Family on both sides of the strait to build the dream of special education;
Ten years of grinding a sword, Lingshi writes legends.
WU Wudian (Distinguished Professor, Lingnan Normal University / Honorary Professor, Taiwan Normal University)
Once upon a time, Lingshi was strange
I am a veteran of Taiwan's apricot altar, from elementary school to university, 60 years; I am also an old gardener in special education, who has been working in special education for decades, and I am still "old".
In my early years, I would invest in special education by chance, in order to "give special love to special him!" In middle age, he founded the Department of Special Education at Taiwan Normal University just because "special careers require special talents!" In his later years, he came to Zhanjiang and founded the Department of Special Education of Lingnan Normal University, in order to "build a special education dream together as a family on both sides of the strait"!
It's a strange relationship. When I was young, Mu Ne was silent, introverted and shy, and was named a "plaster statue" by female classmates, and I was a "model student" in the era when "good cards" were in power; After graduating from normal school, he became a primary school teacher, and under the influence of the teacher spirit of "learning to be a teacher and behaving as a model for the world", he devoted himself wholeheartedly and became a "desperate three langs"; Feeling the rapid changes in society, I continued to think of new ideas, "create" new things, and became a "hyperactive" in the education field. It seems that I am no longer the same me, but what remains unchanged is that I have always kept education and students, although it is hard, but I am enjoying it.
Among the things I have come up with and created, the most cherished are undoubtedly the Department of Special Education of Taiwan Normal University, founded in Taiwan, 36 years ago, and the Department of Special Education of Lingnan Normal College, founded in mainland China 10 years ago. Welcome to see the two special education babies, with the support of many noble people, growing strong, both gratifying and grateful.
Wu Wudian: "Dian Dian Teacher" in the minds of students of the Department of Special Education of Lingnan Normal College
Love for Lingshi and create special education
I became acquainted with Master Lingshi in 2004. That year coincided with the 100th anniversary of Lingshi's normal birthday, and I was entrusted by my old friend Dr. Feng Guanfu of Zhanjiang Township to lead the Taiwan delegation to congratulate me as the chairman of the Taiwan Normal Education Association and the dean of the School of Education of Taiwan Normal University. When I came to Lingshi, I learned that Lingshi not only has a hundred years of teacher education (only 2 years less than Beijing Normal University), but its predecessor, Leiyang Academy, was founded during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty (1636), which has a history of 368 years, the same age as Harvard University. The ancient banyan trees on campus are towering and have a strong humanistic atmosphere, which impressed me deeply. In 2009, I once again led a delegation to congratulate the 105th anniversary of Lingshi.
My third contact with Lingshi was in 2012. This contact was no longer a beautiful encounter, but affectionately invested, for the sincere invitation of Principal Luo Haiou (who later served as the secretary of the school's party committee) at that time. In view of the need to cultivate special education talents, President Luo sent Professor Zheng Rongshuang of the Department of Psychology to Taiwan in 2011 to investigate the training mechanism of special education teachers, and then personally visited the normal school in Taiwan in early 2012. He hoped to draw on the experience of Taiwan Normal University and have a high starting point, and strongly invited me to come to Zhanjiang to help open a special education major. We have similar interests and have a good conversation. Inspired by President Luo's enthusiasm and grandeur in education, I came to Zhanjiang, a foreign country, in August 2012, to start the second spring of my life and career, and co-founded the Department of Special Education with Professor Cheng Rongshuang, and then actively introduced Taiwan's high-end special education talents, and has served as the head of the department since then.
Principal/Secretary Luo promised to give school-wide support to this little brother who "was born late", he said, "Special Education Special Office! "When it comes to doing what it says, everyone feels it. Five years later, the school leaders and the school leaders who took over the baton continued to give support, and the teachers and students of the whole department also worked hard in return.
Today, the Department of Special Education has 18 full-time teachers and a strong lineup. Among them, 17 have doctoral degrees and 1 is a doctoral candidate; Professor 9, Associate Professor 3, Lecturer 5, Teaching Assistant 1. Among the teaching team, there are 7 Taiwanese teachers, all with doctoral degrees (3 of whom are doctors studying in the United States), with rich experience, serious teaching, integration into the family of Lingshi University, and joint efforts with mainland teachers to cultivate talents, which has become a major feature of Lingshi.
Prof Luo Haiou, former President/Secretary of Lingnan Normal School (center), firmly supports the "Special Education Special Office" based on the three highs (high starting point, high vision, and high motivation)
Special education has love and builds dreams steadfastly
Like most of the students of Lingshi, most of the students of the Lingshi Special Education Department come from rural areas or economically disadvantaged families, but they are simple, courteous, hardworking, and have deep development potential. After four years of cultivation, you can clearly see their progress: they came in ignorant, and they left school radiant and confident.
At present, Lingshi Special Education has 335 students and 513 graduates (seventh batch). The successful landing rate of graduates (employment + graduate school) is as high as 99%. According to the follow-up survey, 95% of employers are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the graduates' job performance. As for the students in school, in addition to serious study in class, they also actively participate in project research, various college student scientific research competitions and social services, with excellent performance, for example: in the past five years, students have published 2 SCI papers and participated in the college student challenge cup competition 5 provincial awards.
In cooperation with Pingtung University and Taichung University of Education in Taiwan, Lingshi arranged for special education students to go to Taiwan for a semester of special education professional training to broaden their horizons and increase their experience. Since its inception in 2014, 403 students have gone to Taiwan for training. Grade 15 student Mo Xuecheng wrote the book "Lingnan Students' Treasure Island Love" (Psychology Publishing House) with personal experience, which is rich in writing and vivid and moving.
