How the pace of parents' school choice stopped
Labor Education Experiment in a Weak School in Suburban Area
Fulongping Primary School in Chengguan District, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province is located on the mountain flat in the south of Lanzhou City. Most of the surrounding areas are residential areas of floating population.
Four years ago, when Wang Xiang came here as the principal, there were only more than 100 students in the school.
The quality of education and teaching cannot be guaranteed. Parents and students vote with their feet and choose to go down the mountain to study.
Wang Xiang saw it in his eyes, anxious in his heart.
Since then, he realized that coming to Fulongping Elementary School was a "retrograde", "only when the school is well run can parents stop the pace of school choice."
Use labor education as the breakthrough point of reform
Changing a school is not easy.
After an in-depth analysis of the students' situation, Wang Xiang tried to add new elements to the school, which is dominated by children of migrants.
Wang Xiang chose to use labor education as the breakthrough point for reform: most of the school's students come from floating population families, and most of the students' parents are ordinary laborers from all walks of life. Insufficient education, cultural education is relatively weak, but at the same time, "in such an environment, students are very familiar with labor." In Wang Xiang's view, many students have a much deeper understanding and experience of labor than their peers. The things perceived in labor are also richer, which is the unique advantage and the potential.
"It is necessary for students to strengthen their physique and enhance their will quality in labor education, and at the same time, by magnifying the shining points and improving their spirit, so as to promote the change of school education." Wang Xiang said.
The labor class is officially written on the class schedule: the second class every Thursday afternoon is a fixed labor class.
In addition, every spare time, students will often carry out collective labor.
The labor class also has special content: the public area of the school was originally cleaned by specialized cleaning staff, and Wang Xiang turned it into an area and distributed it to each class. After further renovation, it became the "Dongli Manor", and each class was responsible for a small piece of it, planting vegetables, and taking care of it until the final harvest.
In addition, in front of the teaching building, a special plot of land is set aside for planting various flowers and suitable tea trees, which are maintained by the students in different classes.
What should I do if there is a shortage of professional labor and technical teachers?
The school hires teachers from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences or the Agricultural University to explain to the students the methods of planting flowers, raising grass and improving environmental sanitation, and often invites parents who have free time to come to the campus to work with their children.
In the exploration of Wang Xiang, teachers and parents who did not understand at first gradually gained a new understanding, and many people consciously participated in it.
"Labor not only does not delay teaching, but also has a positive effect on teaching." Pang Zhiwen, a math teacher from rural Qingyang, Gansu Province, has since the school opened a rich labor education class, he feels that classroom teaching is more grounded, and children are more interested in knowledge Mastery is deeper.
"It used to be difficult to tell how long a meter is and how large a square meter is. Now, in the vegetable garden, students can be told intuitively, and their understanding is more real." In Pang Zhiwen's view, mathematics comes from life, and it is labor. Education effectively integrates mathematics and life.
Discover a different self in labor
Fulongping Primary School is changing day by day.
Wang Xiang's exploration is also deepening.
In order to effectively standardize the content of labor education, improve the effect of education, and realize the simultaneous development of the "five educations" of morality, intelligence, physical beauty and labor, and coordinated development, Fulongping Primary School has compiled school-based teaching materials for labor education, and established a special subject group to carry out teaching and research activities.
In recent years, the state has attached great importance to labor education in primary and secondary schools. Fulongping Primary School has carried forward its own advantages, sought support from all parties, strengthened the construction of labor education training bases, and successively built modern agricultural smart greenhouses, industrial labor and family labor training grounds , also increased the content of Chinese herbal medicine, tea planting and processing.
In the newly built bright and spacious smart greenhouse, common vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers are planted in the middle, and various succulents, flowers, Chinese medicinal materials, etc. are cultivated around it, as well as hydroponic seedling equipment. There are special temperature and humidity control equipment, and students can also carry out seedling experiments.
While improving hands-on ability, a detailed introduction is attached next to each plant to enrich students' knowledge reserve.
In addition to participating in the smart agriculture experiment, in the past two years, Ma Yaqian also participated in the school's explanation group - every time someone came to visit, the students took turns to explain.
"I was very nervous at the beginning, and I would forget what I prepared. Now these are no longer a problem." After systematic training, Ma Yaqian and the classmates in the explanation group have significantly improved their knowledge and courage. Now, no matter what kind of reception, This 10-year-old girl can complete the explanation generously and freely.
Life and labor education has also been carried out vigorously.
In the living and labor experience room, in addition to displaying many labor tools in the past, there are also many tools that can be often used in life.
The characteristic sports of Fulongping Primary School is unicycle, and children often carry out unicycle training and performances after school.
In the face of various minor problems that may occur in the unicycle, the teacher and the students repaired it by themselves.
There are also woodworking tools such as planes and saws in the experience room. Under the guidance of the teacher, many students have mastered the operation essentials of these tools, and can also make simple tenon and mortise, and complete the production of simple benches, tables and chairs; in addition, the experience room There are also sewing machines, traditional looms, etc. After some training, students can perform routine operations.
The most interesting thing for everyone is the cooking training.
Guided by the teacher's demonstration, how to turn a packet of flour into a bowl of delicious noodle rice or beef noodles?
After many training sessions, many students have been able to make a bowl of fragrant noodles from "a complete mess" to "pretty good".
Da Pengxuan, a sixth grader, learned to make dough in the labor class not long ago.
If parents are too busy to cook, Da Pengxuan can cook by himself, and his self-care ability has been greatly improved.
"I feel like I've really grown up."
"Labor class is not only for learning some skills, but more importantly, it opens a window for students, allowing students to discover the beauty of life and a different self in labor," said Wang Xiang.
Gather upward force
With the comprehensive promotion of labor education, the campus is also quietly changing: the environment is more tidy, the cultural and sports activities are more colorful, the students greet each other, and good behavior habits are gradually being developed. It has been affirmed in the school, the mental state is improving, and the learning state is also improving.
Since the establishment of "Dongli Manor" on campus, art teacher He Ruijie will often take children to life drawing classes in the manor.
She found that the children's paintings are more realistic and tangible, the color matching is more vivid and natural, and the paintings of animals and plants are vivid on the paper, showing the vitality of life.
"In this way, art and nature are closely integrated, and aesthetic training is rooted in nature and life, and there is infinite creativity. This is indeed impossible to achieve in a classroom." He Ruijie said.
"Naughty students in the traditional sense reflect their own value in labor. When they are recognized by teachers and students around them, they will have more confidence in campus life, and their learning status will naturally improve." Regarding the changes of students after participating in labor education, Li Minjie, who taught at this school three years ago, has real feelings.
Nowadays, Li Minjie, who teaches Chinese, will take her 3-year-old child to do housework after school, because she saw in her own campus: Not only is the learning atmosphere good here, the students are also very capable and sensible, such as cleaning, planting flowers and grass, raising Small animals are all good at it.
In recent years, under the guidance of labor education, the school's education quality has also been continuously improved, and it has won the Lanzhou Chengguan District Teaching Quality Excellence Award for three consecutive years.
What followed was the increasing number of students on the campus, and many students from the surrounding area came here. The number of students in the school has increased to 337, nearly doubling in just 4 years.
In Wang Xiang's view, the "prescription" that can take place in the school is not mysterious. It is based on its own reality, fully develop its advantages, stimulate the endogenous motivation of teachers and students, drive the all-round development of "five education", and truly educate students , have a harvest.
For the changes in the school in recent years, Wang Xiang sees it in his eyes and is happy in his heart.
"Our students are confident and sunny, and our school has gathered upward forces."
China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Ma Fuchun