become
the real science directing the mankind to freedom and emancipation.
Socialist
theories have their roots in practice, so they boast the theoretical personality
of keeping up with the times. A scientific understanding of socialist theories
means the unification of persistence and development. We are always talking of
building a powerful country of four modernizations with Chinese characteristics.
What are Chinese characteristics? They just mean that we should persist in scientific
socialist theories, and at the same time develop them.
It
is unarguable that contemporary China's education serves the purpose of persisting
in and developing socialism. As Educationists, we should not only explain the
theories of scientific socialism to the students, but also tell the whole world
decisively the characteristics of the educational reforms being carried out in
China. We should make these ideas widely known in our work field.
The
two laboratory journals named The Middle School together with a book named The
Sun Rises From Here, were sent to many well-known universities and research institutes
around the world, and were well-received by them. People are looking out of the
small window to watch and make a study of the advancing direction and paces of
the education reform and theoretical thoughts being carried out in China.
Why
do we sometimes fail somewhere in our work of moral education? The fundamental
reason is not that we may have some doubt over the theories of scientific socialism,
but that some of our educationists do not view moral education as a scientific
one. They do not take moral education as one important part of their career, but,
instead, as a task, an assignment, even as a formality, without any sense of responsibility
or sense of crisis.
On the
campus varied time allotment are given to a number of activities for political
thoughts. Examples are a weekly lag-raising ritual every Monday morning, a morning
meeting and noon meeting class every day, a weekly class meeting, as well as the
League meeting and Party meeting in the League School. The problem is that these
periods of time are not properly used. Good results will certainly appear as long
as we, the workers on political thoughts, make full preparations for and careful
presentations in the lessons with our heart and soul.
As
workers on political thoughts, we should have a correct understanding of socialist
theories. The primary question is to have a correct understanding of the historical
process of socialist development, that is, whether the socialist theories, as
the fundamental guiding thoughts of the whole socialist practice, are science
and truth or not. We should devote ourselves to the study and interpretation of
these theories.
As workers
on political thoughts, we should also have a correct understanding of how to construct
the socialist career with Chinese characteristics. We should make a careful study
and reading of Deng Xiaoping's theories, for it was Deng Xiaoping who initiated
the way of development of our own country. We should make a good combination with
China's history, with the changes in Shanghai, and with ourselves, to learn and
interpret it with our deepest passion. As workers on political thoughts, we should
make positive and effective changes with the changes in our times. China is an
ancient civilized nation with thousands of years of history behind it, boasting
many good traditions. We can never just take the western theories to apply to
our case in a simple and blind way. Instead, we must make a good combination with
the actual situations in China. Meanwhile, emphasis should be laid on innovations
and development. We are bound to build our country to such a level, whether it
is in science and technology or economic power, as to catch up with the advanced
countries in the world, even to surpass them. On the other hand, we should stick
to our road with Chinese characteristics.
A
class teacher, who is not a Party member himself, when one of his students joins
the Party, leads all the other students to attend the Party approval conference.
The teacher is seated there as an attending delegate, and he has delivered a most
touching speech. What education has this given the young students of senior grade
three with independent thinking and personality? It is such a soul-moving scene.
Truth is integrated with real passions, and every word is engraved on the heart
of the students. Students will remember for their whole life the scenes in the
conference. They will follow the example of their teachers, willing to pay any
cost for their beliefs and ideals.
The
success of the work of moral education lies in the whole-hearted devotion of the
educationists. Devotion brings responsibility along, and real results as well.
In this way educationists can make a correct choice when facing a complicated
problem. In this way they will never lose their alert when they see students join
the activities of Falungong. Never will they dismiss young pioneer students' entering
the church by saying " People are free to choose their religious belief". Neither
will they prefer personality and one's ability to communicate with the people
to his political beliefs and consciousness when judging whether a student is qualified
for joining the Party. |
