Education Bureau: Implementation of Educational Reform Requires Support from Students and Parents
On February 17, at the Changshu Education Bureau, relevant officials from the bureau's office and basic education department received a reporter from Kuai Bao.
"The educational reform was halted on the 13th." A relevant official from the Changshu Education Bureau told the reporter that on February 13, after some parents came to the education bureau to report issues, the bureau’s leadership immediately inquired about the situation at Changshu Foreign Language School. They clearly required the school to suspend reforms under conditions where the popular foundation for reform and educational preparation were not sufficiently developed. He said that educational reform has been a topic discussed from the national to local levels, and it is an important channel for promoting educational development. The Education Bureau supports educational reforms that fit the local realities, school situations, student development, and parental wishes. "The premise is that students accept it, parents are satisfied, and the school has the necessary conditions. If the measures of educational reform conflict with the wishes of students and parents, and if there is significant opposition from them, then we must reevaluate."
A relevant official from the Basic Education Department of the Changshu Education Bureau introduced to the reporter that Principal You Jianzhong is a very thoughtful person and someone who wants to accomplish things. “Life Classroom,” as a research topic, he has studied for many years. "Last year, teachers from the school went to schools like Canglang No.2 Middle School and Dulongkou Middle School in Shandong, which have successfully implemented educational reforms. They learned that these schools also faced significant resistance during the initial stages of reform but eventually succeeded. Therefore, they wanted to promote the Life Classroom based on preliminary attempts within a certain scope."
He said that this issue arose from communication between the school and parents. The school failed to persuade the parents through adequate promotion of the educational reform.
"If the school had experimented in one or several classes, and if the results showed that the experimental class’s performance not only did not decline compared to normal classes but improved, I believe the parents would have approved." This relevant official from the Basic Education Department expressed that finding suitable classes for experiments is difficult. If one class is selected and the parents of that class do not agree, there is nothing that can be done.
In response to some parents' claims that since 2009, when You Jianzhong began small-scale attempts at educational reform at Changshu Foreign Language School, the school's teaching quality declined and the gap with other prestigious schools such as the provincial middle school (Changzhou Provincial Middle School) and municipal middle school (Changzhou Middle School) widened further, the relevant official from the Basic Education Department of the Changzhou Education Bureau stated that the reason for the fluctuation in scores was due to objective factors. Before becoming a public school, Changshu Foreign Language School was a six-year integrated public-private school combining junior high and senior high, with direct promotion from junior to senior high and early admission policies for junior high. After becoming a public school, the junior high and senior high were separated, eliminating this policy. In recent years, Changzhou established a new private junior high school, Kun Cheng Middle School, which diverted part of Changshu Foreign Language School's top student resources. Due to the impact of the student source, the academic performance of some students directly promoted from junior to senior high was not ideal.
You Jianzhong
Not Feeling Discouraged
Currently, Changshu has a total of seven high schools (two of which are complete high schools) and 34 junior high schools.
Like the provincial Changzhou Middle School and municipal Changzhou Middle School, Changshu Foreign Language School is one of three four-star ordinary high schools in Changshu. It is also a national foreign language experimental school and vice-chairman unit of the National Foreign Language Characteristic Education Research Association. Generally speaking, schools conducting large-scale educational reforms often have relatively weak educational foundations, following the principle of "poverty drives change." It is hard to imagine someone implementing educational reform at a well-known prestigious school.
Because if it fails, the pressure and criticism would be unimaginable. However, for You Jianzhong, these pressures are not issues; his personality is to act once he decides on something.
On the afternoon of February 16, the reporter met him at Changshu Foreign Language School upon arriving in Changshu.
Unlike what one might imagine, the educational reform has already been halted, and it was unsuccessful, lasting only one day. However, You Jianzhong does not seem particularly disheartened. This internet critic and real-life parent critic doesn't care much about his own situation. "If it stops, it stops. I can continue my research. Theoretically, I am always free and without resistance." In his view, including his "educational reform" within broader educational reforms, is a great cause. He believes that over the next five to ten years, Chinese education will undergo changes.
Speaking about educational reform, You Jianzhong said he has been studying classrooms for more than ten years. More than a decade ago, while serving as principal at Mocheng Middle School in Changshu, he began exploring classroom education reform. At that time, he noticed that in the classroom, it was always the teacher lecturing endlessly while students listened silently. He thought this was not a good phenomenon. In his opinion, students are the main subjects of the classroom, and their initiative must be stimulated. From 1998 to 2000, You Jianzhong studied for two years under Professor Zhang Xiongfei from Shaanxi Normal University, who conducted inducement-thinking experimental research. Mocheng Middle School was one of Zhang Xiongfei's experimental bases. Later, he worked for six years in the teaching research room of the Changshu Education Bureau, during which time he attended many classes and researched numerous reports. He discovered that many teachers simply treat students as containers, merely stuffing knowledge into them without respecting students as individuals with unique personalities and dignity.
This failed or prematurely ended educational reform was called the "Life Classroom." You Jianzhong said he started having this idea in 2004, and Professor Ye Lan from East China Normal University's advocacy of "making the classroom full of life vitality" deeply inspired him.
In 2006, he came to Changshu Foreign Language School as deputy principal and was promoted to principal two years later. Thus, his previously theoretical "Life Classroom" gained an opportunity for practice. "We started in 2009, mainly focusing on changing teachers' concepts that year; in 2010, we proposed three main lines: passionate interaction, inducement-thinking exploration, and successful experience." You Jianzhong introduced that in 2011, he began establishing the "Life Classroom" model. To broaden their horizons, he took the teachers to successful educational reform schools like Dulongkou Middle School in Shandong, Canglang No.2 Middle School, Xinjiang Middle School in Shanxi, and Tanghu Middle School in Sichuan. Subsequently, they summarized five teaching links: 1) self-study exploration; 2) cooperative learning; 3) clarification of doubts; 4) expansion training; 5) summary improvement. After the model was established, it began to be practiced by some teachers.
"The results were very good," You Jianzhong said. A feature of the Life Classroom is "round-table seating," which breaks the traditional passive arrangement where students face the teacher and blackboard directly. Instead, the students in a class are divided into eight groups, with six people per group, sitting around tables. "How could this be considered chatting? This group study aims to enhance students' learning initiative and cooperation skills, improving learning efficiency." Regarding the claim in online posts that teachers lecture for only five minutes per class, You Jianzhong denied it, saying, "How could it be five minutes? In this learning method, the five links involve the teacher being present, ready to clarify doubts according to actual needs."
You Jianzhong said that parents always pit educational reform against good grades and the college entrance examination, but in fact, the primary goal of the "Life Classroom" is to improve grades. "How could we abandon grades? In our view, the college entrance exam is still the most important, but it's not the only thing. We look further ahead. We hope today's learning continues to benefit students tomorrow when they enter university and start working."
In his view, parents are too pragmatic and cannot afford to lose. "But actually, we haven't lost."
You Jianzhong admitted that communication between himself, the school, and parents was indeed insufficient. "If possible in the future, I will invite them, and I will patiently explain to them."
As for the future of the "Life Classroom," You Jianzhong firmly believes it is a good thing and will not give up on it. "If a class of students and parents do not oppose, I will apply to the Education Bureau to set up a premium class and continue the educational reform."