Targeted Poverty Alleviation: Small, poor and difficult, cannot stop the pursuit of revitalizing rural school education

In the summer of 2018, the Miyun branch of Beijing Yuying School responded to the call of the Miyun District Education Committee of Beijing and provided educational assistance to Taohua Town Junior High School in Yu County, Zhangjiakou City, a national-level poverty-stricken county. At the signing ceremony, there was a very coincidental thing, that is, the name of the school being supported is "Taohua Town Junior High School", while the school spirit of the supporting school, Beijing Yuying School, is "Peaches Silently Hanging on the Branches". This The coincidence also triggered the ideas, strategies and models of the three-year cooperation between the two schools.

When I first arrived at Taohua Town Junior High School, after a bumpy drive from south to north, I entered a village. On both sides of the narrow road were cornfields like green gauze tents. Turn right and you will find Taohua Town Junior High School. When you get off the car, a very familiar feeling comes to your face: the ordinary school gate faces a screen wall. You bypass the screen wall and enter the campus. On both sides of the corridor, there are several rows of red brick bungalows. The first feeling it gave me was that it was small. Walking into the classroom, the tables and chairs are simple, the blackboard is ordinary, and the information technology equipment is old. Walking into the teacher's office, there are very few computers. There was a faint pungent smell, which turned out to be coming from the outdoor dry toilet. When asked if there was a place for teachers and students to take a shower, the answer was no. This made me seem to see a word - poor. Principal Zhao Jun of the school told me that the school has three grades, each grade has three to four classes, and there are about 300 students in the school. First, it is difficult to recruit students, and many students go to school in the city; second, there is insufficient public funds; third, there are too many left-behind children, and family education cannot keep up; fourth, the school is far away from the county seat, and teachers cannot be retained. These words remind me of a situation—difficulty.

The reason why I feel familiar is that when I first started working in 1992, I was assigned to the most remote rural school in the northeastern part of the county. The situation of Taohua Town Junior High School was basically similar to the school at that time. As soon as the counterpart poverty alleviation agreement was signed, I immediately wrote the cooperation framework agreement in person, determined to implement practical assistance and follow the route of diversified and coordinated poverty alleviation.

In the past three years, from the principals and cadres to teachers, students and even parents, the two schools have been like relatives in the countryside, walking into each other's schools and going deep into the classroom; on-site guidance and online collisions; Donations to students and spiritual dialogue have enhanced the confidence of all teachers and students of the school, and achieved leapfrog development from hardware and environment to quality and connotation.

The power of inheritance makes the school spirit shine

I have visited many rural schools and found that their cultural concepts are very similar. When asking teachers or students, the school motto, The school spirit, school philosophy, and education goals are mostly vague and unclear. Taohua Town Junior High School is different. It attaches great importance to the inheritance of culture, the guidance of values, and the clear implementation of concept culture, allowing generations of Taozhong people to naturally reveal a simple elegance from the inside out.

On the roof of the reception room to the left of the school gate, I saw a tall iron tripod with an old-fashioned clock about 50 centimeters in diameter hanging on it. Wu Baofu, the vice principal of the school, said: "This The clock was used in our school for get out of class more than 30 years ago. We put it here in the hope that students will not forget the past and remember the struggle history of generations of Taozhong people. "I lamented the good intentions of Taozhong people, and they believed in it. The power of cultural inheritance.

There is another landscape that attracted me. There is a water tower in the southwest corner of the school. I asked Principal Zhao: "Is this water tower still used?" Principal Zhao said: "Yes, the water quality here is very good." Principal Zhao Tell us: "Look at the words 'Water is the source of life' above. They were written by an old teacher who was about to retire and climbed up the scaffolding himself." Principal Zhao continued: "This old teacher has now retired. , but when the school needs him, he will come to the school no matter how busy he is. Look at the eight characters "Read Ten Thousand Books and Travel Thousands of Miles" written in white paint on this cement road. They were written by him. . ”

Based on the above culture and beliefs, I highly appreciate its school-running philosophy of “taking steps to build a long-term future.” Reading Principal Zhao Jun’s article explaining it, you can realize that the school’s cultural traditions, conceptual positioning, and educational purposes and pursuits are no less than those of schools in the city.

My interpretation of these eight words is: firm goals, step by step, and find a path to true education. Don’t forget your original intention, work hard for the future, and create a new paradise.

With the concept of "taking steps to build a trail, thinking about the source and reaching far", we must first work hard on the word "source" to truly build our Taohua Town Junior High School into a "Peach Blossom Spring". There should be "Peach Blossom Spring" on the wall, with pictures and texts, just like the school, which is located in a remote and elegant place in the east of Yu County, without the noise of the city and without the disputes of the world.

