Graduated from Tsinghua and MIT, his works competed for the Oscar, and his strength interpreted "life is not extinguished, and the tossing is not endless"

From failing English in the second year of high school, to a full score in TOEFL speaking, and then to entering Tsinghua and MIT, what kind of transformation will you go through? Penn's master's degree in computer science and former New Oriental teacher knew it best that day. In the process of transforming himself, he also gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of learning. How to stimulate interest in learning, how to persevere consistently, and connect with future career planning, these essential and long-term questions are always more important than the scores on the scale.

Wen 丨Kochagin ed

At about this time last year, Dong Yuhui's strength came out of the circle and led the "new live broadcast", in his live broadcast room, there was no "old iron" and "buy him", some idioms and allusions were hand-held, and traditional culture and life philosophy alternate. Speaks literary English, Tao History Encyclopedia. People can't help but sigh that New Oriental's teacher is actually a dimensionality reduction blow.

New Oriental is really a magical place, founded nearly thirty years ago, there are countless talents who have gone out, a bit of Whampoa Military Academy.

Bund Jun also knew a teacher who had taught at New Oriental, several "sessions" before Dong Yuhui. The name is unique and called "That Day".

That day teacher

His experience is even more unique:

In his second year of high school, he failed English, but later obtained a full score in TOEFL speaking, becoming one of the youngest outstanding teachers in the history of New Oriental;

With the personal blessing of teacher Yu Minhong, he studied at Tsinghua University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania, founded a technology company, and made movies to impact the Oscars...

Strength interpretation of what is called "life does not go out, tossing and turning".

From an ordinary family in Shenyang, Liaoning Province to the world, it took unimaginable efforts that day, and it also brought us a lot of useful thoughts.

Instead of focusing on the "big goals" of the future

It is better to establish a "sense of work" in the moment

Although I have been away from New Oriental for many years, I look back on my past growth process that day and am still full of gratitude to regard New Oriental as my "first alma mater".

Teaching at New Oriental, he personally practiced a word called "sense of work".

In his junior year, he obtained a full score in TOEFL speaking for the first time, got the attention of Shenyang New Oriental principal, and was invited to work part-time. He did, and he did it well. After countless exams, grading, and training, he became a full-fledged TOEFL teacher in his senior year. "Play with Life" won back a trophy for Shenyang's National New Teacher Competition.

First meeting Yu Minhong

That day, I also saw Mr. Yu Minhong for the first time, and I was so excited that I "forgot how to laugh". For many New Oriental teachers at that time, Yu Minhong was a living legend.

Then, that day, I was recommended to the Beijing headquarters. In 2011, with ideals and a New Oriental plot, he left his hometown for Beijing.

When I arrived in Beijing, the situation was very different. Living in a sweltering basement and being cheated out of rent when he first arrived; There are too many excellent teachers in Beijing, and the backgrounds are more beautiful than the other; Even the level of students is much higher, and many of them are from famous schools in northern Qingbei. Having just graduated, he can only start with a free "trial class".

Still, I didn't think about it that much that day. What is a "sense of work"?

In every English class, even if it is not charged, his attitude is to "treat it as a work of art", "I hope that every lesson I have, in the minds of students, is a very complete, very standard and detailed work." ”

As a result, the preparation time before each class that day was much longer than the tens of minutes in class.

In order to be absolutely excellent professionally, he brushed the standardized test abroad more than ten times, and the TOEFL test alone was taken 11 times. He felt that as a teacher, only if he was perfect in his grades could he dare to say that the methodology he taught was correct.

Of course, this is only the most basic level, the second level is teaching deduction, "not only to let students learn solidly, but also to learn enjoyably." ”

In order to make the students enjoyable, he chose to "die" himself. Every classroom handout was done according to the standards of the publication - not to mention later, those handouts were really used by New Oriental as standardized lesson plans.

I still remember that the first salary he earned at Beijing New Oriental was 8,000 yuan, and the first thing he did after receiving the salary was to go to the Apple store and buy the latest computer and spend 7,998 yuan. The reason is that he felt that the PPT special effects used by Jobs at the press conference were very shocking, and he also wanted to use them in his class.

