The general meaning is: you use the people you educate (such as students) to educate yourself, and you have to put in your efforts while working hard.

This sentence is a couplet inscribed by Mr. Tao Xingzhi, the pioneer of national normal education, for Xiaozhuang Normal University: "Those who teach others teach themselves, and they work hard."

From this we can see Mr. Tao Xingzhi’s proposition for normal education: the integration of teaching, learning and doing. Chinese education has undergone many changes along the way, including the 30 years of reform and opening up. However, the basic principle of teacher development contained in "teaching others teaches oneself, and working hard" still has the significance of the times, and what is being implemented today Among various measures for teacher professional development, the integration of teaching and practice is still practical and very effective.

Extended information:

Mr. Tao Xingzhi devoted his life to education and made pioneering contributions to the modernization of education in our country. He not only created a complete educational theoretical system, but also carried out a large number of educational practices.

A closer look at Tao Xingzhi’s educational thoughts reveals that innovation is like a golden thread that runs through every part of Tao Xingzhi’s educational thoughts. Innovation here refers to getting rid of the "old" that does not meet the needs of the development of the times and creating the "new" that is consistent with social and historical progress. Innovation also has the meaning of breaking idols, getting rid of superstitions, breaking away from the shackles of dogma, and getting out of rigid and habitual thinking.

The innovation of Tao Xingzhi’s educational thoughts is also reflected in the training objectives. In response to the phenomenon that old education aimed at cultivating “people among people”, he pointed out that new education should cultivate “people among people” with all-round development.

As early as when he founded Nanjing Anhui Public School, he proposed three educational goals for the school: studying knowledge requires a scientific spirit; transforming the environment requires an aesthetic conception; and adapting to the world requires nobility. moral cultivation.

Baidu Encyclopedia—Tao Xingzhi