◆ The future education mode will be based on information technology and brain science.
◆ The goal of 21century education is to fully develop "brain mines".
Q: I heard that you like to observe and study ants since you were a child, and later you like to study monkeys. Is there any connection between studying animals and researchers? What are the main achievements of your long-term research?
A: I like studying ants since I was a child. Later, he engaged in education and began to observe and study human characteristics. Of course, ants can't compete with people, but ants are smart. Like humans, they are well-organized social animals. As educators, our research object is people who claim to be the spirit of all things, but have not lost their animality. Humans have always been conceited and unwilling to confuse themselves with small animals, but they are often confused by the aura they create, which leads to education going astray. For example, the current one-child phenomenon, parents think that children are geniuses and can be presidents when they grow up. But if we can restore the true colors of human beings, especially the children who are changing from monkeys to people, we may know children more objectively and rationally, thus making education more in line with objective laws and more effective.
With the development of science and technology, education is facing a significant and profound recovery. I think a brand-new education will be born in the world, which will replace the educational model that originated in the industrial age and is still in use today. This new educational model will be based on two new foundations, one is information technology, and the other is brain science. First, the material basis and external conditions of education; One is the discovery of human beings, which can be said to be internal conditions. The former makes educational means more advanced, while the latter makes education more conscious and more in line with the law. The combination of the two will make education leap forward, and finally make people's potential greatly developed.
I once said that people only know that there are gold mines and silver mines, but they don't know that there is an unfathomable "brain mine" that is more precious than gold and silver. The highest goal of 2 1 century education is to make "brain mineral" get the most effective and full development. The human brain has 65.438+04 billion neurons and 90 million auxiliary cells, which can store 654.38+0000 trillion information units, equivalent to 500 million books. Obviously, this mine is far from being developed at present. In addition to the brain, human beings have a pair of hands that other animals don't have, which scientists call the second brain. It is these two organs that open the gap between human beings and other animals, which is worth studying. ◆ Humanistic spirit is a fertile ground for cultivating good morality.
"Harmony" is an important content of national spirit education.
Teachers should not give up every child.
Q: Moral education has always been a very important issue for educators. What do you think of moral education now?
A: Now the earth is getting warmer and people's hearts are getting colder. Moral education is the biggest problem in future education, which is not only my concern, because it is an international issue. Now human beings can enjoy the achievements brought by science and technology, make flying no longer a dream and clone their own lives, but there is one problem that cannot be solved, that is, moral education. At present, human morality is not improving, but declining. The gruesome "9. 1 1" terrorist incident reminds me of the black smoke from two buildings as soon as I close my eyes. As an educator, I always wonder, where have our educational achievements gone?
I once said that a person's poor study is a defective product; Bad physical education is a waste; Bad morals are dangerous goods. We should distinguish which is light and which is heavy.
For more than ten years, the effect of our moral education work is not obvious. I think the main reason is that moral educators are conservative, have a narrow understanding of moral connotation, are full of utilitarian thoughts and ignore the profound humanistic spirit foundation; The method is simple, formalism and impetuousness abound, and it is satisfied with short-term interests.
You've seen movies used in rural fields! It's freezing outside and warm as spring inside, so crops get high yield, because the film creates a suitable growth environment for crops. So is moral education. To create a suitable and good environment for children, this is the humanistic environment. Humanistic spirit is a long-term cultural tradition with national characteristics, national characteristics and even local characteristics. I think it can include people's cultural taste, aesthetic taste, psychological quality, attitude towards life, moral cultivation, patriotic feelings and spiritual world. Its connotation is comprehensive, true and concrete, and it is a huge, ubiquitous and subtle force. Humanistic spirit is a fertile ground for cultivating good morality. Without humanistic spirit, moral education is like a rootless tree and passive water, which is grasped in isolation. One side of the soil and water supports one side, and it is necessary to create a microclimate for the growth of talents. We can start with a person, a family, a school and a community to create a good small environment. Just like a greenhouse, let the microclimate play a big role.
