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Editor's Note: The results of the fifth SCNU English Writing and Short Video Contest have been announced on the website of the Office of International Exchange & Cooperation of SCNU (see results). We congratulate all prize winners on their outstanding performance. Winning entries will be published in this column.
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By Peng Zien
On the hallowed ground of South China Normal University, a breeding ground for prodigious talents, resides a truly remarkable and legendary educator, teacher Chen. Hailing from a modest and impoverished background, he has, through sheer tenacity and an unwavering dedication to the noble cause of education, surmounted all odds and emerged as a venerated trailblazer in the educational realm. However, he playfully calls himself a "field wanderer" and an "academic failure," merely standing at the center of the stage of basic education in our country, yet on the fringe of the stage of higher education in schools.
Poverty and the Ascent: Transitioning from a disadvantaged background to attaining middle-class status
Teacher Chen’s early years were fraught with the trials and tribulations of a life of scarcity. He was born in a small, secluded and poverty-stricken mountain village. What set him apart from other children in the mountains and enabled him to become the first college student in the village was the great support of his parents. Teacher Chen's parents placed a high premium on education and imperceptibly instilled the spirit of "Zheng Jing" into the very core of Chen's being. The essence of "Zheng Jing", which bears unique regional and personal imprints, can be simply understood as transcending the inequities of fate through one's own outstanding achievements. It was precisely this spirit that bolstered Chen, helping him surmount numerous obstacles and hardships throughout his professional journey. Undoubtedly, Chen's own astute perception and comprehension of current affairs have also exerted a substantially significant role. He was acutely aware that only by dint of ceaseless and assiduous effort could he transmute his fate. Thus, he immersed himself wholeheartedly in his studies, ceaselessly forging ahead. In due course, he achieved a staggering transformation, evolving from a destitute child of humble origins into a resplendent luminary in the educational firmament.
Multifaceted Educational Encounters: A Holistic Exploration and Profound Comprehension in the Realm of Education
Teacher Chen’s pedagogical journey unfolds like a sumptuous and variegated tapestry. He has not merely delved deep into the domain of higher education but has also fearlessly ventured into the terrains of secondary and primary education. Such a diverse and extensive range of educational experience has endued him with a comprehensive and profound insight into the very essence of education. Embracing the dream of education and walking the land of China: This is Chen's action philosophy and even more a way of thinking. As an action philosophy, it emphasizes steadiness, incremental progress, the combination of ideals and reality, and standing firm and tall. As a way of thinking, it emphasizes that any ideal should be based on operability to avoid getting the opposite of what one wants and focuses on constructing operational ideals. He believes that education should guide students to break away from narrow perspectives and pursuits and strive for the universal values of humanity and show the universal meaning of life. There is a close connection between local knowledge and universal values. The realization of universal values depends on local knowledge, while local knowledge takes universal values as its soul. And during his tenure of instructing students of disparate age cohorts, he has continuously engaged in introspection and self-evolution, gradually crystallizing his own idiosyncratic educational tenets and instructional methodologies.
Interdisciplinary Trajectory: The Augmentation and Amalgamation of Academic Perspectives
Teacher Chen’s academic sojourn is no less than a saga of extraordinary exploits. Initiating his intellectual pursuits in educational psychology, he progressively branched out into contemporary economics, game theory, and other cognate fields. Eventually, he found his way back to the core of educational research, thereby forging an interdisciplinary vista and a novel mode of cerebral cogitation. He is well-versed in the adage that genuine academic innovation invariably emanates from the confluence and cross-pollination of diverse disciplines. This unique academic experience has also enabled him to recognize that education and teaching should focus on fostering students' thinking abilities, vision, and comprehensive qualities. It is through such dedicated efforts that students can be better equipped to face the challenges and opportunities in their future academic and professional pursuits.
Business Acumen and Managerial Prowess: The Singular Application of Game Theory in the Educational Sphere
Teacher Chen first embarked on his entrepreneurial journey, where his sharp business acumen and in-depth understanding of game theory enabled him to build a prosperous enterprise, reaping remarkable economic success. With a firm footing in the business realm, he then turned his attention to philanthropy.
