Xiong Xiaodong's Education Prose——
Accompany
with My Children, on the Road to Climb the Peak of Success and Excellence ——a
Golden and Permanent Memory
On the 27th, January of the year
1997, a day of bright sunshine and clear sky, after experiencing the combination
classes of bachelor, master, and Ph.D. degrees of Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
Fu Dan University and Tong Ji University, all the students of Class Four, Senior
Three gathered at the People's Square to spend the first day of the last winter
vacation of the senior high school stage.
Though
the day was still in the season of severe winter, it was a day full of spring
atmosphere. The children were gathering at the front of the building of the municipal
government, splendid Shanghai Museum, beautiful garden of the square. They were
taking photos and talking with each other in small groups. In the east of the
square, the pleasant music flew from the music spring. And in the west of the
square, there were the flying peaceful doves. All of this showed a vivid sign
of the early coming spring.
I
leaned on the sliver-grey handrails of the garden, appreciating the beautiful
scenery like a poem, thinking that these children who were accompanying with me
day by day would soon leave me. A feeling of lost suddenly rose in my mind. I
would never forget the bright and clean classroom of Class Four, Senior Three,
never forget the familiar lovely 43 pairs of big eyes, never forget the exciting
scenes like "the glamour of Chinese wistaria" and "reflections toward maturity",
campus cultrual activities. Furthermore, I would never forget the nervous and
exciting nights before fierce battles one after another with my students.
I can not remember there are how
many such farewells up till now. However, every time the feeling is exactly like
the first time with strong emotion which can not be forgotten forever. The many
people and events in the past 20 years were still so clear impressed in my mind
and heart. The warm sunshine and gentle wind dragged my thinking to my deep memory.
I.
I Have a Dream to Become a Teacher
When I was twelve years old, my
mother brought me to Hangzhou on summer vacation. One day, when we were walking
on the lake side avenue of the West Lake, we heard some one calling "Teacher,
Miss Xiong" from behind. Mother turned about, seeing a man in a respectful manner.
Mother could not recognize him for a while. Later the man said that he was the
student of my mother in the 40s. "You have not changed much, except more white
hairs. Especially your voice has not been changed. It is by the voice that I boldly
recognized you." Mother and the student had talked about the past people and events
for a long time, and later, we were invited to be guests at the student's house.
Seeing mother absorbed in the memory with happy expression on her face I guessed
that it must be a special kind of feeling of being a teacher.
When
I was in the middle school, the thing I'd like to do best was to be my mother's
"Tutor Assistant". My mother was to teach Mathematics of Junior Three. When I
was in Grade One of Junior middle school, I could only do the correction of algebra
testing for mother based on the key to the questions. When I was in Grade Two
of Junior middle school, I could correct some simple questions. And when I was
in Grade Three, I could discuss with my mother about the which way to solve the
question was better or not when doing the correction. The most happy thing of
mine at time was that I could inform those brothers and sisters of their test
results in advance. Mother had about one hundred students each year and I could
recall all of their names. At that time, my home was in the school. And every
day a lot of students would pay a visit to mother, some for inquiry about the
questions while others for heart to heart conversation. Seeing the affectionate
feeling between them, I thought that "to be a teacher is the most happy thing
in the life. I would like to be a teacher when I grow up."
In
the year of 1966, when I completed my high school study and to work in the countryside.
At that time, I still had a dream to become a teacher. In the daytime, I was working
in the field. And at night, I was reviewing the text and I completed all the exercises
of mathematics, physics and chemistry courses of high school level. Besides, I
learned foreign language on radio. The production team said that the electron
tube radio would consume much of the electricity. It cost me more than 40 yuan
a year on the consumption of the electricity though my total profit sharing at
time was only more than 80 yuan. But I still thought it was worthwhile. In the
February of the year 1971, the commune leader asked me to be a foreign language
teacher in the school.
At
time, my mother was still doing the labor work at the "cowshed". When I came back
to the city, I slipped into mother's dormitory to tell mother that I would be
a teacher. With tears in her eyes and touching me on the head, mother told me
to be well prepared at the text and teaching, and to be kindly and affectionately
to the students. I agreed at nodding with my head. When I said goodbye to my mother,
she gave me 5 yuan to buy me a new pair of shoes. At that time my mother had nothing
but 8 yuan a month to live. I left my mother with tears in my eyes.