At present, it is very good to attach importance to cultivating national spirit. Judging from the history of China, it is necessary to emphasize China people's rebellious spirit and indomitable revolutionary spirit in national spirit education due to the objective environment such as the invasion of imperialism and the oppression of three mountains. But as far as the national spirit formed by the Chinese nation in 5,000 years is concerned, and as far as the longer cultural tradition is concerned, the excellent tradition of the Chinese nation is a word "harmony". When China was strong in history, such as the Han, Tang and Ming Dynasties, it emphasized being kind to its neighbors and being their partners, and it also emphasized "harmony". For example, Zheng He's and Zhang Qian's voyages to the West sent culture, porcelain and silk instead of war and aggression. This is the greatness of our nation and the greatness of our national spirit. At present, the central government proposes to build a socialist harmonious society, which is also the inheritance of the national spirit and the development under the new historical conditions. So "harmony" is the core of the great Chinese national spirit. Why not dig out these important contents and educate our next generation?
For teachers, education means not giving up every child. I still remember the day on 1955, when I was the headmaster, a young man came to my office to find me. When I saw it, it turned out to be a student five years ago, and I thought to myself: something must have happened to him! Because this student is very naughty at school, the teachers can't do anything about him, and they have suggested expelling him more than once. Later, I endured it again and again, and I didn't fire him until he graduated. But after he graduated, I have been worried that he will do bad things. I didn't expect him to come suddenly. I said coldly, "It's you. What's wrong? " He said, "Principal, I know I did badly in school. Now I'm going to work in a remote place. I must come to see you before I leave, just to tell you that your students have changed now, don't worry! " Hearing this, I burst into tears. I was surprised and moved at the same time. It turned out that this student later went to Tongji University and graduated, and he had to respond to the call to support the frontier. This incident has taught me a lot. Since then, I have established a belief that people can get a good education and schools cannot punish a child easily. It is easier to punish than to give him a chance. Our education should have the power to educate bad students, be patient, be tolerant and allow children to make mistakes. I have always had a complex of rural education.
I hope to develop rural education as soon as possible.
◆ The hard truth should be reasonable, and this truth is Scientific Outlook on Development.
Q: At present, rural education has become the top priority of basic education. As an educator who has been living and working in a big city, how do you view the current rural education problems?
A: The focus of China's basic education is in rural areas, and the difficulties are also in rural areas. This is why I, an old man living in Shanghai, always focus on education in the central and western regions and rural areas. After retirement, I have traveled to almost all provinces and cities except Tibet. My motivation comes from the hope of seeing the dawn of rural education in China.
I once saw a group of children in class under a big tree in the virgin forest area of Yunnan. A blackboard hanging on the tree is a classroom, and tears came down at that time. It's nice to have a shed! Not to mention the west, there are also very difficult areas in northern Jiangsu and southern Zhejiang. I come from the countryside and have always had a rural education complex. China is too big, and all problems have to be solved through a process. I want to be as fast as possible and as fair as possible. Maybe I'm old and a little anxious. I have always hoped to see great changes in rural education in my lifetime.
Five or six years ago, I went to Shanghai Nanhui and saw a sign of Hope Primary School. When I walked in, I was shocked. It turned out to be a school for migrant children. I rented a very shabby house as a classroom and hung a national flag. Even in a city like Shanghai, there is such a humble school, and I really shed tears. Later, I wrote an internal reference to the Central Committee, calling for attention to the enrollment of children of floating population.
Deng Xiaoping said that development is the last word, and the last word should be reasonable. This truth is Scientific Outlook on Development. In recent years, formalism and impetuousness are quite serious. I call it edema and ADHD. Slogans are constantly being refurbished, and models are emerging one after another. Check it carefully. Everything is the same, except the image project. Another example is the problem of building a school building, which can be done, but not too luxurious. At present, I quite agree with the proposal of "two basics" in the western region. The key is to implement it, spend money in the poorest places and don't put on airs. At present, some places have a tendency to run education, and they are keen on running large schools, merging schools into parks and building hotel-style school buildings. I am a conservative, and I don't quite agree with this. Because China is still a poor country. Of course, on the other hand, investing in education is not as good as investing in other landmark buildings. People's creativity can only be cultivated, not instilled.
◆ Cultivate students' creativity in any occasion.
◆ Encourage children to be naughty, whimsy and paranoia are twin brothers.
Q: I heard that you are good at "playing" since you were a child, and you can still play with your children now, and you attach great importance to letting your children use their brains in the process of playing, that is, to cultivate their innovative spirit. How to treat this problem?
A: One of the most important points of education in the 2 1 century is how to fully develop everyone's intelligence and cultivate creative thinking, innovative spirit and innovative ability. People's creativity can only be cultivated, not instilled. Just like seeds, they need a certain environment, including soil, climate, scientific irrigation and fertilization. Educators should be good at creating an environment suitable for cultivating children's creativity.
