Harmony Born from Reason and Emotion - My 20 Years as Principal

Author: Li Shoumin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The story of two apples—Student's early love is an undeniable fact in middle school. With the general improvement in living standards, students are maturing earlier. Junior high students are at the beginning of their, and having feelings for the opposite sex is the normal psychology of adolescents at this age. I have expressed my views to teachers many times, regarding the "early love" issue with the eight-character principle: "Close attention, turn a blind eye." By "close attention," I mean teachers should pay attention to every student's psychological needs and changes in this regard, allowing them to exist healthily; by "turning a blind eye," I mean not to judge the normal yearning, intimacy, and friendship that arise between boys and girls, nor to overreact or make baseless accusations. I often think that life is very short, and the first emotional interaction with the opposite sex is often the most of one's life. We are all alumni, and when one reaches 40 or 50, looking back at one's youth, those emotions of that time are often some of the most and memories of life. But words are easy, and actions are hard. One day, I went to the office of the third-year teachers and heard Lu and Pei discussing something very mysterious. Upon investigation, I learned the whole story: a very outstanding girl in the third year had fallen for a "troublemaker" with poor academic performance. It was said that the two students were always together after class. I also heard that on the girl's birthday, the boy even gave her a pair of 400 yuan shoes, and the girl "happily" accepted them. The homeroom teacher had already talked to both of them separately, but neither paid any attention. It seemed that the situation had reached a point where "turning a blind eye" was no longer possible. As the principal, seeing the teacher's helplessness, I felt it was time to intervene and have a heart-to-heart talk with them. P9 The girl's name was Zhang Yi, a beautiful student who was the class representative for Chinese and also the class monitor. She had just joined the Communist Youth League a month ago. Her mother worked at Jiao Tong University and knew me. So, I first went to find Zhang Yi. "It's your birthday recently, isn't it?" I asked. "Yes," she replied. "I heard Wang Xiaojun gave you a pair of really nice shoes?" I asked directly. The girl's face flushed, and she avoided answering directly. "Many people give me birthday gifts," she said. "Do you think a girl accepting such an expensive gift from a boy wouldn't feel anything unusual?" "Principal Li, you're being too mystical," she said, awkwardly rubbing her hands together. "Be careful, though. When a girl grows up, shouldn't she think about whether she should accept gifts from others?" I asked her in a friendly tone. The girl didn't say anything, but I could see from her eyes that she was asking me: What should I do now? Clearly, she had realized that she had handled the situation too carelessly. I followed her thoughts and said, "You know, Wang Xiaojun is very stubborn. If I help you return the gift, he won't be able to handle it. You're smart—you must know how to handle this." To show my understanding of the situation, I casually talked to her about some schoolwork and class matters. The girl left with confidence and a smile. P10 The next night, it was my turn to be on duty. After evening study, I went to the dormitories to check. Room 208 was occupied by boys from the third year (2), including Wang Xiaojun. As I entered, an apple flew from a corner of the room and hit my foot. "Who?" There was no sound in the room, and everyone was looking down. It seemed they all knew who had thrown the apple, but no one wanted to betray their classmates. I picked up the half-rotten apple from the ground and threw it in the trash can. I didn't care who had thrown it or whether it was intentional or accidental. I just said, "Don't throw things around!" After checking Room 208, I was about to go to another room when another apple flew out and hit my calf, causing me pain. Turning around, I saw Wang Xiaojun staring at me fiercely. I then realized that this must have been the result of my talk with the girl. I was about to scold him, but the habit of a long-time teacher made me suppress the anger rising in me. "It's time to sleep," I said, as if nothing had happened, and closed the door. Later, both of them graduated. Wang Xiaojun went to a vocational school, and the girl entered a key high school. Three years later, the girl was admitted to a key university. After that, whether at class reunions or school anniversary events, I never saw Wang Xiaojun at school again. Some classmates said he had already started working and had a girlfriend, while others said he was afraid to see Principal Li again. Perhaps he still kept the story of the two apples in his heart. However, what he might not understand is that "tolerance" is the most basic principle of being a teacher. I don't know if Wang Xiaojun will visit his alma mater at the next school anniversary event, or if the boy and girl will reunite again. If I have the chance to meet them, I will definitely ask them about the story behind the two apples in a relaxed manner. I will also be more sincere in telling them as a teacher and elder about my true thoughts on boys and girls. Maybe it will bring back sweet memories of their junior high life and those and hazy emotions. The feelings of young men and women are pure and beautiful. Therefore, when a child is hurt by naive emotions and throws an apple at you, you really should understand them more. P11