Working hard and never stopping, the People's Daily focuses on grassroots teachers throughout its entire page: with love in mind
With a genuine passion and dedication to cultivation
Figure 1: Wu Cuiyun guides students at the Jujube Germplasm Resources Nursery of Tarim University.
Respondents provide pictures
Figure 2: Sui Bixia guides students to participate in the competition defense.
Respondents provide pictures
Figure 3: Peng Yusheng visits students' homes.
Photo by Huang Shifeng
Figure 4: Lu Mao asked to prepare for class.
Respondents provide pictures
Uncle Hong played games with the children.
Photo by Li Yangbao
On the occasion of the 39th Teacher's Day, let us turn our respectful gaze to the grassroots teacher community. The five teachers reported today are respectively working in the fields of higher education, vocational education, primary and secondary schools, special education, and early childhood education. Let's listen to their stories of teaching and educating people together.
——Editor
Rooted in the frontier
Tree nurturing
Narrator: Professor Wu Cuiyun from the College of Horticulture and Forestry, Tarim University, Xinjiang
This summer, my team and teachers and I have been on the road all along——
In early August, in Korla City, Xinjiang, the branches of pear trees bear abundant fruits. Years ago, I participated in the breeding of "Xinli 7", which has become one of the main varieties of early maturing pears in China.
In Pishan County, regional trials of new varieties of large fruit fresh jujube are currently underway. As soon as we arrived at the jujube orchard, we could see our newly bred strains from afar. Jujube trees bear more fruits, and the fruits are much larger than ordinary dates.
The fields serve as classrooms, and papers are written on the earth. We are engaged in agricultural research and teaching, and we cannot do without the fields and fields throughout the year. Although physically exhausted, my mood is very excited: along the way, there are too many valuable things to do, such as researching industry development, providing on-site guidance to students, and exchanging future research directions!
Taking talent cultivation as an example, students grow much faster in practice than just staying in the laboratory. I often tell students that if they only know how to take fruits to the laboratory to measure indicators and publish articles without practical application, they are not considered qualified agricultural science students. Every Wednesday morning, it is an unwavering time for our jujube team to practice and exercise. In the jujube germplasm resource garden of the school, fertilization, pruning, weeding, pruning, grafting, sprouting... everyone does everything.
In recent years, we have also built the Kunyu Red Date Science and Technology Academy in Xinjiang. The team of graduate students has been stationed in the small courtyard all year round, conducting research on practical production problems, promoting and demonstrating new technologies, and growing rapidly. Student Xiao Zhang conducted research on techniques related to the light and simplified tree shape shaping of jujube trees. When we encountered difficulties in the courtyard, we often had video calls: he held his phone to the tree, and I guided the pruning. Over the past six months, Xiaozhang, who had a relatively weak foundation in the past, has made great progress.
The responsibilities of university teachers include not only education, but also scientific research and social services. My course schedule is from Tuesday to Thursday, so that I can depart on Friday and provide technical services to various regions. Over the years, I have led a team to work hard to overcome a series of technical difficulties in the cultivation of close planted jujube orchards in the salt arid areas of Xinjiang, promoting the development of the jujube industry, and providing technical guidance for the forest and fruit area of over 5 million acres.
Ten years of trees, a hundred years of people. In fact, there are similarities between cultivating fruit trees and cultivating talents. For small saplings, careful care is necessary in order to achieve high yields; Students need to be carefully cultivated in order to succeed. Both trees and nurturing require a lot of effort.
Spring has flowers, summer has fruits, and autumn harvest. Seasons change and time flies. Now, I have been a teacher for 33 years. I feel particularly happy when I see trees in the forest and peaches and plums everywhere.
Deeply cultivate vocational education
A Master of Good Craftsmanship
Narrator: Professor Sui Bixia from Changzhou Information Vocational and Technical College, Jiangsu Province
It has been 38 years since I was called "Teacher Sui".
From an ordinary teacher to an associate professor and professor, from the dean of the software college to the vice president and president of the school, and now back in the teaching position, what touches my deepest heart is always this "Teacher Sui".
Clockwise callback, in 2000, Changzhou Radio Industry School and Changzhou Electronic Workers University merged, and Changzhou Information Vocational and Technical College emerged. The newly established campus is in a state of waste waiting to be revitalized, with flying sand and floating loess in the sky.
My colleagues and I worked together, not afraid of hardship or fatigue, to remove sets of experimental instruments from containers and plan and build training rooms according to requirements. The new campus is like a spring shoot growing day by day, and the learning and working environment for everyone is getting better and better.