The traditional education in China is keen to let students accumulate original knowledge repeatedly, placing too much emphasis on mastering correct answers and neglecting children's ability to think independently. In fact, cultivating students' creativity can be done in any situation without equipment, because it is everywhere: questioning what is right, questioning what is the conclusion that has been drawn, discovering what is not, from scratch, from perfection to perfection, which is called endless learning.
I like children very much, so children near my home often ask my grandfather for help. Once, a neighbor's little boy came to my house and said to me, "Grandpa, I want to put the rabbit on your balcony." Because my grandmother is afraid of stink, she won't let me keep it. "I said," well, grandpa doesn't mind. However, grandpa has to travel a lot. What if the rabbit starved to death? "He thought for a moment and said," I'm going to invent a machine to feed rabbits automatically. Keep the rabbit in a cardboard box, put a board on it and hang a sloping basket on it, so that when the rabbit finishes eating a dish, it will slide down a tree and the rabbit will not be hungry. " I said, "that's a good idea, but grandpa has to travel for a long time and the dishes will be dry." What should I do? "He cocked his head and thought for a long time, but he couldn't answer, so he said to go home and think about it, and come to me again when you think about it. I promised him, "as long as you figure out a way, grandpa will raise it for you." "As a result, he didn't come for several days, and I didn't know the rabbit was dead until I saw him. The reason why I ask my child this question is that I hope he can keep thinking. We should encourage children from an early age to be unconventional, whimsical, unique and even cranky. Creativity needs whimsy, but whimsy and paranoia are often twin brothers. Therefore, instead of talking about innovation, it is better to create an environment for cultivating creative spirit in a down-to-earth manner.
I often encourage children to make trouble, and I will make trouble with them. They "beat" me, so in the end, they all understood that it takes brains to play with my grandfather, otherwise he would have fooled me. If children can whisper to you, education will be more than half successful.
The key to family education is to create a good atmosphere.
◆ To guide children to surf the Internet, parents must first learn to use computers.
Q: Two of your four children are university teachers, one is a primary school teacher and the other is an engineer. One of your grandchildren 19 years old graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University, and the other two went to college at the age of 16 or 17, and they are excellent in all aspects. What do you think of family education?
A: From childhood to adulthood, family education is the first thing that children accept, and it is also the most affected. How to measure family education? For parents, if children can whisper in front of you, your education will be more than half successful.
I have a special affinity for children, and children trust me very much. Once, I took part in an activity at school. During the break, a fifth-grade girl came to me and said, "Grandpa, I am very upset. There is one thing I can't say. Can I tell you? " I said, "You said, Grandpa will keep your secret." The little girl said, "I like a boy in my class very much." I told him many times, but he didn't respond at all. Grandpa, what do you think? " I found it very funny. Grade five students know what they like and what they don't like. It's a completely hazy feeling, so you can't take it seriously. I can't call it puppy love. You are only in the fifth grade. You should study hard and don't think about it. Of course, I can't encourage her: you have to keep telling him and don't stop until you get what you want. At that time, I answered her in six words: "Don't worry, take your time." The child thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa, I understand. I'm in a hurry. " This matter may be played down in Take Your Time. I am glad that my children trust me, which is the greatest success of education. Therefore, trust is the key to education. If children are afraid to talk to their parents, education is definitely ineffective.
As for my tutor, I attach great importance to creating a good family atmosphere. My home is full of books. There are books to read on the bed, on the desk and beside the toilet, wherever I can sit. Children can have a look at it at hand. I am tolerant of children's education. I have never hit or scolded them. They made a mistake. I just said, "What can you do? Can you do such a thing? " They won't dare again. Not much to say, but good. The Tang Priest's education of his disciples was too wordy, which backfired.
At present, it is the information age, and how to guide children to surf the Internet is a very important issue. If you can surf the Internet at home, why do children go to Internet cafes? I suggest setting up a parent school to educate parents on how to use the Internet, how to correctly guide their children to surf the Internet, and how to monitor their children's surfing the Internet. It is definitely not feasible to forcefully prevent children from surfing the Internet. My students are several times more than Confucius-this is the greatest happiness of my life.
I am lucky not to meet a good teacher, but a group of good teachers.
My biggest regret is that I left the post of principal prematurely.