During the on-the-job training at the Miyun Branch of Yuying School, I learned in depth the "whole learning" curriculum reform implemented by the school. Our school comprehensively introduces and implements the concept of “whole learning”. In line with the school-running philosophy of "taking steps to build a trail, thinking about the source and reaching further", the classroom was renamed the "Thinking of the Source" classroom under "Whole Learning". First, when drinking water, remember the man who dug the well. "Siyuan" means drinking water and remembering the source. Our teaching model today originated from the Miyun Branch of Beijing Yuying School. We must always be grateful; second, the development of Taohua Middle School today cannot be separated from the old people. The hard work of a generation of teachers. Teacher Liu Ai, who retired in July this year, personally wrote "Water is the source of life" on the water tower of our school, which is a reflection of the spirit of the old teacher; third, we must do true education, trace back to its roots, and return to the past. Authenticity, respecting rules, paying attention to individual students, promoting students' individuality, tapping students' potential, and achieving every student; fourth, make learning truly a student's business, and enable every student to learn through independent, inquiry, cooperation, display and other learning models. Blooming like peach blossoms in the classroom, reaching the ideal state of peach blossom where students learn multi-dimensionally and help each other, and the classroom atmosphere is harmonious and beautiful.

The concept of "taking steps to build a trail, thinking about the source to reach further" shines with individuality, diligence, pioneering, gratitude, beauty, pursuit... It will be guarded and passed down by generations of Taozhong people.

After years of cultural inheritance and the school-running philosophy hidden within the school, once the school-running philosophy was condensed and formed, Principal Zhao Jun made all aspects of the school’s work and activities planned and operated around this school-running philosophy, which soon became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Internalized in the hearts of everyone at the school. The work enthusiasm of the school's faculty and staff was ignited, the long-lasting ice of job burnout began to slowly melt, and the trend of entrepreneurial entrepreneurship was once again set off.

Professional guidance makes rural teachers great

I reached a consensus with the principal of the school that targeted poverty alleviation through education cannot just stop at donating funds to a few poor students. , it is not just about passive task-based activities once or twice per semester. The essence of educational poverty alleviation should be "helping people", that is, helping people update their educational concepts, acquire new ideas and new theories, and learn to be more scientific and effective New operations can generate your own new solutions. Even if the poverty alleviation work is over, the cooperation will continue, because the two parties have formed a permanent friendship, and the pursuit of life growth has become a common desire. The experience and plans formed in the past three years can take root in the school and can be passed on. and carry forward.

The two parties reached an agreement that on the basis of the original school reform exploration, they should actively learn and practice the school culture construction concepts, management systems and operating mechanisms, curriculum and teaching reform results, and school-based training of teachers of the assisted schools. Strategy etc. Three years later, it has formed its own characteristics, improved the connotation of running a school, significantly improved the quality of education and teaching, and continued to expand the school's social influence. The professional level of school teachers has been improved by leaps and bounds, and a group of key teachers have been cultivated, allowing teachers to fully enjoy the sense of professional gain and happiness.

Zhao Liping, a young teacher at the school, studied on a temporary basis at Yuying Miyun Branch for one month. She insisted on listening to and evaluating classes simultaneously every day, participated in teaching and research activities, and studied and used the teaching reform concepts and models of Yuying Miyun Branch to teach. Design, take the initiative to apply for water service class practice. After returning to the school, she combined the results of her studies with the teaching reforms that the school has been adhering to for many years, learned from each other's strengths, and rebuilt her own classroom teaching model. The following is part of the classroom reform in the semester plan reported to me by Teacher Zhao.

The current classroom teaching model of our school is a planned student-assisted classroom, which is divided into the following six links: situation introduction - preview testing (independent learning) - student assistance and improvement - inventory and consolidation - expansion and extension - —Reflection on learning and teaching.

I understand and practice it as follows:

When introducing situations, a teacher should let students not only learn in class, but also seek knowledge, and seek knowledge with doubts in their hearts. This reflects the importance of situational introduction.

Preview test, this link is an in-class demonstration of independent learning, testing the effect of students’ independent preview before class, so that students’ preliminary understanding of new knowledge can be fed back, which is conducive to the effective conduct of classroom teaching. Depending on the course, it is sometimes included in the class.

To improve student learning, this link is training to improve classroom knowledge. It adopts independent and cooperative inquiry methods to cultivate students' independent thinking and communication skills. The design of cooperation, exchange, communication and discussion in this link is not only to arouse children's thinking collision, but also hopes to provide them with enlightenment and progress beyond knowledge.