My
mother was a teacher for her whole life. I followed my mother from my childhood
and lived and grew up in the school. Though in such dreadful situation, mother
had no complaint at all. And I love to be a teacher. When leaving my mother, I
bought a pair of sports-shoes, and dressed in the only clean sun yat sen's uniform
with no mends to report duty to school. At that time, I was 22 years old, to begin
my teacher's life from the desk, also to start my life's road.
II.
Unforgettable Middle School in the Town
There is a bridge between the
Shi Hudang station and Xin Bang station along the Shanghai to Hangzhou railway.
Under the iron bridge, there is a small town called Lu Diaowan. The streets in
the town last hundreds of meters with 2 meters in width. Though the town was small,
it had complete living facilities. There was a department store, a fruit shop
and a credit cooperative in the small town. Besides, there was a multi-functional
restaurant which turned out to be a tea shop in the early morning, while in other
time it was a restaurant. When it passed the noon, there were few people in the
streets of the small town. In the east of the street, it was my school. And the
school included primary school, junior middle school and senior middle school.
All the students came from the nearby 3 production brigades.
To
the south of the gate of the school there is a large lake. In the back there is
an endless field. I had no home at that time so I stayed in the school all year
round. In the spring, there was the fresh green seedling of the wheat and bright
grass. My students and I went for a walk in the field. In the early summer, the
large number of golden cole flowers made people dizzy. The students and I often
played the hide-and-seek game in the cole field. In the autumn, a season of full
harvest, the peasant labor work was organized by the school, my students and I
picked up the rice chaff's and did threshing work. In the winter, when the peasants
were at their most leisure time of the year, we organized the students to make
the social investigation and research. Several English texts for countryside such
as "Comparing Our Childhood with Aunt Wu" and " Shilouli Village Taking the Socialist
Collective Road " were made at that time. Each year we also ran through many entertainment
programs. I was good at singing and dancing in my middle school. Therefore, I
became the art director of the small entertainment team. I lead the students to
have the show on the side of the field for the peasants and at the same time to
spread the Thought of Chairman Mao Zedong.
Wang
Chunyan, Yin Junhua, Jin Youcai, Jin Yougeng, Huang Mujun I could still recall
their lovely faces. They not only lived with me day and night. Even at weekends
and winter vacation, they all accompanied me from morning to the evening. They
made me think that life is full of hope, which made me forget all worries and
troubles at that time.
In
the October of 1974, I was assigned to come back to the city and to work in a
company of the commercial bureau of the town. My registered permanent residence
was moved back to the city and my salary was also paid by the company. But I did
not like to leave my school in the town. Upon the agreement by the leaders of
my company, I still remained in the town to be a teacher in the school until my
human resources relationship formally transferred to the educational system.
III.
Entering the Middle School of the County
At the end of the 1970s, there
were 12 classes of the Senior One in the No.2 Song Jiang Middle School. The classes
were arranged in the order of the result of the examination. I used to be the
director of the Class Eleven and Class Nine and taught mathematics of these two
classes. The young people just experiencing the culture revolution didn't have
good studying habits. The general teaching coach Sun Chengmo told me that "you
will make great achievement if there is no one to be caught in the police in a
year's time." I was working from 6 o'clock in the morning till 9 o'clock in the
evening. Though the students were in senior high school classroom, their mathematics
had to be taught from the rational number. And I taught them with great patience.
The subject class meetings in the name of "Forgetting the past and look forward
for the future" and "idles is of no good and strict is of use; only by hard work
can make great achievement" continued one after another. The students were taught
to set their ideal goals by studying hard. In the morning, the teachers and the
students were reading aloud English in the classroom. In the noon, we were discussing
mathematics problems altogether. Before evening, we walked in the playground and
talked with each other. In the evening, we had another 2 hours self study time.
The farther of Hu Jian was a military man, he told me in tears that the child
used to be so naughty that he almost wanted to killed him and by then the child
had became intelligent and could do the homework. The mother of Zhou Guangming
said that due to work injury, her husband was recovering at home, when seeing
the son was so indocile he even thought about suicides for several times. By then,
the child wanted to learn, her husband wanted to be at work too.
