In the age of self-media, the new actions of a group of rural teachers
In 2022, Ding Yuling, a rural primary school teacher in Fuyang, Anhui, has gained millions of followers on the video account of "Rural Teacher Diary".
Why did the "diary" of an ordinary rural teacher attract millions of people to watch?
There is no exquisite editing and design, no specific script, a group of elementary school students argue about which Ultraman is more handsome, and they are at a loss when facing the teacher's sudden home visit in the summer, and even "fight wits" with the teacher in the office... The audience is not only interested in the barrage Interpreting the "plot" in a way that makes fun of the students who often appear on the screen like a friend, millions of people collectively miss the days when they were "tutored" by their teachers.
In recent years, a large number of rural teacher bloggers have emerged on short video platforms such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Station B. In their footage, there are innocent and simple students, as well as the "unknown" mentality and daily life of rural teachers. In life, there is also a teacher-student interaction that exclaims "too dramatic".
This unique group is showing the real villages in daily life, and also letting more and more people know about rural education and rural teachers.
On April 14, the Ministry of Education and other eight departments issued the "New Era Basic Education Strengthening Teacher Plan" (hereinafter referred to as the "Strengthening Teacher Plan"), from the aspects of professional title evaluation, material guarantee, etc., to strengthen the construction of rural teachers in underdeveloped areas. deploy.
In this context, when rural teachers become "Internet celebrity bloggers", can they bring new changes to rural education in the face of doubts from audiences, traffic and online?
"Opening up a new way of home-school communication"
After becoming a teacher, a post-90s girl from Tonghua, Jilin Province, "Chi Xiang" (the blogger's name), accidentally discovered that expressing herself through short videos can become a link between parents and children: "I recorded a video before asking children about their dreams, Some parents forwarded it to the circle of friends and said that they never knew their children had such thoughts." When rural children feel the appreciation of their parents and the encouragement of strangers on the platform, they also learn to actively explore their own from being shy at first. Potential, the lens gradually became a "reward" to encourage children to show themselves bravely.
Chi Xiang was originally worried about the invasion of privacy, so he took the initiative to type codes or deliberately avoided the appearance of his children.
After communicating with parents and children, the latter even took the initiative to ask for a moderate appearance.
"The camera not only brought the hearts of parents, children and teachers closer, but also opened up a new way of communication between home and school." of distress.
"I will take the time to reply to private messages, hoping that these children will shorten the distance from the teacher, and encourage them to believe in the teacher, be friends with the teacher, and solve problems in time."
The "Class Committee Election" video made post-90s blogger Zhu Wenjie, a "hard-working class teacher", "out of the circle". She hoped that more people would see the "inner strength" of rural children and resonate with netizens.
Not only did the parents support the video shoot, but Zhu Wenjie was also recognized by the school principal.
After that, more and more normal students and new teachers took the initiative to exchange education and teaching methods with her, which gave her more space to explore when reviewing her own teaching.
"I hope my videos can provide you with positive meaning and value, such as how to interact with children in the classroom, how to manage the class, or how to design the Chinese class," said Zhu Wenjie.
Breaking the stereotype of rural education
On the Internet, attention has always been accompanied by questioning and criticism.
"Is there a professional packaging and commercial purpose behind it?" "There must be a script behind it"... It is not uncommon to accuse the scene and content of being a "show" in the comment areas of various rural teacher bloggers.
"Reality" is a fact that rural teachers and bloggers have always emphasized in the interviews. It is impossible for all students to cooperate with "acting" in their daily lives.
Zhu Wenjie mentioned: "Speaking of rural education and left-behind children, many people will think of keywords such as 'old teacher', 'bad personality', 'lonely', 'sensitive', 'poor learning', etc. This is a stereotype. "
Wen Jun, dean and professor of the School of Social Development at East China Normal University, pointed out that these stereotyped doubts stem from both the regional differences in the development level of rural education and the inherent defects of the media itself: "The camera lens is highly selective, and itself It is a variety of presentations, but the public often lacks the awareness of discrimination and the energy to distinguish them, so it is easy to make a generalized generalization. In addition, the content is short after editing, and the photographer cannot fully present it, so stereotyped impression It will definitely exist. But you can't make a macro judgment on the local education situation, or even China's rural education."
