China.com, September 8 (Reporter Liu Jia) On September 1, primary and secondary schools in many places across the country ushered in a new semester. But "welcome" does not "quit the old", and the requirements for "standardization" on campus continue: uniform hairstyles, uniform book covers, and even the designation of a uniform brand of pencil... In today's diversified development of education and the pursuit of personalized education paths, can the "standardized barriers" of the campus activate students' innovative thinking?
"Vanished" book cover + stereotyped short hair "Standardization" is everywhere
It should have been a new semester full of expectations, but Xiaoyu's "suffering" had to "start from the beginning". As a freshman in junior high school, he was told by his teacher on the day he returned to school that he needed a uniform hairstyle: no more than one finger in length for boys, short hair for girls and showing his ears. Immersed in the "Hogwarts House style" since childhood, his heart is full of fantasies and yearning for campus life. But the "haircut order" hit the head, so that Xiaoyu was instantly pulled back to reality. "On the day he cut his hair, he locked himself in his room all day, and the 'compliant' hairstyle made him look stupid." Xiaoyu's mother told China.com.
Coincidentally. Mr. Wang, who has just become a parent of a first-grade student, received a school-wide "standardization" proposal on the day of registration: all textbooks should use transparent self-adhesive book covers, and exercise books should use transparent book cover covers. At the parent-teacher meeting of new students and the subsequent class notification group, the teacher clearly attached a picture showing the style and specifications of such book covers.
China.com reporters visited a number of stationery stores and learned that the current "all" on the market are transparent book covers, and the fancy book covers many years ago are almost extinct. The owner also revealed that it is not new for transparent book covers to "encroach" on the market, and "the school's requirements determine the supply of the market", so the "disappearing" book covers have become "tears of the times".
In addition to book covers and hairstyles, there are various "standardized" regulations on campus that are either conventional, or uploaded. From pencil cases, rulers for fancy styles, white sneakers styles and other items standard; Behavioral standards such as the placement of personal desk items, the distance between standing and the desk and chair, and whether the writing of equal signs are used with a ruler.
Students do exercises in groups on the playground. Image source: Visual China
"Soft Link" Personal Evaluation may cause students to abandon their books to the end
According to feedback from parents in various school segments, "standardized" regulations are emerging one after another, starting as early as 2012 or even earlier. But it's worth noting that these regulations are somehow "soft-related" to a child's school evaluation.
In 2012, China Youth Daily published a self-report article titled "What kind of child will I harvest in 6 years", in which the author shared his first-grade daughter's first school experience. She said that when parents took the purchase list listed by the teacher and went to the supermarket to carefully prepare stationery supplies, her daughter was still criticized by the teacher for the non-compliance of the white dancing shoes. The reason is that "the teacher explained that you must buy a white one, and the front is a wide elastic band instead of thin laces." After several years, in 2017, a netizen blew himself up, and his son, who had just entered the first grade of primary school, was criticized by the teacher for using the old wall calendar at home to wrap a book cover: "If you don't listen to the teacher, no matter how good your homework is, you are not a qualified student." Today, a head of the junior family told China.com that her daughter was criticized by the teacher and ordered to cut again because her hairstyle still did not meet the requirements of the school. In a fit of rage, the daughter shaved her hair to an almost "flat head".
When excessive "standardized" rules are linked to student evaluation, will this cause a child's "stress response"? In this regard, Zhang Shuang, deputy dean of the School of Education of Capital Normal University, explained his views to China.com reporters. "Children have a behavior that is close to instinct, that is, when completing a task, they do not consider the core meaning and purpose of the task, but try to do the best part of themselves." She used the example of "drawing equal signs with a ruler" proposed by individual schools to emphasize that when a child blindly caters to the horizontal standard of equal signs, he will ignore the thinking process of solving the problem itself.
Facing up to "standardization" is to "guide" rather than "evaluate"
The compulsory education stage is a key period for the formation of behavioral habits of primary and secondary school students, which will lay the foundation for students to smoothly enter "socialization" in the future. But how to grasp the scale of "standardization", and will excessive "standardization" inhibit students' innovative thinking?
Ni Baiming, principal of Zhongguancun No. 2 Primary School in Haidian District, said in an interview with China.com that the "standardization" of education should be more common in quantifiable objective ranges, such as the height and density of desks and chairs, indoor light and temperature, etc. However, on subjective issues, education should maintain an open, inclusive and developmental attitude, such as students' hairstyles, dresses, and communication styles. However, for the cultivation of some behavioral habits, especially at the beginning of basic education, primary schools should adhere to the fundamental position and attributes of "cultivating people with virtue". He took Zhongguancun No. 2 Primary School's educational goal of cultivating "elegant teenagers" as an example, and the school advocated students to cultivate the good qualities and behavior style of knowing how to communicate, but also knowing how to communicate elegantly. To this end, the school has standardized the standing posture of students and the behavior of teachers and students when standing up to answer questions in class. But Ni Baiming stressed that this norm mainly emphasizes guidance, not evaluation.
In this regard, Zhang Shuang holds the same view. She believes that in the process of helping students to "socialize", the cultivation education and daily behavior norms of primary and secondary schools play an indispensable role. "The ultimate goal of our students is to enable them to move more calmly into society, and in a group environment, individuals need to have basic norms and norms." Zhang Shuang cites uniform dress as an example, she believes that this is a basic sense of ritual, and overly ostentatious dressing or grooming may distract students, and on the other hand, may also cause comparisons between students. However, she also stressed that in the process of formulating and implementing individual "standardization" regulations, attention should be paid to overkill, especially not "one-size-fits-all", which is the key to testing the professionalism of schools and teachers.
Under the premise of "socialization", the school sets some norms and guidelines, will it restrict innovative thinking? In this regard, Ni Baiming believes that innovative thinking mainly arises from classrooms and courses, and schools mainly provide space and platforms for students with different needs and levels to stimulate creativity, critical thinking and execution through "wide-caliber" curriculum supply and multi-level training mode, and can formulate appropriate behavioral norms as a kind of assistance.
(The pictures in the article are from Visual China and may not be reproduced without permission.) ）