Review the class: Dou Guihai's "Classroom Bug Catching" Notes

Author: Dou Guimei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Promoting curriculum reform and fostering teacher development. In recent years, many outstanding young teachers have emerged across the country. Among the influential young teachers, Dou Guimei undoubtedly stands out as one of the best. Opening the manuscript, it is truly a reflection of the author—unique titles, personalized expressions, and distinctive, vivid ideas that make one reluctant to put it down. What first impresses me is that Dou Guimei is a reflective person with unique insights. These thoughts and insights belong to Dou Guimei herself, the distillation and elevation of her educational practice. In this book, Dou Guimei does not lecture on grand principles or enumerate numerous rules and regulations. Instead, she adopts a new perspective: starting with the "details" in teaching activities, from the "small things" that we often overlook, seeing the big picture from the small, and allowing readers to deduce the "patterns" themselves. Vivid ideas stem from dynamic educational practice, and practice is concrete, composed of numerous details, much like how words form chapters and notes create melodies. Without words, there would be no beautiful prose; without notes, there would be no musical compositions. Similarly, neglecting details in educational practice makes it abstract, superficial, and. During the teaching process, a keen awareness of "details" often becomes a clever entry point for instruction; mastering "details" frequently becomes a generative resource in teaching and a highlight of the activity. However, all of this requires teachers to possess profound cultural literacy and teaching refinement. Dou Guimei writes in the article, "The content teachers teach every day is completely different, and there is no time to revise—it is a 'snapshot' that will forever be frozen in their educational career and in the historical landscape of students' growth"—this undoubtedly places higher demands on teachers' comprehensive qualities. Dou Guimei not only thinks deeply but also thinks skillfully. In her article "Dynamicly Handling the Golden Ratio Between 'Teaching and Learning'," she argues that the key to "dynamic handling" in concrete teaching activities lies in grasping the "degree," with the optimal "degree" being the "golden ratio." As she explains, finding the optimal "degree" is no easy task! Often, "a slight deviation leads to a vast difference." In teaching, we often resort to a "black-and-white" logic, making issues one-sided and absolute. Emphasizing that "students are the masters of the classroom" and the "subjects of cognition and development," does the guiding and organizing role of teachers still matter? Emphasizing students' autonomy, collaboration, and inquiry, does the role of teachers in explaining still matter? In language teaching, emphasizing independent comprehension and cultivating intuition, do language training and meticulous word analysis still matter? Etc. It seems that finding the "golden ratio" is not just about "teaching and learning" but involves all aspects of teaching. By extending this thinking, we can deeply reflect on a series of issues in teaching practice from a methodological perspective. Dou Guimei is also a person of true character. The great master of Chinese studies Wang Guowei said, "Only with genuine character can one achieve a new realm." In this book, Dou Guimei quotes an evaluation of her: "Teacher Dou pours passion into the entire classroom, making it like a rushing river—sometimes gathering momentum, sometimes surging, sometimes flowing gently. We seem to board her passionate ship with her and the children, embarking on a journey of passion, witnessing and experiencing a dazzling light of passion." I share this sentiment. From reading Dou Guimei's "Early Winter" in Ma'anshan to listening to her "Friends" in Yichang two years ago, to experiencing "Farewell to Our Kin" in Zhuhai this June, I deeply feel how the "theory of knowledge and emotion teaching" comes alive and poetic in language teaching, creating a new realm of teaching that is truly desirable. Teachers use "cognition" as the warp, following the text's logic and children's thoughts to develop the language teaching process vertically; they also use "emotion" as the weft, always paying attention to the fluctuations in the author's emotions and the changes in children's feelings after encountering the text, because the skillful interweaving of "cognition" and "emotion" drives and vitalizes the teaching process. In this book, there is an article titled "Vivid and Moving: A Word's Difference, a Thousand Miles Apart," which argues that we should not be content with "vivacity" but aim to move students. Vividness is the external, tangible form of things, while "moving" is the internal, deep-seated surge or even shock of the soul. What causes "moving"? I believe it must first start with "emotion"—emotion leads to movement, emotion inspires words, immersing oneself in the scene and emotions, where thoughts and words soar, and children speak freely, unfiltered, and with ingenuity. In such a scene, one cannot help but feel the boundless charm of classroom teaching. Writing here, I suddenly recall the philosopher Nietzsche, who wrote, "The world is an immense and boundless force, moving from the simplest to the most complex, from the still, the hard, the cold to the scorching, the wild, the self-contradictory, and then returning from richness to simplicity, from the entanglement of contradictions to a single joy. This is a world that is forever creating itself, forever destroying itself—a world of wine." Dou Guimei is also a person who is always creating, always reforming, and always pursuing. Over the years, I have often seen her articles published in newspapers and magazines. From "Laying the Foundation for Life" and "Dialogue on Education" to this book "Sorting Out the Classroom—Dou Guimei's 'Classroom Pest Trapping' Notes"—we clearly feel the footsteps of this innovator in the field of primary school language teaching. Every step is arduous yet firm, every footprint is clear yet soaked in blood; every turn is painful yet joyful. The journey of Dou Guimei's recent teaching reflections and practices has always moved forward through negation and self-reflection, transcending oneself in the process. Even if there are some shortcomings, there is no need to overreact. A regretful innovation will always surpass a flawless mediocrity. As curriculum reform deepens, we will undoubtedly encounter many new situations, problems, and contradictions, and face numerous new difficulties in the process of moving forward. The great Tang poet Li Bai once wrote, "The road is difficult, the road is difficult. Many, where am I now? When the wind breaks the waves, there will be a time to hoist the sails and cross the vast ocean." With anticipation, I look forward to the surprises Dou Guimei brings us one by one, looking forward to the spring sowing and cultivation that will lead to a brilliant autumn harvest.