Take inventory and consolidate, guide students to systematically and systematically summarize the knowledge and methods they need to master in this lesson, make the purpose clear and focused, help students remember and master, and make the knowledge concrete.

Expand and extend, by completing exercises, testing the learning effect of the classroom, consolidating knowledge goals, and deepening ability goals.

Reflection on learning and teaching, I regard "reflection on learning and teaching" as the last part of teaching. In this way, students can grasp the overall classroom knowledge, make a clear summary of their own learning effects, understand their own weak links, be good at summarizing experience, be able to choose or adjust learning strategies and methods according to different situations and their own actual conditions, and improve their language expression. ability.

It can be seen from the report that Teacher Zhao already has his own relatively mature teaching style and can achieve an organic integration of theory and practice. In April 2018, the school's teacher team participated in the 8th National "Harmony Cup" Classroom Teaching Model Expo and won the team gold medal. Teacher Zhao Liping won the special prize in one fell swoop. In 2019, teacher Zhao Liping won the first prize in the city's junior high school mathematics lecture competition, and twice won the first prize in the county's junior high school mathematics quality class competition.

In 2019, the school’s young teacher Bai Jie represented the county and won the second prize in the Zhangjiakou Junior High School Quality Class Competition. She emerged in the county’s class teacher quality competition held in October 2020.

I believe that in this remote and backward rural school, more young teachers like Zhao Liping and Bai Jie who are passionate about education will emerge. They love learning, are willing to take root in the countryside, and are willing to dedicate their youth.

Diversified and collaborative cooperation brings hope to the future

From the above text, it can be seen that the cooperation between the two schools is diversified and collaborative, ranging from "classroom teaching reform, teacher professional development, student cultivation Cooperate, interact, exchange and dialogue in many aspects such as adult education, school leadership building, school-based curriculum development, and school characteristic construction, learn from each other sincerely, and help each other sincerely. Such assistance is targeted at the sound of people's hearts, spiritual encouragement, and emotional uplift, thereby jointly finding possible strategies for future development. The development vision shared by both schools is to “continue to write the excellent school culture, build a learner-centered curriculum model that supports diversified learning, transform learning methods and methods, improve the classroom teaching ecology, and reshape the professional life of teachers. ”

In addition, schools on both sides are also working hard to create conditions for students to learn from each other and experience life in each other. On May 12, 2019, the two schools carried out student exchange activities. 24 students from Yuying Miyun Branch and Taohua Town Junior High School completed a week-long study tour.

In the past three years, through various ways and levels of communication, interaction and learning, the two schools have collided with the same goals and visions, course content, activity strategies, and even created an education for the party. Career, courage and sentiment of not being afraid of difficulties and having the courage to innovate, work hand in hand to advance and sincerely help each other.

With the strong support of governments at all levels and the Education Bureau of Yu County, and with the help of the Miyun District Education Committee, Taohua Town Junior High School has undergone earth-shaking changes, investing more than 1.4 million yuan to build a new high-standard There are student restaurants, clean and tidy restrooms and bathrooms, the playground and toilets have been renovated and renovated, each teacher has a computer, each classroom has been replaced with a large teaching screen, and there are also high-standard recording and broadcasting classrooms.

There are sufficient equipment for subjects such as physics, chemistry, music, and physical education, and the school actively implements the concept of quality education. The school currently has fifteen clubs including basketball team, football team, rope skipping team, rhythmic gymnastics team, chorus team, broadcast host, model aircraft, literary club, walking into Xiaowutai, walking into flowers and trees, and current affairs broadcasting. In the seventh period every Tuesday and Thursday, all students in the school, regardless of grade, adopt a "walking class" system and participate in activities in their favorite clubs according to their hobbies. Organize relevant competitions every semester, actively participate in county and city-level art festivals, sports competitions, and special competitions, and commend sports stars, art stars, technology stars, skilled craftsmen, and best hosts, etc. In 2018, the school was the winning unit of the 28th Art Festival of Yu County, and won awards in various competitions such as the table tennis competition for primary and secondary schools in the county and the aircraft model competition for middle school students. In 2018, the school was the unit with the most significant improvement in teaching performance in the county. In November 2018, Principal Zhao Jun shared his experience in curriculum reform at a collective lesson preparation promotion meeting held across the county and at a phased achievement display event for classroom teaching reform in junior high schools throughout the county. In 2019, the school was rated as an advanced unit of education and scientific research in Zhangjiakou City.

Small, poor and difficult, cannot stop the growth and development of Taohua Town Junior High School, because of the support of the party and the government, and the help of brotherly units. All the teachers and students of Taohua Town Junior High School will continue to strive for the balanced development of education and revitalize rural school education, and move forward courageously!