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 fast reporter.
"The educational reform was halted on the 13th," a related official from the Changshu Education Bureau told the reporter. On February 13, after some parents came to the education bureau to voice their concerns, the bureau’s leadership immediately inquired about the situation at Changshu Foreign Language School (Changwai) and explicitly required that the school suspend the reforms under conditions where there was insufficient public support or educational preparation. He said that educational reform has always been a topic discussed from the national level down to local levels, and it is an important channel for promoting educational development. The education bureau supports reforms that fit with 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, we must re-examine it."
A related official from the Basic Education Department of the Changshu Education Bureau introduced to the reporter that Principal You Jianzhong is a very thoughtful person 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 successful educational reform schools like Changlang No.2 Middle School and Dulangkou Middle School in Shandong Province to learn. They learned that these schools also encountered significant resistance during the initial stages of reform but eventually succeeded, so they also wanted to try and promote the "Life Classroom" within a certain range based on preliminary attempts.
He said that this problem arose from the communication between the school and the parents. The school failed to persuade the parents regarding the promotion of the educational reform. "If the school had conducted experiments in one or several classes, and if the results showed that the experimental class scores did not decline compared to normal classes, but rather improved, I believe the parents would have accepted it." This related official from the Basic Education Department indicated that finding classes to experiment on is also difficult; if a class were selected and the parents of that class disagreed, there would be no way around it, career planning.
In response to some parents saying that since 2009, when You Jianzhong started small-scale educational reform attempts at Changwai, the quality of teaching at Changwai has declined, widening the gap with provincial middle schools (such as Changzhou Provincial Middle School) and municipal middle schools (Changzhou Middle School), a related official from the Basic Education Department of the Changzhou Education Bureau stated that the reason for the fluctuation in scores is due to objective factors causing a certain degree of diversion of outstanding students at Changwai. "Before Changwai became a public school, it was a six-year integrated public-private junior and senior high school, with direct promotion from junior to senior high school and early enrollment for junior high school. After becoming a public school, the junior and senior high schools were separated, and this policy no longer exists." He said that in recent years, a new private junior high school, Kuncheng Middle School, was established in Changzhou, which diverted part of the high-quality student resources from Changwai. Affected by the student source, the academic performance of some students directly promoted from junior to senior high school 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 the municipal Changzhou Middle School, Changwai is one of the three four-star ordinary high schools in Changshu; it is also a national foreign language experimental school and a vice-chairman unit of the National Foreign Language Characteristic Education Research Association. In general, schools that conduct large-scale educational reforms within Jiangsu, or even nationwide, tend to have relatively weak educational foundations, often referred to as "change out of necessity." It's hard to imagine someone implementing educational reform in a well-known prestigious school.
Because once it fails, the pressure and criticism will be unimaginable. However, for You Jianzhong, these pressures are not issues; his personality is such that once he decides something, he goes ahead with it.
On the afternoon of February 16, the fast reporter met him at Changwai on the day they arrived in Changshu.
Unlike what one might imagine, the educational reform has already been suspended, and it didn't go well, only lasting for one day. Yet, You Jianzhong doesn't seem particularly discouraged. This internet nemesis and real-life parent adversary does not mind his current situation, "If it stops, then it stops. I can continue my research. Theoretically, I am always free and without obstacles." In his view, educational reform, including "his educational reform," is a great cause. He believes that in the broader sense, over the next five to ten years, Chinese education will change.
When talking about educational reform, You Jianzhong said he has been studying classroom teaching for more than ten years. More than a decade ago, while serving as principal at Mocheng Middle School in Changshu, he began exploring classroom teaching reform. At the time, he noticed that in the classroom, teachers would lecture endlessly while students silently listened. He felt this was not a good phenomenon; in his view, students should be 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 was conducting induced thinking and exploratory experiments. Mocheng Middle School was Zhang Xiongfei's experimental base. Later, he worked in the teaching research room of the Changshu Education Bureau for six years, during which time he attended many classes and studied numerous reports. He discovered that many teachers treated students merely as containers, stuffing knowledge into them without respecting their individuality and personality as living beings.
This failed or aborted educational reform was called the "Life Classroom." You Jianzhong said he began having this idea in 2004, and Professor Ye Lan from East China Normal University's advocacy of "making classrooms full of life vitality" deeply inspired him.
In 2006, he came to Changwai as deputy principal, and two years later became the principal. Thus, his previously theoretical "Life Classroom" gained the opportunity for practical application. "It started in 2009; this year mainly focused on changing the teachers' mindset; in 2010, three main lines were proposed: passionate interaction, induced thinking exploration, and success experience." You Jianzhong introduced that in 2011, he began establishing the "Life Classroom" model. To broaden horizons, he took the teachers to successful educational reform schools like Dulangkou Middle School in Shandong, Changlang No.2 Middle School, Xinjiang Middle School in Shanxi, and Tanghu Middle School in Sichuan. Subsequently, he summarized the five links of teaching: 1. Self-study and exploration; 2. Collaborative learning; 3. Doubt clarification and guidance; 4. Expansion training; 5. Summary improvement. After the model was established, it began to be practiced among some teachers.
"The results are very good," You Jianzhong said. A characteristic of the "Life Classroom" is "surrounding tables," which breaks the passive layout where students face the teacher and blackboard straight-on, dividing a class of students into eight groups, each group consisting of six people, sitting together around a table. "How can this be considered chatting? This kind of group study aims to enhance students' learning initiative and cooperation ability, to improve learning efficiency." Regarding the claim in online posts that teachers only lecture for five minutes per class, You Jianzhong denied it, "How could it be five minutes? In this learning method, the five steps involve the teacher being present, providing explanations and resolving doubts according to the actual situation."
You Jianzhong said that parents always pit educational reform against good grades and college entrance exams. Actually, the primary purpose 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 is not the only thing. We look further ahead. We hope today's learning will still promote students' progress 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 he, the school, and the parents indeed did not communicate enough. "If possible in the future, I will invite them, and I will patiently explain to them."
As for the prospects of the "Life Classroom," You Jianzhong insisted that it is a good thing and will not be abandoned. "If a class of students and parents do not oppose it, I will apply to the education bureau to set up an elite class and continue the educational reform."