In the summer of 2022, he entered the Guangdong Charity Federation's Xiaolian Fund, initiating family education public welfare initiatives. As time progressed, the summer of 2023 saw him expanding his efforts to rural education growth public welfare in the eastern, western, and northern parts of Guangdong. By the summer of 2024, he was deeply engaged in planning the "Educator Spirit Empowering Teachers Public Welfare Project", a long-term undertaking dedicated to the educationally challenged districts and counties in those regions. The foundation is located in the Alaner Park of the Science City in Huangpu district, in Guangzhou.
This seamless transition from entrepreneurship to philanthropy showcases his unique ability to integrate business wisdom into educational welfare, spurring innovation and advancement in educational governance and making a profound and lasting impact in the educational charity spheres.
Architect of Educational Framework: Championing Education and Propelling Reforms
Since the second half of 2004, Chen has served as the chief editor of high school textbooks of the Ministry of Education and the unified textbooks. By the end of 2014, he got involved in the revision of curriculum standards for both compulsory education and high school, as well as the reform of the new college entrance examination content. Some front-line teachers regard him as a "triple-threat star" in the subject education. This unique experience endows him with a deeper insight into China's basic education. Instead of being confined to a single aspect, he can balance the demands of all aspects and contemplate the development of China's basic education more comprehensively. In the meantime, as an integral participant in the top-tier design of curriculum standards, textbooks, and assessment rubrics, Teacher Chen is acutely cognizant of the onerous responsibilities that rest upon his shoulders. He has been an indefatigable advocate and an active agent in the reform and progression of education, contributing his sagacious counsel and formidable might to the enhancement of the caliber of basic education across the nation. Teacher Chen's teaching philosophy emphasizes that teachers should become research-oriented educators. He believes that teachers should not only impart knowledge but also base their practice firmly in actual teaching experience, aspiring to become researchers. He advocates that primary and secondary school teachers should move beyond traditional role perceptions to become creators of knowledge, capable of generating practical and local knowledge closely integrated with educational practice. Mr. Chen also encourages teachers to write high-quality educational research papers to enhance their theoretical literacy and solve practical teaching problems, thereby deepening their understanding of teaching. Furthermore, he stresses that classroom teaching should be lively, profound, and innovative, promoting students' holistic development through participation and reflection, and stimulating their interest in learning and thinking abilities. These concepts have important implications for educational and teaching reforms.
Embracing the Educational Vision: A Devotee Treading the Path of China’s Educational Landscape
Teacher Chen has perpetually harbored the noble dream of education in the innermost recesses of his heart. He is well aware that education represents a long-haul and arduous enterprise that demands the concerted endeavors of successive generations. Hence, he has unfailingly nurtured a profound sense of reverence and an abiding passion for education, devoting himself wholeheartedly to shepherding students towards the pursuit of the universal values of humanity and the manifestation of the profound significance of life. He has been a vociferous advocate for those muted voices in the educational milieu - teachers, students, and the common folk alike - striving assiduously to secure their legitimate rights and entitlements. Concomitantly, through field inquiries, philanthropic initiatives, and sundry other modalities, he has delved deep into the extant state and exigencies of frontline education, proffering invaluable recommendations for the attainment of educational parity.
An "Educational Nomad" Who Defies Conformity
Teacher Chen’s life narrative is a vivid tableau of struggle and triumph, a seamless amalgamation of education and dreams. He has exemplified the quintessence of a true educator - an "educational nomad" who has left an indelible and profound imprint on the fertile soil of South China Normal University. Looking ahead, we earnestly anticipate that Chen will persevere in his commitment to the educational cause, shepherding a greater multitude of students towards the shores of success and enlightenment. In tandem, we also exhort a larger cohort of individuals to emulate teacher Chen, cradling the dream of education and traversing the educational landscape of China, jointly inscribing a glorious and resplendent chapter in the annals of our nation’s educational undertakings.
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