Seeing
the children grow up one day after another, I felt extremely rewarding for my
painstaking effort and love spent. I was married in a certain year of that time
and had my own child. The students helped me to move the house and attended my
wedding ceremony. They sent my son to and received from the nursery for me. My
life then had no boundary of the school and the house, relatives and my students.
I really missed my students after
their graduation. In the weekends, I often visited their school and army to see
them. My footprint was left at the barracks of the army in the west of Han Shan
temple of Suzhou. There were the students from my town middle school and county
middle school in the barracks of the Gaolan road armed police station near Huaihai
middle road. At first, they did not know each other. But when they knew that they
had the same class director, they became the permanent close friends. The economic
status of the familily of Zhu Minjun, who studied in the civil aviation school
in the remote Tianjing city was very difficult. I organized several students to
form a group and sent him some living expenses each month to express our concern.
Almost every 2 weeks, I visited Xie Jiepin, who studied at Shanghai Youth League
School, to ask him to study hard to be an excellent league leader after graduation.
My work has been recognized
by my predecessors. Teacher Sun Chengmo, teacher Sun Lulang, teacher Shen Wenzhu
gave me much help. I was selected as the advanced model worker of the county.
My classroom teaching was rewarded in the evaluation by the educational bureau
of the county. My experience as the class director was introduced in the educational
bureau too. In the summer vacation, I was arranged to have one week relaxation
at Wuxi.
IV.
Hard and Difficult Years
At the beginning of the 1980s,
I began the professional training. You can imagine how difficult for a person
in his 30s to study the mathematics course of the university level. However, with
unimaginable perseverance, I studied hard on every subject of my course. I entered
the school with full marks of the mathematics and my academic result of the college
was especially outstanding with full marks of the mathematics analysis and high
mathematics. All results of my subject were above 90 marks with the average mark
of 95. And the institute gave me the honor to enter the university stage directly
with no need of the examination.
When
I was in my middle age, I felt the pressure of the family burden. The year my
mother passed away was just the first year for my university training stage. I
watched for narcose mother for two consecutive months with "High Geometry" book
in hand. For more than 30 years, mother and I lived and cared for each other and
she was badly hurt both mentally and physically during the culture revolution.
An old person who devoted all her life for the middle school teaching passed away
and I had bitter feeling beyond description. Just after the death of my mother,
I attended the exam of the high geometry. It seemed that my spirit was so low
with slow action. Actually my thinking was surging like sea. And at last I got
the high marks of 98.
My
university training stage was part-time. I went to downtown Shanghai to study
2 to 3 days every week. In the school, I was also the class director for one class
and mathematics teachers for 2 classes. Motivated by the love and memory for my
mother, I studied even hard to absorb new knowledge and kept improving on the
educational work- both my mother and my life time cause. Besides, I devoted myself
to the teaching of my students. Several years before mother's death, she gave
me great support for my work. On Sundays, there were a lot of students coming
to my home to review their lessons (at that time, all the reviewing for the students
were free of charge). Sometimes, I was too busy or outside, mother always did
the teaching job instead for me. Therefore, all my students were familiar with
my mother.
When my mother
was sick and in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. My two children were looked after by
my students' parents. And in the Shanghai hospital, the meals and dishes were
sent by my students working in Shanghai. On the mourning ceremony of my mother,
students of two generation gathered together. There were too many people that
all the wreathes in the funeral parlor were sold out. And the wreathes can only
be replaced by pieces of elegiac couplets.
My
elder child was deaf due to the side effect of the medicine. I hoped that the
child can be cured by way of acupuncture in the Five Sense Organs Hospital in
Fenyang hospital. The hospital required daily acupuncture treatment on a daily
basis. But at that time, I was teaching the graduate class, which I could not
leave even for one day. And my energy and time can not be separated too.
I then let the child looked after
by a retired worker living nearby the hospital. My monthly salary was paid to
the old retired woman for one year. After that, and for several consecutive years,
upon every summer and winter vacation, and the completion of the work in the school.,
I bought the child to Beijing, Hefei, Tianjing, and Guangzhou for medical treatment.