In 2007, the college entered the ranks of national demonstration vocational colleges. I lead a software technology professional team to innovate the "career context, project leadership" engineering combined talent training model, build a curriculum system based on the software product development process, implement a "project carrier, ability progression" practical training system, and continuously explore and practice on the path of software technology professional construction and talent cultivation.
The most impressive year was 2019, when the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance jointly launched the plan for the construction of high-level vocational schools and majors with Chinese characteristics. The "Double High Plan" played a leading role in the development of vocational education in the new era. In order to apply for the "Double High Plan" construction project, I went to Beijing on a trip. As I couldn't buy a return ticket, I traveled all the way from Beijing Station to Changzhou.
This year is also a shining moment in my life. At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, I received the first prize for national teaching achievements in vocational education. At Tiananmen Square, as a teacher representative, I was invited to participate in the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Along the way, I have accompanied the growth of the college and witnessed the historic and structural changes in vocational education in the new era: China has built the world's largest vocational education system, the development path and model of vocational education with Chinese characteristics have basically taken shape, and the attractiveness, influence, and competitiveness of vocational education continue to increase.
After decades of deep cultivation in vocational education, I have come to realize that talent cultivation in vocational colleges must follow the industry and revolve around demand. Updating educational concepts, promoting curriculum system reform, innovating the content and form of software professional talent training, and crossing the river by feeling the stones, the college continuously explores and innovates in the field of software technology.
Spring breeze turns into rain, nurturing orchids and trees.
In the past three years, our students have won 74 awards in the National Vocational Skills Competition, Industry Competition, and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and have been granted 111 patents and 40 software copyrights. The proportion of students holding high-level vocational skills certificates has reached 55.5%.
And I just take my responsibilities more seriously, shining a little light, warming my hearts, and illuminating my journey.
Heart system storage area
Youth builds dreams
Narrator: Peng Yusheng, Principal of Pengjiagou Primary School in Longshan Town, Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province
I was born in Pengjiagou Village, and my fate has changed due to knowledge. I also hope to change the fate of more children in the reservoir area through teaching and educating. After graduating from normal school in 1996, I gave up the opportunity to enter the city and returned to my hometown, embarking on the journey of building dreams in my youth.
Longshan Town is located in the hinterland of Danjiangkou Reservoir Area on the middle line of the South to North Water Diversion Project, surrounded by water on three sides and backed by a mountain on one side. The Pengjiagou Village where the school is located is very remote. From the construction of the Danjiangkou Dam to the implementation of the South to North Water Diversion Project, villagers have undergone several relocations. A child is the hope of a family, and rural education should not only help children who can get into university, but also help children who work in cities and stay in their hometowns to have strong living abilities.
For over 20 years, I have been leading teachers to persist in home visits, keeping track of each child's school and family situation. In the early years, there was a student in the class named Xiaoqin who did not arrive at school at the start of school. I came to my door to persuade, but was repeatedly evaded. But I remained resolute and brought the students back to school with their blankets and backpacks, and said to my family, "The tuition and living expenses are all on me." So, Xiaoqin returned to school.
Year after year, I have traveled the mountains and rivers of the reservoir area, visiting every student family, and covering a journey of over 30000 kilometers. Although my income was meager, I gritted my teeth and supported more than 40 students one after another, successfully persuading more than 50 people to return, and striving not to let any student drop out of school. Later, policies such as immigration to the reservoir area, targeted poverty alleviation, and rural revitalization were successively introduced, and measures such as student loans were implemented to benefit the people. I am particularly pleased to see more and more families and students benefit from them.
Over the years, my top priority has been to ensure that children in the storage area receive high-quality educational outcomes just like those in the city. I have explored and promoted the "Boundless Course". The courses can be offered on campus or in villages, located in rice paddies next to the school. There are many teaching aids in the classroom, which can be rice or clouds floating in the sky.
How to activate the interest of rural students in exploring technology and sow the seeds of innovation in their hearts? I have been thinking. I led my teachers to study together and opened characteristic courses such as maker, programming, and aviation modeling.
What makes me proud is that over 180 students I have taught have been admitted to universities. Among them, student Peng Jiusheng resolutely chose to return to the remote Pengjiagou Elementary School to teach after graduating from university. He said to me, "It is your help that has enabled me to achieve what I am today. I also want to help more children from my hometown learn knowledge, just like you."
In recent years, several new teachers have arrived at the school, and I will work with them to refine the course content and continue home visits, shining brightly to illuminate the life path of children in the reservoir area.
Nurturing Love with Love
Caring for the blooming of flowers
Narrator: Lu Maocai, Principal of Gansu Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Special Education School
On the eve of Teacher's Day, I received a greeting card made by students in the seventh grade hearing-impaired class of the school. When children use sign language to express the meaning of greeting cards to me, I feel particularly warm and incredibly proud.
