Review the class:'s classroom bug catching notes

Author: Dou Guimei
Publisher:
Publish 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 is undoubtedly one of the best. Opening the manuscript, it truly lives up to its author—unique titles, personalized words, distinctive and vivid ideas—that make it hard to put down. What first impressed me is that Dou Guimei is a thoughtful 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 list numerous rules and regulations. Instead, she chooses a new perspective: starting with the "details" in teaching activities, from the "small things" that we often take for granted, seeing the big picture from the small, understanding the subtle from the obvious, allowing readers to deduce the "patterns" on their own. 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, rough, and aimless. During the teaching process, a keen awareness of "details" often becomes a clever starting point for teaching; mastering "details" frequently becomes a generative resource in teaching, and a highlight in teaching activities. However, all of this requires a teacher's profound cultural foundation and teaching expertise. In the article, Dou Guimei writes: "The content teachers cover each day is completely different, and there's no time to revise—it's 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 loves to think but also thinks well. In her article "Dynamicly Handling the Golden Ratio Point Between 'Teaching and Learning'," she believes that the key to "dynamic handling" in concrete teaching activities lies in grasping the "degree," with the best "degree" being the "golden ratio." As she explains, finding the best "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 problems one-sided and absolute. Is the role of teachers' guidance and organization still necessary when emphasizing that "students are the masters of the classroom"? Is the teacher's explanation still needed when emphasizing students' autonomy, cooperation, and exploration? Is language training, word-by-word analysis still necessary when emphasizing independent comprehension and cultivating linguistic intuition? Etc. It seems that finding the "golden ratio point" 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 temperament. The great scholar of traditional Chinese culture Wang Guowei said, "Only with true temperament 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 passionate journey, witnessing and appreciating a dazzling display of passion." I share this sentiment. From reading Dou Guimei's "Early Winter" in Ma'anshan to listening to her "Friends" in last year, to experiencing her "Farewell to Our Kin" in Zhuhai this June, I deeply feel how the "theory of knowledge and emotion teaching" comes alive and poetic in Chinese language teaching—such an inspiring new realm of teaching. Teachers use "cognition" as the warp, following the text's logic and children's thoughts to develop the Chinese language teaching process vertically; they also use "emotion" as the weft, always focusing on the ups and downs of the author's emotions and the fluctuations in children's emotions after encountering the text. Because of the skillful interweaving of "cognition" and "emotion," the teaching process is propelled and revitalized. In this book, there is an article titled "Vivid and Moving: A Word's Difference, a World of Difference," which argues that we should not be satisfied with "vividity" but aim to make students "moved." Vividness is the external, tangible form of things, while "moving" is the internal, deep-seated surge, even a shock to the soul. What triggers "moving"? I believe it must start with "emotion"—emotion leads to movement, emotion inspires words, immersing oneself in the scene, where emotions soar, words become lively, children are innocent, unrestrained, unfiltered, speaking freely, eloquent, and brilliant. In such a scene, one cannot help but feel the infinite charm of classroom teaching. Writing here, I suddenly recall the philosopher Nietzsche, who wrote: "The world is an immense, 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 from richness back to simplicity, from the entanglement of contradictions back to singular joy. It 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 innovating, always pursuing. Over the years, I have often seen articles by her published in newspapers and magazines. From "Laying the Foundation for Life" and "Dialogue on Education" to this book "Clarifying the Classroom—Dou Guimei's 'Classroom Bug Catching' Notes"—we clearly feel the footsteps of this innovator in the field of primary school Chinese language teaching. Every step is difficult 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 through self-reflection. Even if there are some shortcomings, there is no need to overreact. A regretful innovation will always surpass an flawless mediocrity. As curriculum reform deepens, we will inevitably 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 path is hard, the path is hard. Many, where am I now? With strong winds and waves, there will be a time to hoist the sails and cross the vast sea." With anticipation, I look forward to the surprises Dou Guimei will bring us, and I look forward to the golden autumn harvest that will come from the sowing and cultivation of spring.