For many times, just after my reviewing the class for my students and putting
down the chalk, I got home to prepare the simple luggage. Several students held
the child and luggage to the railway station to see me off. When I came back,
every time there were my students to receive me at the railway station. The misfortune
bought to my generation by the culture revolution, the death of my mother, my
disabled child, the hard professional training, the busy and heavy work of the
school, all of which did not make me collapsed. It is because that in every stage
of my life, study and my child's growth, I have always my students accompanied
and they understand me, support me, give me courage and the power to struggle
in the life.
V.
I Began to Have Some Thinking
If the first 15 years of my working
experience as the director of class is classified as the features of emotion type
and mode, then from the year 1985, I began more and more rational, theory thinking.
At the end of 1980s, I transferred to work in a middle school in Pudong new area.
I began to do some research work on the evaluation system on the students, the
formation of the core of the class, how to meet the students' need, the formation
and function of the school culture, and the hidden side of the moral education.I
wrote the experiment thesis of "discussion and exploration on some change on the
concepts (director of the class) in the moral education research work". And I
was invited many times to deliver the speech on the thesis on many forums on the
moral education above county level. And the part of "how to meet the students'
need" was published on "Shanghai Middle School Education" the second term of 1987.
There were 27 times of open subject class meetings and school culture activities
on morale education by the experiment classes. For example: "the flowers blooming
on the hope field", "the moment to jump to the new high level of the life", "ideal
goal, accompanied by the rising of the national flag ", "Asian Games in my heart",
"for tomorrow's challenge" etc. In the experiment report on the class director
work of 1992, I recorded the design and complied content of these activities.
Among my students of my class from 1987-1998, there are a lot of them be selected
as the excellent student or excellent league leader on the county level or Shanghai
municipal level.
The soul
of the teacher comes from the educational background, the life experience and
the heart. Teachers should not only give knowledge to the students, what is more
important is the exchange of the spirit and heart communication between the students
and the teacher. More and more I feel that I am suitable to be a teacher and I
am qualified to be a good teacher. I do want to be an excellent teacher. My hope
to become an excellent director of the class became so strong that I made the
decision to go down the road as a teacher in my life and to climb on a new stage,
a new peak actually.
VI.
Three Years Crazy Study
From the year 1992 to 1994, these
three years were of special interest to me for the experience gained had set a
solid foundation for my work on middle school education. Though I was at that
time still standing at the teacher's desk, I was far-sighted with long term view.
I was not satisfied with some achievements and levels that I gained on the mathematics
teaching and as the director of class. I realized that if the education and teaching
is not directed towards the educational research science there will be no vitality.
Then I began three years of foreign language, psychology, and education study.
In the summer vacations of 1992 and 1993, I was studying hard on English at Qianjing
Training College from the New Concept English, towards the First Certificate of
English Course of Cambridge, Modern American Oral English and TOEFL. Everyday,
I attended two classes, one was in the morning and the other was in the evening.
In the noon, I had a rest on the bench in Fuxing park. At that time, I was so
familiar with all noodle restaurants along the Fuxing middle road to Lao Ximen
because I had all my lunches there.
In
the year 1993 and 1994, in these two years, I was working at school in the daytime
and in the evening, I went to East China Normal University to have training courses
on education, psychology and English language. My footprint was left in the classroom,
library and the reading room. In the night, I was living at the dormitory arranged
by my student. In these three years, I almost forgot all other things in the life.
I buried myself in the preparation of the research scientific work on educational
teaching. It was in these three years that I targeted more higher level on the
research. I sent my selected educational teaching dissertations on the moral education,
class management to many prestigious universities in the USA. In the dissertations
I expressed my thought, and reported my work already done. And there came back
very good response.
VII.
One Peak in the Cause
In February, 1995, I came to Nanyang
Model High School. I had no relatives in Shanghai. I came Shanghai really for
the stage of my cause. I was living in the dormitory of the school and concentrated
myself on the work of my favourite cause. My work on the mathematics education
was developing very fast. In the January of 1996, supported by the school leaders
and cooperated with the mathematics department of East China Normal University,
the "The Mathematics Educational Laboratory of Nanyang Model High School" was
established. Guided and supported by the predecessors from Shanghai mathematics
education circle, and got enthusiastic cooperation by my colleges, up till now,
there has been the following events held and relevant articles published. Namely
one time international education research exchange forum between Columbia University
of USA, East China Normal University of PRC and Nanyang Model High School. One
time speech forum on "World mathematics education on 21st century" (mainly delivered
by the world famous mathematics educational expert professor Bruce. R. Vogeli).