Q: Looking back on your 70-year teaching career, what do you think of the profession of teacher? What is your biggest gain? Have you ever regretted it?
A: Confucius taught only 3,000 disciples in his life, but only 72 succeeded. To my relief, there are tens of thousands of students who have received my education directly, several times more than him. At this time, I really felt what is pride and what is the value of life. A teacher is a truly rich person in the world, because he is full of peaches and plums and his talents are priceless.
I often go to Beijing for meetings, and I know that there are some of my students in Beijing, but I seldom contact them. Once, on a whim, I called a student working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and said I wanted to meet you. Please let me know and count as many as possible. The time is about that Sunday. As a result, there were more than 100 people in the morning, so we had to borrow the conference room. After many years, the students are over 40 years old. I took a piece of paper and asked them to write down their names and work units. At first glance, you can tell that there are ministers, general-level cadres, department heads, professors, engineers, doctors, teachers, editors and so on. I was really happy that day! Who can invite so many people by phone? This is the happiness of being a teacher!
I was naughty when I was a child, but all my teachers were very kind to me. The greatest luck in one's life is to meet a good teacher. I was lucky not to meet a good teacher, but to meet a group of good teachers. Many of them have passed away now, but I clearly remember their names and many short stories that happened at school. 1990 I won an international parenting award and a bonus. When I was in junior high school, I built a stone pavilion in my alma mater, named Shien Pavilion, and I miss all the teachers who have educated me.
Looking back on this life, the most unforgettable, unforgettable and meaningful thing is when I was a teacher and a principal, because when I was a teacher and a principal, I could get closer to my students, get to know them better and feel the rhythm of their growth. The biggest regret is to leave the principal's post prematurely. If I can be a principal all the time, I think I can think more deeply about education. Educators at all times and all over the world seem to be neither educational officials nor simple educators, but front-line principals or experimenters.
By the way, I don't think the school should be too big. I have been a principal for many years, 1000 students is the best, because the principal can know every student; 2,000 people are basically ok. Even if the headmaster doesn't know each student's name, he can see at a glance that this is my student. More than 2,000 people. Monks cannot grow out of temples. ◆ "Brainwashing" rejuvenated me.
My life is still full.
You will never grow old with your children.
Q: Your figure looks good. What's the secret? At the age of 88, are you still focused on your work as before?
A: 1996, I have a hematoma in my brain. Later, the doctor made a hole in my head, pulled out the blood stasis and washed it with salt water, so I was "brainwashed". Since then, my bald head has grown black hair, my age spots have faded for many years, and my original presbyopia is no longer spent. I once advised doctors to study the reasons, because they had never seen such a thing.
At present, I am also a consultant of educational projects in two countries, not a nominal consultant, and I pay more attention to them. Besides, I often go out, give lectures, attend academic conferences and do research. I just came back from Jiangsu, Guangdong not long ago, and I will go to Zhejiang later. At present, if I want to go abroad or overseas, I need the mayor's signature. There are restrictions. Because they know my age, they are afraid that I will be ill. So I choose a place with convenient transportation. In addition, I often go back to my alma mater, Zhejiang Xinchang Middle School, and set up scholarships with half of my monthly salary, giving prizes to winning students every year.
I subscribe to eight newspapers and some publications every day, and read them carefully if I am interested. But at present, many newspapers are not close to readers, and there are too many formal contents. I knew what was written in the title as soon as I saw it, so I just glanced at it.
I have no special hobbies in life except reading. If there is, it should be music. A few years ago, I wrote a children's song "Mining Brain Mine"-"There is a treasure on a person's head, originally called brain. What's the use of growing a brain ... ",and I also specially assigned a tune to it, and invited people to add accompaniment such as" Long Grigoron ",which made me feel quite good. Later, I excitedly sent it to the Little Friends Choir of Shanghai Children's Palace for them to audition. As a result, the children said, "Good is good, but not trendy enough." God knows, I was 84 years old then. How can I write pop songs?
I didn't think I would live so long, otherwise I would have studied computer. A long time ago, I encouraged teachers and my children to master information technology, but I didn't learn it myself. Now I regret it.
I like children very much. I really like them. I won't grow old with them. Sometimes, I just want to find a kindergarten to discuss with them and lend one or two children to play at home every day. I will let them have fun and eat well and send them home at night.
Now, my children and grandchildren are full, my children are filial and my family is harmonious. My wife and I are the same age, and the family is happy. Life is full and comfortable at present.