"After swiping the card, I clearly remember that there were only 2 yuan left, but I think it is worth it to make the students in the audience more engaged with better results."

During that time, that day was really like an artist without himself and without him, "no crazy devil can not live". When the students left the classroom and it was empty, he was still talking—deliberately practicing into the air.

"When I didn't have many opportunities to lecture initially, I had no anxiety at all, and I even cherished that state. Because I have a lot of time to brush up on exams, upgrade handouts, and write teaching blogs. When the time comes to get on the podium, you will naturally have confidence. ”

Unconsciously, his classes are always crowded with students. Every day before class, the table is filled with herbal tea prepared by students, as well as small cards of encouragement.

In just the second year, that day surpassed almost all of his predecessors in teacher grading, becoming the youngest outstanding teacher in history, stationed in the array of famous teachers, and ascended to the most sacred podium of New Oriental, "Shuiqing Muhua 401", this classroom is next door to the Tsinghua campus.

Being able to get on the podium of 401 at the age of 24 was a dream that I didn't dare to hope for in my junior year. But when he gave perfect marks on TOEFL speaking and GMAT writing, lectures were used as teaching models, and student ratings were often first, he really stood up.

Therefore, compared with simple effort, "sense of work" is a more rare mentality and way of thinking. A board book, a lecture note, a course, it seems to be a small thing, but when they are all treated as works, they also have quality, retention value, and accumulation effect.

Now many children have their own ideas and even have big goals. In fact, academics are like snowballs, compared to reading Vine League school every day, it is better to do every little thing around you well and do it as a work.

Xiao Cai, the "head of the Shanghai delegation" whom Bund Jun met during the epidemic, is a good example. Studying so busily, and no one asked the seventeen-year-old to take responsibility, but Xiao Cai was able to handle every package and dish without leakage, and won the trust of the neighbors in the community. This year, he became the only student admitted to Dartmouth in China -

Instead of focusing on big goals, it is necessary to establish a "sense of work" in doing things, which is precious.

Always keep a student mentality,

"Curiosity" is more important than "the aura of a prestigious school"

After leaving New Oriental, I returned to school that day for further study. He said that he should always be a student and always be curious.

The success on the New Oriental podium allowed him to enjoy the ultimate happiness that day, and also gave him the courage to keep moving forward. More importantly, let him have a curiosity like a student.

01

A dialectical view of elite schools

After being admitted to Tsinghua-MIT's MBA, Yu Minhong personally replied to the email that day to congratulate him, and hoped that he would continue to work hard and succeed in his studies with the spirit of New Oriental.

Before leaving New Oriental, I received a reply from Yu Minhong

From the beginning, the goal of that day was clear: to start your own business. His first office was located next door to Tsinghua University.

Attending a prestigious school is undoubtedly coming to a larger platform. To a larger platform, with a broader vision, more choices and resources - when studying at Tsinghua and MIT, many teachers gave some practical advice that day from a very professional point of view, which helped him a lot in entrepreneurship later.

However, although higher education is an important way to change a person's destiny, that day believed that one could not rely on and superstitious about the aura of a prestigious school, and one's own continuous efforts were the most critical factors that determined a person's future development.

On that day, it seemed that entering a prestigious school was far from the end; It's important to really go to college with questions and know where your goals are and what you want to become.

This kind of problem awareness is, in the final analysis, a kind of dialectical thinking, but also a curiosity that is constantly exploring.

02

Take the initiative to learn across disciplines

"The obstacle that limits us to higher heights in one area is often our ignorance in other areas." That day, I also felt that we should not be limited by majors in life choices, and take the initiative to learn across disciplines, "In the future, every industry will change or even disappear quickly, so learning ability should be our 'first major." ’”

He himself is a model of courage to cross multiple fields.

When I studied business school from Tsinghua University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I also went to the New York Film Academy to study for a period of time that day, and in the "Hollywood" in Los Angeles, I took up the camera and fulfilled my "movie dream" when I was a child.

After starting a business, he had no science and engineering background, because he wanted to make up for his shortage of technical training, he went to the University of Pennsylvania in the United States and gnawed a master's degree in computer science.