Every special child is an angel with broken wings. During my more than 10 years at Gannan Special Education School, my greatest wish was to enable children to live independently, adapt to society, and support them with a colorful sky.
In 2010, the special education school in Gannan Prefecture began preparations. From the construction of teaching venues to the placement of tables and chairs, our team of three actively coordinates and strives from multiple parties to ensure the implementation of the construction plan. Three years later, the school was completed. As I watched the first batch of special children enter the campus, tears couldn't help flowing down my face. We special children in Gannan finally have our own school and a second home!
At school, we are faced with a group of children who often talk to themselves, drool and sometimes make a scene. Wiping their saliva, blowing their nose, tying shoelaces, and so on are the most basic tasks every day. The most important quality of a special education teacher is to have a compassionate heart and take care of students as if they were their own children.
In order to better enter the world of children, I consulted special education experts for teaching "secrets", participated in various training and lectures, and exchanged experiences with school teachers. Day after day, year after year, my educational philosophy, teaching methods, and teaching level have been greatly improved. On the basis of offering cultural courses, mental health courses, and rehabilitation training courses, I led the teachers to offer baking classes, sewing classes, handicraft creativity classes, art classes, dance classes, etc., with the aim of enabling students to master a survival skill and better integrate into society.
The first time I saw Peizhi students, their sensitivity and helplessness shocked and saddened me. For cases such as autism, speech disorders, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome, I have started to provide children with systematic sensory training, language training, occupational therapy, and applied behavior analysis. Through unremitting efforts, some children have gone from being unclear in their speech to being clear in their sentences, from opening their mouths to taking care of themselves, from self harm to learning self-regulation. Watching the progress of the children, the faces of the parents gradually began to smile.
Over the past 10 years, I have witnessed the historic changes in the development of special education in Gannan from scratch, from universal to specialized, and inclusive. I have also personally felt the improvement of the teaching environment, the progress of teaching level, and the improvement of teacher treatment. Becoming a special education teacher, I have no complaints or regrets. I will never forget my original intention and continue to move forward, striving to make every "flower" bloom brilliantly.
Illuminate childlike innocence
Le Shou Tianya
Narrator: Hong Meishu, Teacher and Kindergarten Principal of Yongxing School Affiliated to Hainan Qiongtai Normal University
Blue sea, blue sky, white sand, a gentle breeze blowing the bright five-star red flag, and children's cheerful figures dancing on the playground. This is the southernmost school in China - Yongxing School Affiliated to Hainan Qiongtai Normal University.
When I first heard about Yongxing School, I was a student at Qiongtai Normal University. Since the school was built and put into use, many senior brothers and sisters have sowed the seeds of hope here. In 2018, I resolutely came to Yongxing School to contribute to the education of children on the island.
After arriving on the island, in order to comprehensively understand the personality traits and family situation of the children, I visited all the families of the children stationed on the island from door to door. Cowardly Qiqi is prone to crying after leaving his parents, and now he looks forward to going to school every day; At first, Nong, who didn't speak Mandarin, can now perform in a grand manner at the "June 1st" cultural performance; Ashun fell in love with reading and would actively share picture book stories with his parents
I often communicate with parents of students through letters. More than 300 letters are witnesses to my youth, recording the little secrets of children's growth between the lines, and carrying the recognition and affirmation of parents towards me.
How to expand educational resources under existing conditions? My colleagues and I led the children into extracurricular learning bases such as the Maritime Bureau, Navigation Aids Office, and Postal Bureau, inviting armed police officers and soldiers from the island, as well as staff from the Meteorological Bureau, to bring innovative practical classes to the children.
In recent years, with the support of various parties, the school has more than 8000 books and reading cabins covering every class. Children can gain knowledge, broaden their horizons, learn to think, and interact with teachers and students from different cities through 5G cross screen interactive reading classes.
Yongxing Island has a harsh environment and inconvenient transportation. There have been several times when I made a difficult decision to either leave or stay. But every time I see the eager eyes of the children, feel the trust of my elders, and hear the touching stories of the locals guarding the island, I am determined to persevere.
On Yongxing Island, there grows a plant called Kangfengtong, which is tall and upright, with strong vitality. There is a song circulating on the island that praises the wind resistant paulownia tree: "Every day, year after year, is an ordinary life. Why are you so steadfast and persistent? Perhaps you also have beautiful dreams in your heart, and the heart with dreams will never be lonely..." I hope to be like the wind resistant paulownia tree, fearless of wind and rain, and dedicated to youth.
