Chinese language teacher Huang Yufeng: The purpose of education is lifelong happiness, to be a student and not to be a top student

The Dongguan Reading Theater in the picture has over 700 seats fully occupied. Half an hour before the event began, parents and their children gradually entered the theater. The highly popular sharing event was attended by Huang Yufeng, the principal of Fudan Wupuhui Experimental High School and a senior Chinese language teacher.

Provided by the organizer at the event site

The theme of the sharing session "Chinese is too important" is a series of book titles that have been around for 7 years, with the latest revised version being released. This series of books, written by a group of backbone teachers in the field of Chinese language education in primary and secondary schools, has a moderate reading volume from primary school to high school. The selected content is precise and comprehensive, and with careful arrangement and prompts, it is suitable for students to read on their own. At the beginning, Huang Yufeng emphasized that "literature is human learning", bringing the theme of the sharing event to a broader realm.

Provided by the publisher of the "Chinese Language is Too Important" series

Seven years ago, at the age of 70, Huang Yufeng was appointed as the first principal of Fudan Wupuhui Experimental School. Prior to this, he taught at Fudan Affiliated Middle School as a Chinese language teacher for 48 years. He taught in primary schools, middle and high schools, and also took part-time classes in universities, from rural to suburban and urban areas. Having passed the college entrance examination, worked as a grading officer, and now serving as a principal for seven years. I have a genuine feeling for basic education, and at the same time, I am able to speak and dare to speak.

For decades, whenever there have been changes in policies in the education industry, Huang Yufeng has always published articles discussing his personal opinions, which has often caused social reactions. In recent years, he has called for "stopping the crazy pace of remedial classes", "the baton must change its course", "education is on the right track, and the road ahead is long and arduous", which has resonated with many parents and students.

However, no matter how policies change, Huang Yufeng emphasizes that students should learn to read on their own, and the concept of "Chinese language is too important" has never changed. Moreover, after serving as the head of a school, the feeling has become increasingly strong and specific.

As a principal, one needs to be exposed to various disciplines, as well as more students and parents. Huang Yufeng found that students who are poor in mathematics and foreign languages often fail to learn Chinese well and do not enjoy reading. Parents often worry about their children's poor Chinese grades and ask me how to improve their language proficiency. My answer is: there is no shortcut, only more reading. Don't overly rely on the teacher's explanation, don't rely too much on doing exercises, and don't copy essays to improve a few points. The teacher's analysis, a large amount of homework after class, and setting exercises and taking notes may have a temporary effect on improving scores, but in the future, they will still not be able to read, and their language proficiency will not improve. In primary school, they practice a lot, maybe they improve a few points in primary school, but it won't be enough in middle school. In middle school, they work hard to practice and set essays, maybe they improve a few points in middle school, but it won't be enough in high school. In high school, they just do exercises. Questions and essay sets may have improved a bit in high school, but not in college. As for the future, it will be even more difficult in society, not good at reading or writing

So, how can we improve our language proficiency? Huang Yufeng's consistent philosophy is reading. "Reading a hundred times reveals one's own meaning," Su Dongpo said, "There is a poetic and scholarly aura in one's abdomen, which is the best way to improve one's language proficiency.". This is precisely the reason why he organized his colleagues to write "Chinese is Too Important", providing suitable reading materials for primary and secondary school students. As a breakthrough point, children can expand from reading a set of books to more interesting materials.

Huang Yufeng has always emphasized the importance of "reading" in "big language, real language". Photo by Shi Chenlu

"You come, we cultivate your child, you don't come, we cultivate your child's competitors," said Huang Yufeng, shaking his head and sighing. "It's too bad," "Learning is not about treating people around you as enemies.". When a new student enters school, he will tell his parents to be good to his child's classmates, "Maybe there will be your future daughter-in-law or son-in-law here." He jokingly refers to himself as a "marriage certificate professional." Among the students he has taught, many who later got married will invite him to be the marriage certificate, and the first round of applause will be heard in the audience.

Photo taken by Shi Chenlu at the event site

"Why do you want to be a top student? If a good person doesn't do it, why do you want to be a 'top student'?" Applause echoed in the audience once again. In Huang Yufeng's view, the essence of education is education, which is the harmonious development of human beings. "Being trapped in a large number of practice questions, whether it's academic elites or academic underachievers, is a 'prisoner of learning' who will not actively learn." However, what he advocates is to develop the ability to learn independently and think independently, and to be a 'learner' who is good at learning.

At the beginning of the Analects, it is said, "Learn and practice at the right time, isn't it? Have friends come from afar, isn't it a pleasure? Don't people know but don't get angry, isn't it a gentleman?" In Huang Yufeng's view, these three sentences contain "the six pillars of human education," which is learning ability; Practical ability; Affinity; Relieve effort; Innovation power; Happiness power.

In Huang Yufeng's view, the ultimate goal of education is to cultivate a gentleman and achieve lifelong happiness.