Xiao Zhang
De La Salle University
Pia Manalastas
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Due to China's current college entrance examination system and the surge in competition in the senior high school entrance examination, society tends to have a single evaluation standard for education: grades represent everything. The schools in China, especially in Shandong Province, pay much more attention to academic grades than students' mental health. Most schools require students to start classes before 7:00 am and continue until after 9:00 pm, resulting in overburdened students and no time to develop interests or other skills. Statistics show that the number of students with depression and other mental symptoms has increased sharply in recent years, which needs to attract the attention of the whole society.
Almost all kinds of off-campus training institutions derived from education are also vigorously carrying out subject-based training in response to the situation. Nearly all students have to participate in off-campus training institutions to learn the same course content as on-campus. The subject of my interview is also an off-campus training institution, which is different from other knowledge-based discipline training. This institution emphasizes cultivating students' learning ability and helping them build self-confidence so that they have the independent ability to handle the school's learning tasks well, promoting lifelong learning development goals. As my interviewee, Principal Wang said, "education should not be an assembly line job, but an inspiration and motivation, so that children can become a better version of themselves."
Unlike traditional training institutions that only consider current interests, this institution does the opposite, abandoning the teaching of classroom content and focusing on developing students' various learning abilities. For example, they launched a series of courses to help students exercise concentration, anti-interference power, memory, and recitation ability. By improving these abilities, they can build confidence. With better skills and learning methods, students are more willing to accept challenges and feel more confident about returning to school and enjoying their learning journey.
They have developed a series of courses to improve students' learning ability, such as playing cards to exercise their concentration and anti-interference ability. They have to judge the suit of the cards with the tiny gaps of the fingertips, and at the same time, blindfold and focus on the little cracks of the fingertips to feel the suits of the cards, which significantly trains the students' concentration. At the same time, due to the tiny gaps, the children's self-confidence is continuously encouraged in the activities, which guides them to make more decisive judgments.
During class breaks and after lunch, they will let students wear headphones to listen to light music that helps the brain relax and simultaneously create an environment for students to relax physically and mentally. Through step-by-step training, students can gradually master the skills of memorizing and reciting. The number of words in the article increases from low to high, and the difficulty increases from low to high. It continuously strengthens the training of students' memory and improves their self-confidence.
The most important thing is that during the whole training period, a dedicated teacher will tutor and company one student throughout the entire process. The teacher-student ratio is completely one-to-one. President Wang said, "rather than passing on knowledge, the role of teachers is more important to accompany and encourage and to create courage and opportunities for children to overcome difficulties alone. The teacher can understand the situation of the students in all aspects during the whole process, and it is easier for the students to provide specialized guidance and assistance."
During the interview, I was fortunate to be invited to experience their classroom. What impressed me the most during the process was that all the teachers encouraged students instead of criticizing and suppressing them. Almost all students who attend their courses encounter difficulties in learning, so they generally show a certain degree of slowness or lack self-confidence and dare not express themselves. Teachers will always criticize these performances in school, but this offers space for them to grow and overcome step by step. What amazes me, even more is that the progress these students showed after receiving the encouragement is undeniable and far exceeding my expectations. From this, I believe that students need not blind criticism from the teacher and repetition of knowledge. On the contrary, they need encouragement and affirmation from the outside world.
“Education is motivation, encouragement, and care for dreams,” and because of this belief, Principal Wang still sticks to this industry. Despite the epidemic and the restrictions brought about by education reform. She said that every time she sees the students getting help and support from her, she is satisfied no matter how hard it is.
Among all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations, quality education ranks fourth, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. China’s current education system, especially the education method in small cities, has dramatically suppressed students’ desire to learn. The proportion of students who can successfully pass the high school entrance examination and enter high school is only about 40%, and the ratio who can enter university is also about 40%. After two rounds of tests, many students admitted to the university almost give up studying and engage in revenge oriented entertainment in college. It can be seen that cultivating students’ learning interests and abilities is the core of education. Knowledge is limited, and only learning ability can lead students to adapt to any change and environment. Only by allowing students to feel the joy of learning and can learn can it be possible to help them achieve the goal of lifelong learning.
In the short term, after students gain confidence and methods of learning through learning and practice and improve their learning ability, they will have complete confidence in school life. At the same time, they are willing to challenge and learn new knowledge, which will help them gain academic success. As President Wang said, “successful education is not only about students getting high marks but also about being able to be full of strength and not be afraid of difficulties.” In the long run, they can internalize this learning ability and confidence so that they can face it with confidence no matter what environment they will be in. Because the world is changing at any time, some knowledge they learned before may not be helpful, but as long as they can remember, I believe they can learn and adapt quickly no matter what changes they face.
“Education is life touches life,” employees who work here can also benefit from these courses. They all need to participate in the training at the headquarters before taking up their jobs. In these courses, they also get help and support to pass on love and warmth to their students. At the same time, when seeing students make reasonable changes and progress under their help and guidance, this job makes them feel their value. There is also a happy working environment, which makes them satisfied with this job.
In business, only one institution in the market can provide these courses, and parents also value such methods so that this institution can have a particular seat in the equation. These courses generally last for half a year to one year, and the classes start after paying the tuition fees, and there is no problem with arrears.
In the beginning, many parents found it challenging to understand these curriculum settings when consulted. But after communicating with the staff, they all recognized the significance of these courses:
1. These courses can help students build self-confidence, master learning ability, and motivation, provide family education courses, and help solve family education and parent-child communication problems. Students participating in these courses have undoubtedly become beneficiaries. At the same time, their parents also benefit from it.
2. Changes in students can reduce parental anxiety.
3. Parent support courses also help parents learn to get along better with their children.
I saw an interesting phenomenon in this training institution. Students who have enrolled and benefited from the course introduce it to other students who then take the course. Parents also taught other parents to enroll their children. Through student-to-student communication and interaction, close relationships are established between students. After returning to school, they can bring the friendship outside the school to the campus, support each other, and positively influence more classmates simultaneously.
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Wang Xiaoyan, Entrepreneur
With difficult classes at school, more and more students in China reveal mental issues and show their rebellion on studying. They can't find fun in learning new things and tend to run far away from school. The company perfectly fills the gap by offering inspirational courses to support students. For example, they launched a series of lessons to help students practice their concentration capability, the capacity to resist disturbance, memory, and recitation. By improving these capabilities, the students can build up their confidence and are willing to challenge themselves by learning new things.