One time report meeting on "Prospect on Shanghai's mathematics education in the
21st century". 11 times academic activities and speeches in East China Normal
University, Shanghai Educational Institute and district educational institute.
5 times open classes and forums above district and city level. 8 thesises on the
experiment work were written. 7 times of "newsletter on the mathematics educational
laboratory" were issued. And the research subjects of "personality theory research
in the middle school mathematics education" has been selected as the key research
project in Xuhui district. The research subject of "cultivation of the excellent
student by the middle school mathematics teaching" has been selected as the key
research project at Shanghai city level.
The
field theory is a fairly mature theory in the science of psychology. The student
with independent field cognition mode can learn mathematics well has been already
concluded.Then what about the influences by the introverted or extroverted character
of the independent field cognition mode on the study? The students of introverted
field cognition mode had advantages on studying mathematics and science. But there
are some deficiency in this kind of cognition mode, what is the exact expression?
And whether the deficiency can be corrected by certain educational teaching? How
to raise their levels on field cognition mode in the educational teaching and
to correct the deficiency at the same time so as o build a perfect personality
and to be an excellent student with well-rounded characters and abilities? All
day in my mathematics teaching and work of director of class, I was thinking,
researching and solving these problems.
From
September, 1995, I became the director of the Class Four Senior Two of 97 grade
in Nangyang Model High School. The class was the experiment class on personality
quality-based education. I did a lot of work on the experiment work on quality
education. The subject class meeting of "let's hug the opportunities", the debate
on "saving and consumption", the sodality large scale activity of "The glamour
of Chinese wistaria" between Shanghai Middel School, Shanghai No. 2 Middle School
Attached to East China Normal University, Shanghai Third Girl School and Nanyang
Model High School, the subject league meeting on "reflections toward maturity",
the debate on "the forming of the personality should be focused on the social
responsibility" between Fu Dan University and Nanyang Model High School. Summer
Courses study in the vacation of 1996, the small thesis contest on the science
and technology social investigation, symposium with professor Vogeli from Columbia
University, the theory study and writing of the small thesis by the studying type
organization etc. By serial school culture activities, social practices, theory
studying activities, educational teaching and reform activities, the primary education,
personality education and ideal target education have been applied. And the self-cultivation
project of transferring the action criteria, correction on wasting habit, mastering
the spirit of teamwork, forming the sense of responsibility has been carried out.
Only on having fairly great
progress on the moral, and academic sides, the class also made great improvement
on the social work and labor. The class was selected as the "Excellent class in
Shanghai City" of the year 1996. In the more than one year short time, I made
effort to carry out my education, teaching and research scientific work in a systematic
and harmonious way. I made full use of the knowledge and experience gained from
these, and by continuous study to explore my vision and upgrade my concept. After
each class activity, the students and I would wrote down what we learned in these
activities. By thinking together, the activity is pushed one by one and the level
of the activity becomes higher and higher. By only referring to written words,
it has a record of more than 300,000 words. The article of "By strong power of
personality, to build an excellent class" was published on the "Thinking, Theory
and Education" periodical magazine of city level. And the article was collected
by "the series on tran-century strategy literature" in 96 term. The article of
"Being the director of class, a feeling embedded in the heart" was delivered in
the symposium of directors of class in Xuhui district educational bureau. And
the article was delivered at the symposium of Shanghai teachers' love in 1996.
The article was awarded the first prize by teachers' love thesises contest activity
organized by Shanghai educational work union, educational and scientific institute
of East China Normal University and Shanghai love educational research committee.
Seeing that the my student
Miao Junhua in the subject activity of "when the east is made red by sunglow"
and the advanced stories was introduced by the school bulletin and reporting meeting.
And the student has been passed the application to the Chinese Communist Party.
Seeing that my 4 students, namely
Wang Xinxiong, Wang Ouyang, Xing Lei etc have devoted to the cause of educational
research, and be granted as the excellent students to study at the education department
of East China Normal University with no need to take college entrance examination.