By chance, the chairman of the Sino-American Compassion Foundation found him that day and commissioned him to design a software for Chinese learning. It turned out that an American couple adopted six disabled Chinese children in their family, and the couple hoped that the children would not lose their mother tongue.

After learning about this that day, he was very moved, and immediately promised that he would complete the APP for free and provide it to children for free forever. With nearly a year of hard work by him and his team, the app was launched.

There was a follow-up to this, and the chairman of the foundation took the lead in shooting a documentary film for this special family, and he was excited to participate that day. The opportunity was left to those who were prepared, and after the completion of the documentary, it won more than ten European film festival awards and was even shortlisted for an Oscar.

At the film festival, he also further thought about the meaning of entrepreneurship that day, and he felt that perhaps the success of his student years depended on surpassing others, that is, self-interest; Success in the business world often depends on achieving others, that is, altruism.

In addition, the profession does not define a person, the main thing is not to set limits for yourself.

"I grew up wanting to be an art student, but I studied finance as an undergraduate, an MBA with a master's degree, and now I'm studying computer science... Don't let your profession limit your future options. ”

A "shortcut" to English learning

That day, he said that his starting point was not high, and he was not a student in the traditional sense, and he is still often struggling to balance entrepreneurship and studies.

An important turning point in student life came in the second year of high school. At that time, he met a very charismatic English teacher, which profoundly changed his view of "studying well": it turns out that studying well is not necessarily a nerd, it can also be a very cool thing.

This cool teacher in his eyes, always wearing a shirt and tie, looks capable and spiritual, but the way of teaching is not bound by textbooks, and he is always informative and whimsical. "It was my first time in class, and the teacher was amazed, laughed, and applauded."

During the college entrance examination, I scored more than 140 points in English that day.

Under the influence of this teacher, on the day that he was once unwilling to memorize words, he recited Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" with great emotion.

There are both shortcuts and no shortcuts to learning English.

01

The importance of deliberate practice

Internal drive is important, but whether a fire of enthusiasm can burn for years is a small question mark. On that day, when teachers shared their English learning experience with students, they would consciously or unconsciously emphasize the importance of deliberate practice.

Since it is deliberate, it is inevitable to imitate, and it is inevitable to insist.

For example, with the criticism of traditional education, "memorization" has become a slightly pejorative term. Many people say that learning English does not have to deliberately memorize words, because it will destroy children's interest in English, and words should be slowly accumulated by listening more, reading more and speaking more.

But this may be a misconception. In the teacher's view that day, words are like a person's muscle mass during fitness, the "internal strength" in martial arts, to learn English well, memorizing words is an inescapable hurdle.

"Memorization is a necessary action for all language learning, including the mother tongue. The more we memorize, the more we can say.

Moreover, we don't have to worry about memorizing will make children lose their original ability - in fact, as the amount of memorized content increases, the amount of original content will gradually increase. From simple recitation to memorization combined with originality, and finally to free originality, it is a very magical process.

That day, before studying at Tsinghua, I had never experienced going abroad, let alone talked about the growth environment of pure native language. If there is any good way to learn English, then deliberate practice is his secret recipe; Second, ignore some minutiae, such as not dwelling too much about whether your pronunciation is perfect at first, but focus on more content input actions.

02

Push yourself with the help of external forces

Persistence, in many cases, is a difficult thing, at this time, that day also has its own method. That is, find yourself some "shortcuts" to learn and try to get yourself interested in learning.

One way to do this is to take a study abroad exam with a complete system. The characteristic of this type of examination is that it includes four complete items of listening, speaking, reading and writing. In this way, you can learn English completely and effectively. In fact, this is a kind of "shortcut".

In addition to taking the systematic exam, the teacher also encouraged students to participate in all forms of English activities around them as much as possible, such as English speech, English debate, English drama club... Anything goes. These activities not only exert an external motivation, but also help build confidence and feelings of communication with people.

More importantly, you can make yourself love what you learn. With love there is motivation, with motivation there is execution, with execution there can be results. Moreover, once you love it, from now on, you no longer need to "force" yourself to stick to it. Rather, have fun and enjoy the love.

In fact, not only English, but anything else can be effectively learned and persevered in this way.