Lingshi Special Education emphasizes the cultivation of whole-person high-quality teachers, and has established a three-coherent teacher education and training model. Based on the spirit of "learning to be a person first, then learning to be a teacher" and the way of learning "learning should be like a pyramid, both erudite and high", all those who enter the door of special education must be gradual, according to the three coherent teacher education concepts of "modern good citizens - excellent college students - professional special education personnel", special education undergraduate students must have "five skills", "five forces" and "five haves".
The so-called "five sessions" include learning to seek knowledge, learning to do things, learning to live together, learning to develop and learning to change; The so-called "five forces" include the ability to learn independently, the ability to think independently, the ability to manage time, the ability to adapt to the environment and the ability to keep pace with the times; The so-called "five haves" include having the ability of a teacher, the cultivation of a teacher, the ability to teach, special love and special knowledge. We hope to cultivate professionals based on the concept of standard-based position.
During the school period, students are encouraged to collaborate with teachers to conduct special research, and the graduation thesis is strictly required to reach a certain level. In addition, in 2018, Lingshi set up a "3+2" special education volunteer service team to connect with the society. The members of the service team recruit new students every year, adhere to the principle of "passing on help, helping and leading", and bring students up at one level and one level, with fruitful results and deep praise.
Based on the principle of "one family on both sides of the strait, stronger feelings for special education", Lingshi initiated the Cross-Strait Special Education High-end Forum in 2014 to promote cross-strait academic exchanges in special education, seek common growth, and hosted the first and second conferences, which received a warm response. After the third session, colleges and universities on both sides of the strait took turns to host the event without interruption.
Under the instructions of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Special Education Teacher Development Alliance was established in Lingnan Teachers College in June 2017, and Lingnan Teachers College was elected as the chairman unit. In December 2021, a new session was held, and Lingnan Teachers College was re-elected as the chairman unit.
In 2017, Lingnan Normal Institute was approved as the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Sciences in Ordinary Universities (Department of Education), and in 2019, it was approved as the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Development and Education for Special Children (Department of Science and Technology). In 2019, the Special Education Research Center was established.
So far, the platform for the development of special education in Lingnan Teachers College has taken shape, and the future is promising.
Outline the future and sustainable management
In order to accelerate the training of high-quality special education teachers, strengthen special education research and promote social care services, Lingshi Special Education will continue its efforts to strive for greater progress. We will implement the innovation concept from the following four directions:
1. Be persistent. Adhere to the student-oriented, "today we think about the interests of students everywhere, tomorrow you will also take the well-being of students as the first consideration"; Cultivate students to do a good job in the "three coherences" and become "professional good teachers"; Special education is a family, and teachers and students of the special education department should love each other and grow together.
2. Strengthened. Internally, it is necessary to strengthen students' recognition and professionalism of special education; Integrate special education resources and build a large platform for the development of special education in the whole school. Externally, it is necessary to strengthen the publicity of the concept of integrated education and jointly build a peaceful society of Pute integration;
3. Make corrections. First of all, improve the current office environment of the Department of Special Education, and set up a special department office and teacher research office as soon as possible; Secondly, it is recommended that schools continue to strengthen the construction of barrier-free environment, so that schools are warmer and do not become a forbidden place for the disabled (disabled).
4. Be innovative. Due to the good effect of early treatment, preschool special education (special early childhood education) has become a top priority, so it is necessary to plan a special preschool teaching program for students of the Department of Preschool Education and the Department of Special Education. The second is to establish a supplementary department system, that is, to complement other faculties and academic departments (such as Chinese and mathematics) to cultivate students' second specialty, so as to facilitate future employment and meet the needs of the education scene. Finally, what I look forward to the most is to actively apply for professional master's programs. The faculty, equipment and scientific research achievements of the Department of Special Education have reached a certain level, and the achievements in cultivating excellent special teachers have also been universally recognized.
Photo: At the invitation of Professor Luo Haiou, Mr. Du Benji, a famous calligrapher, waved a pen and gave a book to Professor Wu Wudian
Do not forget the original intention, and create a new situation
Over the past decade, the Department of Special Education has become a highly motivated, morale-oriented, vibrant, distinctive and well-established team of special education that has also made some contributions.
Ten years of grinding a sword, from 2012 to now, Lingshi Special Education has been conscientious and continuously educated, and has trained more than 500 high-quality special education teachers for the country. At present, we should reflect on the road, consolidate and start again, and hope that Lingshi special education, as a characteristic discipline, will become a first-class major, and even a benchmark for special education in the whole province and the whole country. We are ready to march into the second decade with our heads held high!
My confidant, Professor Luo Haiou, has commented many times that I am "tireless in learning, tireless in teaching, and not boring in helping others", and his praise, I dare not take it, but it can be used as a criterion for self-encouragement, after all, his comments hit my original intention:
"Learn the way of Confucius and Mengmeng, be a talent, guard education, guard students, work tirelessly, and enjoy it!"
This is why, after ten years of hard work, the 10th anniversary celebration of Lingshi Special Education has been set as follows:
"Special education has love, does not forget the original intention, loves the Lingshi, and builds dreams to move forward."
About the author:
Wu Wudian, whose ancestral home is Zhangpu, Fujian, was born in October 1940 in Yilan, Taiwan. Ph.D. in School Psychology, University of KFC, USA, focusing on gifted excellence, special education policy, integrated education and counseling. He has served as the director of the Special Education Center of Taiwan Normal University, the founding director of the Department of Special Education, the dean of the School of Education, the chairman of five societies including the Taiwan Special Education Association, and the president of the World Association for Gifted Education. He is currently the chairman of the Taiwan Education Association, an honorary professor of the Department of Special Education of Taiwan Normal University, a tenured honorary professor of Pingtung University, a distinguished professor of Lingnan Normal University, and the head of the Department of Special Education.