What is a good principal? Xie Shuhua, Party Secretary and Director of Wenzhou Education Bureau A good principal is a good school. This is a wise saying in the education field. History has proven that if the principal is good, the school will be strong. Cai Yuanpei did it to Peking University, Mei Yiqi did it to Tsinghua University, Zhang Boling did it to Nankai University... this is all true. What is a good principal today, and how to be a good principal? A good principal must have advanced educational ideas. Suhomlinski said, "The leadership of a school is first the leadership of educational ideas, and the second is administrative leadership." Putting forward advanced educational ideas is the prerequisite for running a good school. Only when a principal has his own educational ideas can he have opinions and determination in running a school, can he have the courage and ability to go against the current and make innovations, and can he lead the school to excellence. Of course, advanced educational ideas do not fall from the sky. As an educational thought, it covers the principal’s explanation of educational phenomena, description of the nature of education, and prediction of the future of education, etc. There are three main ways to form advanced educational ideas: First, strengthen learning. Strengthen the study of educational theories, policies and regulations, school management, etc. The principal should be more bookish and less cigarette and alcoholic. Nowadays, some principals are busy with socializing and greeting students. They neglect learning all year round and cannot come up with advanced school running concepts or talk about the reform and development of the school. A good principal should develop a good habit of loving learning and reading diligently, so that knowledge can be constantly updated to lead the reform and development of education. The second is to put oneself into practice. What I have learned on paper is ultimately shallow, and I know that I have to do it in detail. The formation of educational ideas depends on long-term educational practice. Without long-term practice, there would not be Suhomlinsky's Pavlysh Middle School, Tao Xingzhi's Xiaozhuang Normal School, Wei Shusheng's "Democracy and Science", or Liu Jinghai's "Successful Education." A good principal must work hard, run the school with heart, and form his or her own educational ideas through practice. The third is to constantly reflect. Reflection is an important way for principals to refine school running experience and improve school running ideas. Principals must have a sense of reflection and habits of reflection, and often reflect on whether their ideas for running a school are correct, whether their management methods are scientific, and whether their management results are significant. Only through comparison can there be discrimination and motivation. Principals must form advanced educational ideas through reflection. A good principal must have high moral character. The principal is the highest commander of the school. This "command power" refers to not only the power of the position, but also the personality charm generated by the high moral character. The principal is upright, but the teachers and students do not follow orders. A good principal should be determined to improve his moral height. First of all, lofty moral character is reflected in a strong sense of professionalism and mission. The sense of professionalism and mission is a powerful motivation and spiritual pursuit for the principal to engage in educational work. It also determines the principal's realm of running a school and his courage to reform. The principal is responsible for the growth of thousands of students and shoulders the important task of rejuvenating the country and the nation. If we only regard running a school as a means to make a living, we will inevitably fall into the quagmire of pursuing fame and fortune, losing our ideal and lofty pursuit of education and the courage to reform and reform. Only by treating education as a lifelong pursuit and supreme cause can we have the spirit of selfless dedication and the courage to take responsibility for others, be able to persevere in our ideals in the face of difficulties, be self-aware in the face of interests, and be persistent on the road of pursuit. Secondly, lofty moral character is reflected in selfless dedication. Education is a career, and the meaning of career lies in dedication. A good principal should, as Tao Xingzhi requires, "come with a heart in hand and leave without a blade of grass", and have unrequited love and unreserved devotion to education. As the leader of teachers, the principal must practice dedication and set an example for all teachers and students. In the face of some unhealthy tendencies in the education system, principals must promote integrity, selfless dedication, be indifferent to fame and fortune, and lead the teacher collective with their own practical actions. Thirdly, lofty moral character is reflected in benevolence and integrity. Education is a cause of love. Without love, there would be no education. Nothing touches people's hearts more than love. A principal should have teachers in his eyes, students in his heart, and be full of care for teachers and students. This is an important factor for a principal to have a strong moral influence. The principal controls various resources of the school. He must be fair and impartial in his dealings, and his employment and actions must be reasonable and legal in order to enhance collective cohesion and personal credibility. Integrity and probity are the bottom line of morality. Justice breeds justice and integrity breeds prestige. A good principal must not seek personal gain financially and be rigorous in life. Only in this way can he achieve the foundation of his personality. A good principal must have excellent management skills. Management is both a science and an art, and is a basic skill of a principal. A good principal must be familiar with the basic laws and methods of school management, understand the psychological characteristics of faculty and staff, and have excellent management skills.

