Zhang Fanghua and her husband are rigorous and realistic, and the work attitude of excellence subtly affects the children, so that he understands from an early age that science cannot tolerate a little sloppiness and a trace of luck, and any achievement must pay hard work, but also have better foresight...
Zhang Fanghua The first female national chief forecaster of the Central Meteorological Observatory and the chief meteorological expert of the China Meteorological Administration. He was awarded the National Pacesetter of Meritorious Service
My son Huan Huan is in the first grade of high school at Renmin University Affiliated High School, and I am often asked if I must be an excellent child to go to such a good school, how to cultivate it? I think it may be related to the fact that my husband and I are both engaged in meteorological technology work, our work is often related to various numbers, equations, maps, and my son also has a strong interest in science, likes to "ask the roots", and has "100,000 whys" in his head every day. And perhaps it was this curiosity that drove his learning.
"Exploring" in a fantastic idea
My son likes to draw, and his paintings are full of whimsy, and there are "air-conditioned clothes" that make people wear neither cold nor hot, so that they can be kept warm and comfortable no matter what the weather is. In 2013, when beijing was plagued by smog, 7-year-old Huan Huan designed a smog cleaner in his paintings, which could be opened to eliminate smog. Although the idea is naïve, it is full of fantasy and hope. This is not unrelated to the fact that we usually discuss the weather at home, and from an early age he sowed a seed of love for meteorological science in his heart.
We will take the stories of scientists such as Newton and Fabre as children as examples, encourage him to take the initiative to think, actively ask questions, and let him slowly understand that human beings are advancing in the process of exploring the unknown.
If the imaginative paintings are the starting point for his interest in science, then doing scientific experiments himself is the "running" of his love for science. I remember that when he learned the concept of "speed", he deliberately observed the trajectory of a snail, one was to time the snail's movement, the other was to measure the distance traveled, and divide the distance by time to obtain the snail's crawling speed.
Another time, in order to observe the relationship between seed germination and temperature and humidity, he planted some garlic in different small pots and recorded observations every day. During the operation, the son found that why in the same basin with the same warm and humid conditions, some germinate and some do not germinate? In order to answer this question, he asked his grandmother to dig out garlic from the ground and mail it to him, and after receiving it, he did the "experiment" again. This experiment let the son understand that the original seed germination was affected by various factors.
There are many more examples like this. Once, when he wanted to make a nice cocktail, we guided him to put the preparation steps on paper. First of all, you need to prepare a liquid of different colors, and secondly, how do you pour it? How many layers are reasonable? Does the density, quality and order of the liquid have an impact? I told him that he must not be sloppy with science, let alone give up, and only after more thinking and diligent verification can he discover the truth of science. Huan Huan poured it many times and wasted a lot, and finally made a satisfactory cocktail and happily shared it with us.
This spirit of exploration particularly benefited my son. He never evaded difficulties in his studies, but immersed himself in research, pondered repeatedly, consulted materials or consulted teachers and classmates until he fully understood. Therefore, on the road of learning, I will pass the hurdles and grow into a better version of myself every day.
There is no future without preparing for tomorrow
As the chief forecaster of the Central Meteorological Observatory, I am very serious and responsible about my work. When encountering complex weather, I often stay in the conference room and do not go home, pay close attention to weather changes, and make accurate forecasts to the society in time. The importance of weather forecasting is self-evident, which can let people know the future weather in advance, so as not to have cold weather without clothing and warmth, so as not to cause disastrous weather to not be responded to in time, and accurate forecasts can better predict the future, so as not to fight unprepared battles.
When Huan Huan was in elementary school, the class teacher asked him to come back and ask me, "What was the weather on the day of the school sports day?" "This task puts a lot of pressure on me. You know, local weather forecasting has always been a big problem. It seems that a weather forecast of just a few dozen words actually involves all aspects from observation, to transmission to calculation and analysis, and it is not so easy to accurately forecast. Fortunately, several similar forecasts were reported more accurately, and the child was very proud and had a greater recognition of my work. And I "hit the iron while it was hot" and told him that the road of science is full of unknowns, and it is necessary to sink down and make sufficient preparations in order to go further, and those who are not prepared for tomorrow will not have a future.