Seeing that my 18 students, namely
Lin Lin, Zhang Yang, He Chungang, Xu Minghuang, Shen Wansong etc had remarkable
test results in the examination on the "bachelor-master-doctoral degree" consecutive
courses by Jiao Tong University, Fu Dan University and Tong Ji University etc.
Seeing that my students from
the mathematics group, namely Liu Ziyi, He Chungang, standing on the rewarding
ceremony on the series of domestic and international mathematics contests and
acquiring first prize, second prize and third prized for more than 20 times.
Seeing that the scientific and
technology small article by my students namely Wang Ouyang, Kou Jianqiu won the
four big prizes on the Shanghai youth scientific and technology forum contest.
Seeing that my student Dai Shun
from a naughty student to a league member, win prize in the contest and deliver
the speech of the article in the international mathematics symposium.
Seeing
the daily improvement and every achievement made by my students, my children,
I really feel the function and meaning of education, really enjoy the happiness
to be a teacher, a director of the class.
The
word teacher has crossed the equal sign with my life forever. My cause is to be
a teacher. Targeted by the great goal of "to be an excellent teacher for the people",
I will be devoted by my whole life.
VIII.
To Climb Another Peak
From the remote and quiet Lu Diaowan.town
school to the Shanghai downtown Nanyang Model High School, so many years have
passed and I have moved to many places. What has not been changed is that I am
still faced with my teacher's desk, faced with the naive, vivid, lovely smiling
faces of 17 or 18 years old. Besides, my abundant energy, quick thinking and enthusiasm
has not been changed, my permanent devotion to my cause has not been changed.
Furthermore, there has risen a feeling of perseverance with no regret.
I
really feel that I am so happy. This is not only because that my classes have
been selected as Shanghai excellent class or Shanghai excellent Youth league branch,
or my students have been the top ten examinees in Shanghai college entrance examination
or have been accepted by Beijing University, Tsing Hua University, Fu Dan University
and Jiao Tong University, but because I am accompanied with so many lovely and
naive children, the life is so rich, so young with nothing to be worried about
and because I have made all my effort after my goal has been set, I could always
get help and understanding from many leaders and colleagues. And at last my target
comes to be true.
Though,
more than 20 years have passed, I feel that I am still young, especially my age
of psychology, which is much younger. For at present, there has been less trouble,
puzzled or worries in the work. The examination oriented education is transformed
to the quality education. What will be the new features of the educational work?
Implementing the quality education, the evaluation system is the key. How to correctly
evaluate the student? The world of future is a world full of high technology and
high emotion. To what extent will the education of the coordination on emotion
and love rise to? And how significant will be the function? We have so much to
do to carry out, investigate, and conclude the relevant theory.
On
the 24th, January, the educational research institute of Columbia University of
USA sent me the invitation letter. They invited me to attend the education symposium
to be held in the April at the Columbia University. It will be a very good opportunity
which signifies that there is a new start point for my cause. I have to spare
much time to read more books and write some experience to welcome another new
challenge in the life.
Education
is the cradle of the human resources project.
I
will combine my love for my motherland, for our people and for the life, to form
a educational love, which will be injected to the heart of my students to make
enormous "educational power".
I
want to use my spirit, my special personality power, quality power and character
to affect and influence my students to learn the knowledge of science and culture,
to learn principles of human beings.
I
want to try my best and with great perseverance, make challenge to my own intelligence,
energy and ability's limit. On climbing one peak of the mountain, I will continue
to climb to another peak with no wait. New York, Columbia University I will go
there, to say something, to listening to something, to learn something. After
that, I will come back to do a great work again.
"Mr. Xiong, look, how high and remote are the doves flying!" The words of the
children dragged me back from my deep memory. Yes, the doves in the south of the
grass take off, and the doves in the north of the grass take off too. How splendid
is the occasion! I joined the children's team. "let's take a photo altogether!"
suggested by the children. Then in the front of the grand building of the municipal
government, under the high flying national flag, 44 people were in 3 rows. On
hearing "click", I see that a permanent commemorative photo of Class Four Senior
Three of 97 grade from Nangyang Model High School being taken to show that on
the road to climb the peak of success and excellent , accompanied with my children. |