A good principal must have three management abilities: First, be aware of situations and be good at planning. The principal must be familiar with the educational development situation and grasp the laws of educational development. He must set his sights on the future, be good at assessing the situation, and plan for the future. He must not only summarize past experience in managing the school, but also plan development based on current reality, and cultivate talents according to future trends. The second is to be resourceful and decisive. The principal cannot be entangled in affairs all day long. He must do everything by himself and scratch his eyebrows and beard, which will lead to disorderly management of the school. The school must be managed by establishing rules and regulations and creating a culture; it must be good at grasping the direction, clear division of labor, good at delegation, and overall control; it must fully promote democracy, listen to opinions extensively, brainstorm broadly, and make decisive decisions. The third is to know people well and assign them well. Principals should be good at discovering talents, cultivating talents and using talents. As we all know, people are the core element of school development. In some schools, the principal's negligence in hiring people has led to the decline of the school. A good principal is a meritocracy, employing people's strengths and avoiding their weaknesses, and strives to create a good situation where talents emerge in large numbers, making the school a paradise for students to grow and a stage for the growth of subject teachers and administrative backbones. A good principal must have superb teaching standards. Teachers are professionals, and a good principal must be a good teacher. Only expert principals who are proficient in education and teaching can grasp the laws of education and student growth, fulfill their bounden duty of teaching and educating people, lead the construction of school curriculum, and guide education and teaching work. From a certain perspective, the education and teaching level of the principal determines how far the school can go and what heights it can achieve. First, in terms of teaching work, a good principal must be both an expert and a generalist. The principal must first become an excellent subject teacher, and at the same time be able to extensively explore other subjects, combine expertise and expertise, and be both expert and knowledgeable. The principal must go deep into the front line of teaching, "go among teachers, among students, and in the classroom." He must often listen to and analyze classes; the principal must also jump out of the front line and cannot regard himself as a backbone teacher. Being caught up in the heavy teaching tasks, it is necessary to study the curriculum system and lead teachers to grow collectively. Second, in scientific research work, a good principal is both a banner and a ladder. Whether one can truly attach importance to educational scientific research reflects the insight of a principal. A good principal should take the lead in teaching and scientific research, making himself the banner and leader of education and scientific research, and giving the school an endless source of development power through teaching and scientific research. Teaching and scientific research is also the fundamental way to promote the professional development of teachers. A good principal should provide strong guarantee for teachers to engage in teaching and scientific research, and form a good atmosphere and mechanism for teaching and scientific research to develop the school. Third, in the work of educating people, the principal should be both the confidant of the students and the friend of the parents. The mission of the school is to promote the development of each child. A good principal should go deep into the students, understand the students' joys, sorrows, and joys, grasp the students' ideological trends, and let their own heart beat with the children's heart, so that students can be happy. Only in this way can the work of educating people be possible. At the same time, a good principal must make full use of and effectively integrate family education resources and social education forces, communicate closely, handle the relationship between home and school well, and make parents become allies in school education. A good principal must have profound humanistic qualities. In essence, pedagogy is actually human studies. The core task of education is to promote the comprehensive, free and coordinated development of students. The popularization of education pursues efficiency and unity, while examination-oriented education focuses on mechanical training. This inevitably leads to educational behaviors that violate the laws of students' growth and ignore students' personality differences. Humanistic quality is the cornerstone of the principal's comprehensive quality. Without humanistic quality, the principal can only become a "skilled craftsman" in management. Only a principal with profound humanistic quality can become an "educator". So how can a principal have profound humanistic qualities? First, we must improve our knowledge and literacy. Humanities education is first and foremost an education in the humanities. Therefore, we should read more works on literature, art, philosophy, etc., both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, and strive to improve our spiritual realm. Second, we must enrich our own humanistic spirit. The soul of humanistic literacy is a spirit with "people" as its object and center, and its core content is concern for the meaning and value of human existence. At present, many principals are working hard to combat exam-oriented education, such as "slow" education, life-oriented education, respect education, success education, etc. These diverse education forms reflect the care of these passionate principals for the individual lives of children. A good principal is not only concerned about students' past physical and mental development, but also about children's current comprehensive development, and even more concerned about children's future sustainable development. Third, we must improve our tolerance and self-cultivation. Humanistic qualities are directly reflected in the principal’s behavior. A good principal must be magnanimous in his conduct, treat others with warmth, act in a measured manner, behave in a graceful manner, have a solid background, and have a broad vision. Being a principal is a noble and sacred thing, and requires continuous cultivation of "morality, determination, words, and deeds."

In the world of contemporary Chinese education, Liu Pengzhi of the High School Affiliated to Beijing Renmin University, "the most important thing in life" is to be the principal; Tang Shengchang of Shanghai Middle School, "lifelong preparation and transcendence" just to be the principal; Yang Ruiqing, who is determined to "walk on the road of knowledge", Always watch over rural education. I deeply look forward to the emergence of batches of good principals in our land of Wenzhou, who will work unswervingly to realize the educational dreams in their hearts!