Perhaps because I have listened to my teachings too much, children have developed a good "foresight" from an early age. Every day before going to bed, he would prepare the things that needed to be brought to school the next day in advance, and he could get up the next morning to eat breakfast calmly. He also learned to plan for the future, setting himself a small goal and a big goal every semester. The goal is often above his own ability, and he needs to work hard towards the goal, so that he is full of morale throughout the semester. Of course, once the goal is not achieved, it is inevitable that there will be frustration, at this time I will tell him that if you encounter difficulties and retreat, the mountain in front of you can never be turned over, you can only stay under the mountain, and the scenery on the other side of the mountain can not be seen no matter how beautiful. And maybe after turning over the mountain and looking back, you will actually find that it is not so difficult.
Because of the clear ideas and plans for the future, Huan Huan now gradually has an independent opinion on many things. Some time ago, the school opened a vocational experience class to let students understand what various occupations do. Huan Huan chose two liberal arts majors, film and television production and psychology, but our husband and wife hoped to use his mathematical strengths to help him choose environmental engineering. In the end, the child insisted on his own choice, and my husband and I also agreed that we did not need the parent's vision to limit him. We understand that on the road to education, raising a baby is the same as making forecasts, which requires continuous observation, improvement and improvement. Sometimes, the son will ask some questions that are difficult for us to answer, we have to study, think, can't help but feel that learning is endless, but also let us in the process of raising him, become a better self.
Zhang Fanghua sowed a seed of love for science in her son's heart
Root the roots of being a human being
Meteorological work is related to the safety of people's lives and property, serving the decision-making and deployment of all walks of life, requiring 24-hour duty, without dedication and sacrifice, it is not good to do this work.
2021 is a very extraordinary year, coinciding with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Test Match and other major activities, in the face of the new requirements of meteorological work, the new demand for meteorological work in all walks of life, and the new expectations of the people for meteorological work, the responsibility of meteorologists is also getting heavier and heavier.
For a long time, my son has been very supportive of my work, and has long been accustomed to my "overtime" and "no home at night", and even many times, I can't pick him up from school on time, leaving him alone in school, and he has never complained, because he knows that his mother is serving the people.
Because of my hard work, when I went to kindergarten, I would use some colored paper to make a hexahedron, write the words "Mom, I love you", and then cut out small red flowers to decorate on it as a gift to me. Now, my son has become an adolescent teenager, and whenever I look at it, I can still feel his love and dependence on me.
I am more concerned about the cultivation of my child's personality than academic performance. I told my son that if a person does not study well, it is at best a defective product; if the character is not good, it will be a dangerous product.
When he was a child, I constantly taught him that he must adhere to principles, stick to the right things, and not go with the flow. He threw away a red scarf, but coincidentally picked it up later. At that time, he thought to himself, "I lost one, others picked up mine, I picked up someone else's just enough to offset." I said, you are very anxious to lose the red scarf, others will be very anxious if they lose it, one yard to one yard. Although this is a small matter, it reflects no small problem. Later, Huan Huan wrote about the loss of the red scarf into the composition, and the teacher gave him praise and encouragement, and he was particularly happy.
There are many such examples, and I always say to my son, the academic performance may not be so top-notch, but in terms of morality, you must strive to score a hundred points. Each semester rejoices in the Award of Giving. Classmates will also actively vote for him, and he has been rated as a three-good student at the district and municipal levels many times.
When the child was in the first grade of junior high school, he signed up for the school's "Outdoor Scene Public Welfare Class for Hearing Impaired Children", paired up with the hearing impaired children one-on-one, and carried out exchanges through visits, garden tours, handicrafts and other forms. Through this activity, Huan Huan has greatly improved in terms of ideological character, psychological quality, and empathy ability.
Now, when I grow up, my son will still enlighten and educate me. For example, once his dad didn't put the items back in place, I felt like his dad didn't respect the fruits of my labor. But the son said that he should understand his father, maybe he had something more important at that moment? Friends who know our family say that Huan Huan is really a "super warm man".
I think that only when the roots are correct, can we slowly absorb nutrients like a tree, and when the roots of being a human being are firmly rooted, one day, he will grow into a towering tree, which is the tomorrow I yearn for the most.