Education has joy

Author: Gao Wanshang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: "My Education Stories" is a series edited by the renowned contemporary educator and psychologist Zhu Yongxin, who is known for his expertise in education, research on education, and administration of education. This series, part of the "New Education Library" collection, consists of 5 books: "Walking on the Path of Education," "Stories from Education Online," "Spicy Students, Cool Teachers," "Guarding the Days of Senior High," and "Magical Composition Camp." Published by Fujian Education Press in January 2005, it is a true Chinese "educational narrative research."
Educational narrative research is a form of research in which teachers record their teaching processes from a unique perspective, narrate their educational stories, and improve teaching efficiency and promote professional development through continuous reflection. Its main characteristics are narrative and reflective:
- Narrative: Teachers, as the subjects of educational narrative research, describe specific teaching events with a certain level of plot and readability.
- Reflective: Teachers refine their educational practices through continuous reflection, enriching and enhancing their practical and theoretical research capabilities, thereby fostering professional development.
Educational narrative research is closely aligned with teachers' educational lives and is the most direct and effective form of action-based teaching research. The "New Education Library · My Education Stories" series authentically records a series of vivid and real educational stories that take place under the "New Education Experiment."
In September 2002, Zhu Yongxin launched the "New Education Experiment" at Yu Feng Experimental School in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, with the mission of "pursuing ideals and reviving humanism." The "New Education Experiment" system primarily includes five core beliefs: believing in students' potential, valuing mental state, creating successful experiences, emphasizing individual development, and focusing on distinctive education. Over the six years of primary school education, it incorporates six major actions: "creating a bookish campus," "teachers and students writing diaries together," "listening to the outside world," "proficient use of bilingual education," "building a digital community," and "establishing distinctive schools," thereby realizing the educational philosophy of "human-centered, student-based teaching, leveraging strengths, addressing weaknesses, and promoting harmonious development."
To cultivate children's basic skills such as "seeing, listening, reading, writing, and calculating," the "New Education Experiment" not only completes basic curriculum teaching but also imposes additional requirements. The basic idea behind these requirements is to tailor instruction to each student's interests, utilize advanced teaching facilities, and guide students under the supervision of professional teachers to develop talents in science, art, aesthetics, and literature. This approach aims to make every student feel like a genius and strive to achieve excellence.
Over the past two years, the experiment has expanded to over 200 schools in more than 20 provinces and cities across the country. Many media outlets and education professionals have remarked that if the "New Education Experiment" withstands the tests of time and space, it may become, in another sense, the "new hope project" following the "Hope Project."
Zhu Yongxin also founded the Education Online website (www.eduol.com.cn) with the mission of "building a spiritual home for Chinese teachers." It proposed a new development philosophy of "expert guidance, peer support, and self-reflection." In just over two years, it has attracted over 80,000 frontline primary and secondary school teachers and education media professionals from 21 provinces and cities, becoming an important vehicle and development platform for the "New Education Experiment" and establishing itself as a true "online teachers' university."
Inspired by the new education philosophy and guided by renowned educators such as Li Zhenxi, Dou Guimei, and Lu Zhiwen, the passion and potential of many teachers have been ignited, their educational concepts elevated. The book "Stories from Education Online," one of the series, narrates moving stories that unfold in this virtual space, inspiring readers and prompting deeper reflection.
"Spicy Students, Cool Teachers," written by the young teacher Su Jing, who is celebrated for her "poetic education," is an educational diary that combines the survival status of the new generation of teachers, the new teacher-student relationship, and the expression of educational individuality. With dazzling scenes, bold themes, and a light, flowing style, the book presents a group of students and teachers from primary to university levels, from mainland China to Hong Kong, in different life spaces. The youthful energy and extraordinary educational philosophy complement each other, while the inspiration that transcends time and scattered memory fragments create a fascinating contrast. The author is not only recording a spiritual journey but also planning the next one, allowing every educator immersed in the book to understand and appreciate the extraordinary charm of new education.
"Guarding the Days of Senior High" adopts a detailed narrative style, introducing the pursuit of exam scores and the defense of educational philosophy in the teaching of senior high school by an ordinary educator in Shenzhen Special Zone. It highlights meaningful details and contexts, reflecting typical teaching events, and authentically describes the author's confusion, psychological struggles, and reflections while navigating the gap between education and ideal education.
"Magical Composition Camp" uses poetic language to introduce the author's explorations in composition teaching reform, which hold practical operational significance and broad reference value. Through storytelling, the book shares the author's new insights and reflections on composition teaching, offering a warm, fresh, and engaging read. Teachers can gain emotional inspiration from composition teaching and effective methods to motivate students' passion for writing.
The "New Education Library · My Education Stories" series is also an "action research" of the "New Education Experiment," recording its exploration and the brilliance of new education. "Walking on the Path of Education" documents Zhu Yongxin, as an "education mayor" who studies, researches, and administers education, frequently conducting educational surveys during his travels. Through repeated reflection, he seeks the essence and beauty of education in different "educational landscapes," identifies current issues in education, and writes reports with experts to discuss China's educational challenges.
"My Education Stories" are compelling because the authors live and act compellingly! They have left footprints of growth with their feet, composed life's melodies with their hearts, and painted this splendid educational journey with their thoughts. Let us read "My Education Stories" with our hearts. If we read with sincerity, we will understand what growth is, and we will feel passion and life!