"They use their daily appeals first. The children's laughter in the camera will change the public's perception of rural education and life, and tear off the label of 'rural education is backward'. This action is valuable." School of Educational Sciences, Yangzhou University Liu Jia, a professor and doctoral supervisor, is more optimistic, "the reason why they have the courage to share and gain the recognition of fans is more because of their identification with the identity of rural teachers, otherwise they will not show such a relaxed and humorous emotional tone. "
In fact, with the country's policy support for rural education and the overall victory in the battle against poverty in recent years, the gap between urban and rural areas is gradually narrowing at the level of compulsory education.
The increase in teachers' salaries, the inclination of the professional title evaluation policy, the construction of school buildings and the equipment of electronic facilities, the training and recruitment of targeted rural teachers... In the interview, these are the intuitive feelings of the teachers in recent years, and they are also the future implementation of the "Strengthening Teachers Plan". The focus of comprehensive protection.
Rural teacher bloggers have gradually begun to face up to the role of the camera in improving rural stereotypes, and use technology to break the relatively conservative knowledge horizon and the difference in vision between urban and rural areas.
"Our country has a vast area and rapid development. Today, life in rural primary schools can be as colorful as in cities. I hope that in the future, there will be no distinction between rural teachers and urban teachers, and I hope that there will be no left-behind children." Zhu Wenjie said. .
"Transforming concern into powerful helping action"
Searching for "village teachers" on major short video platforms often presents a mixed situation, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false.
If there is attention, there will be traffic. How to make good use of traffic is an unavoidable topic.
In the interview, Zhu Wenjie said frankly: "I didn't expect to attract the attention and love of many people. But one attention, one like, and one comment are all support for this group of students and teachers who participated in it. The combined support of Didi may bring about qualitative changes and bring practical benefits to rural education and left-behind children." With the growth of fans, this also made her "have to start paying attention to this 'a little bit of influence'. , I hope my video can bring positive energy to everyone."
In this regard, experts have reminded that the role of platforms, schools, and governments should be brought into play in the supervision and governance of such videos.
"Any governance is a process from disorder to order, from external organization to internal autonomy. On the one hand, the platform will have the survival of the fittest, and the bloggers who can really persevere will not exceed the society's expectations and expectations for the profession of teaching. Cognitive. On the other hand, bloggers also have a process of self-reflection. It cannot be said that young people are required to have such a great sense of responsibility and mission from the beginning. But they will gradually develop professionally, and achieve from personal to teacher through video. The correct establishment of the group image." Liu Jia said.
In addition, Liu Jia believes that the short video platform is also a good opportunity to develop professional skills due to his long-term participation in Internet public welfare collaboration and education anti-poverty national projects.
She encouraged more young teacher bloggers to combine technical ability, media literacy and professional development, such as consciously relying on short videos to share systematic teaching resource packages, so as to expand the overall career development of rural teachers.
"Rural teacher bloggers are showing the confidence and tenacity of traditional villages. The actions of 'icebreakers' are not necessarily profound, they are instinctive, and groups of people will be affected and follow. Dedication can't last long, and the idealized image of teachers as "burning candles" by the media for a long time should also change with the new era. Under the combination of policies, the teaching profession is gaining popularity, and those who are willing to become rural teachers There will be more and more." Liu Jia said.
Wen Jun encouraged government departments to incorporate the accounts of rural teacher bloggers into the local media matrix, so that these bloggers could combine their vision with local resources and bring more perspectives to rural revitalization.
"The key to rural revitalization is the revitalization of people." Wen Jun emphasized that how to give rural teachers a sense of identity and happiness, and give full respect to their spiritual and social status, is the only way to change rural teachers. "The root of the problem.
Reshaping the public's perception of the countryside and making "returning to the countryside" an avant-garde wave and a voluntary ethos are not limited to the profession of teachers.
The "Strengthening Teachers Plan" released this time has established a policy system for the construction of a full-caliber teacher team.
At the press conference of the Ministry of Education, Ren Youqun, director of the Department of Teacher Work of the Ministry of Education, also said with great hope: "I hope that more aspiring young people who really love teaching and love can study in normal schools, become teachers, and go to the places where the motherland needs them most to teach and educate. People, undertake the mission of the times to revitalize rural education. Normal colleges and universities should always be the strong backing of graduates who teach in rural areas, and continue to pay attention to and track the professional development of graduates, especially those who teach in difficult and poverty-stricken areas. A 'big gentleman' for the high-quality development of education in underdeveloped areas."
(Our reporter Yang Sa and our correspondent Wang Jiayin)