How to Be a Teacher Today: Commenting on 100 Educational Cases: Secondary School

Author: Wang Xiaochun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: The "Education Online" website, chaired by teacher Li Zhenxi, is where I frequently visit. There are always lively discussions and abundant opinions, primarily focusing on the question: How should we be teachers today? Many people find it difficult to be a teacher now and often feel lost and overwhelmed. I have contributed to these discussions, which has garnered some attention from netizens. In October last year, teacher Jishi, the moderator of the "Class Teacher Forum" on Education Online, sent me a text message asking if I could start a small column to answer questions that young class teachers often face and provide commentary on some cases. I agreed. As a result, a pinned post titled "——！" appeared on the "Class Teacher Forum," signed by "Jishi." In the opening remarks, Jishi wrote, "Today, I will use this post as a growing ground for our class teachers' case studies and as Wang teacher's private plot for guiding us young class teachers." On this website, there aren't many people my age (sixty-something), so when they call me a "" (elder), I have to admit it, though I dare not take "" (guiding) and "" (pointing out) too seriously. With the young teachers' persistent humility in discussing issues, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and refrain from making excuses. I remind myself that when discussing issues, I am merely a speaker. I will speak frankly, but I must do my best to avoid a preachy tone. When others call me a "," it is out of politeness, and if I take it too seriously, I would be too naive. In short, this old man's "private plot" has begun to be cultivated.
The weather has been favorable, and the crops are growing well. In less than half a year, I have commented on nearly 200 educational cases, with the number of clicks reaching 15,000. It's quite "lush"! In March 2005, editor Wu Fayuan from East China Normal University sent me an email, saying that a fellow named He Ping (a netizen of mine, whom I have never met) had recommended me to him. He Ping has written a book titled "Class Teacher's Tactics," for which I have offered some differing opinions. Mr. Wu himself had also read some of my case comments and found them interesting, asking if I could compile a book of case commentaries. I agreed, and thus this book came into being for readers. The cases selected in this book, except for a few, are from secondary schools, totaling 100. Some were brought to me, while others I brought myself. For cases where I did not (specify the source) but only noted the author (net name), they were selected from "Education Online," primarily from the "Class Teacher Forum," but also from other sections such as "School Management Forum," "Macro Educational Thinking," "Teacher's Friend Forum," "Li Zhenxi's Home," and "Teacher's Reflections." I have also visited the K12 educational teaching forums frequently and selected some cases from there. To save readers' time, I have abridged or excerpted longer cases. I sincerely thank all these netizens and moderators for their contributions.
After commenting on so many cases, my overall impression is that a significant number of primary and secondary school teachers' work methods are too simplistic and have remained unchanged for years. Essentially, they combine "strict discipline" with "dedicated love." When strict discipline fails, they try to move the students with love. If love fails, they resort to even stricter discipline. If that doesn't work, they turn to parents to "fix" the problem. However, students who are uncontrollable in school are often already out of control at home, and parents are still expecting teachers to handle their children. At this point, there's nothing left to do but vent frustrations, feel helpless, and become exhausted. Moreover, the simpler the work method, the more tired the teacher feels, because low-tech, low-efficiency repetitive labor wears down the soul. With such professional capabilities, it is inevitable that teachers will struggle to keep up with the ever-changing society and the increasingly unpredictable new generation, feeling overwhelmed and inadequate. Why are their work methods so simple? Because their thinking is simplistic. The subjective impressions in their work methods far outweigh wisdom, creating a severe imbalance. When teachers encounter student problems, they rarely consider multiple possibilities and instead resort to single-factor attributions, applying the same approach to everyone. In many cases, they don't even ask for reasons or even care to know them. As long as students don't meet their expectations, they immediately start disciplining or criticizing them. As a result, their educational methods lack a professional touch, meaning that even someone with no education background could work in this way. For example, losing one's temper, making comparisons, punishing students by copying homework, denying them the right to go home, expelling them from class, or calling parents to complain. This is "non-research-based education," "non-professional education." To say this is education is like saying it's "managing children." Therefore, to be a teacher who keeps pace with the times and improves professional competence, as well as the "tech content" and "wisdom content" of their work, is an urgent task.
To improve teachers' professional competence, simply assigning work quotas is not enough, nor is it effective to control, suppress, or pressure teachers with various rules and regulations, nor is it sufficient to engage in emotional moralizing about teacher ethics. These are all "peripheral warfare." Just as loudly emphasizing medical ethics and rigidly enforcing strict management systems in hospitals doesn't improve doctors' medical skills, many leaders keep trying to solve professional competence issues with purely administrative means—a dead end. Academic problems must be addressed with academic methods, while administrative management can only help create some conditions.
There are many ways to improve teachers' professional competence, and I believe case studies are one of the best and worth promoting. The current situation is that, on one side, experts endlessly lecture on abstract theories that put teachers to sleep, while, on the other side, teachers are busy summarizing superficial, surface-level experiences. The two are completely disconnected, like two parallel lines extending into the distance. Case studies can bridge this gap, connecting the two. The characteristic of case studies is "discussing principles based on facts." Because they "discuss based on facts," they start with real cases, making them relatable to teachers. Yet because they must "discuss principles," they must draw rational conclusions from the cases, ensuring they are not just descriptive. They discuss commonplace events, but the conclusions often differ greatly from teachers' usual thinking, shocking them into gaining insights. "Discussing principles based on facts" is the approach of this book.
Case studies differ from formal case studies. In formal case studies, researchers often participate directly in the cases. However, none of the cases in this book are based on my personal observations or experiences. I can only understand the situations indirectly through teachers' narratives, which is a drawback that increases the possibility of judgment errors. Therefore, I welcome readers' criticism.
How should we be teachers today? In a nutshell: Good moral character is not enough, nor is passion alone sufficient—we must also have scientific thinking and true professional competence.
Wang Xiaochun
May 23, 2005