The village schools here are changing.
Gansu Qilihe integrated school for rural children
Enjoy a quality and warm education
In Qilihe District, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, you will not see a "lonely school" with a single teacher and a few students, but you will see groups of children chasing and fighting on the playground, and the campus is full of life.
Although it is close to the city, it is more than 85% rural. In recent years, with the acceleration of urbanization, the number of rural students has continued to decrease, and rural education is facing serious hollowing out and waste of resources. In 2020, according to the actual situation, Qilihe District of Lanzhou City will integrate the resources of 26 rural primary and secondary schools and teaching points, and form several education groups with 51 schools in the city to explore the integration of urban and rural education in the region, in an attempt to solve the dilemma of rural education.
On September 1, students from the primary school of Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School smiled at the camera. (Unless otherwise indicated, the pictures in this article are taken by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Lang Bingbing)
"There are more classmates, and the atmosphere of learning Xi is stronger"
Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School is located in a ravine, only a dozen kilometers away from the city, but more spacious than the schools in the city, where students rehearse African drums and learn Xi prints in the function room.
When he was in the third grade, Fu Mingfeng came to this school and received a surprise in the first week of school. "For the first time, I had physical education, club and psychology classes. These "firsts" gave him a new understanding and expectation of "going to school".
"In the first psychology class, the teacher told us a short story and told us to know how to share. Even after three years, Fu Mingfeng still remembers the scene clearly.
A corner of Yuanjiawan Village, West Guoyuan Town, Qilihe District, Lanzhou City. (Photo taken on September 1, 2023)
Before the school was integrated, Fu Mingfeng studied at Yuanjiawan Primary School, "I often walk alone on mountain roads, and I have been like this since kindergarten." He said that he was not afraid of the new environment, and what he was most afraid of was not having his classmates with him. "There are more teachers than classmates, music, art and physical education are taught by the main teachers, and it is difficult to pass the Chinese exam. ”
In 2020, Qilihe District explored the integration of resources of 26 rural primary and secondary schools and teaching sites, and established 10 education groups with 51 high-quality schools in urban areas. More than 200 students from seven rural primary schools and teaching sites around Fu Mingfeng were concentrated in Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School.
The sharing of high-quality teachers is the key to the integration of urban and rural education resources. Qilihe District has implemented the policy of two-way flexible flow of teachers in urban and rural areas within the education group, and realized the radiation sharing of educational resources through the exchange and demonstration of high-quality teachers.
Teachers go from "guarding students" to "teaching students". Lin Tingting, vice principal of Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School, said that most of the teachers at the teaching site are young special teachers, and the isolated and closed environment is not conducive to the improvement of their teaching ability.
Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School held an event on the playground. (Photo courtesy of Lanzhou Qilihe Rong Media Center)
After the integration, the school has equipped full-time teachers for each subject, and upgraded the playground, canteen and other hardware facilities. Lin Tingting said that under the influence of the big team, these teachers have become confident in their mental outlook, their horizons have been broadened, and they have gradually gained a sense of competition beyond themselves.
Zhou Jin, a Chinese teacher at Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School, gave full play to her own strengths and carried out various forms of teaching activities in small groups, teaching students in the club to learn pottery and painting. "Many of the ideas that were once unattainable have been revealed, and teaching has become more focused. ”
Today, the teaching atmosphere and campus atmosphere are very close to those of urban schools. The school has been renovated from the inside out, not only painting the walls of the dormitories and teaching buildings, but also laying lawns in the playground. Cao Jian, principal of Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School, said that now, football, boxing, paper-cutting and other colorful club classes have been carried out, and the big class is filled with rich activities such as rope skipping and pot dance, and everything has changed greatly.
"There are more classmates, the teachers are more professional, and the atmosphere of learning Xi is all of a sudden. After transferring to another school, Fu Mingfeng became fond of reading, and his grades improved quickly, "The bookshelves on the back wall of the classroom are full of books! At most in a day, I can read it for two hours, and I have read it all over the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Journey to the West! I can't put down these books!"
Handicrafts of students of Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School. (Photo taken on September 1, 2023)
"School is like a 'home'", taking the school bus back and forth
The so-called back mountain, over the mountain, into the ditch is called the back mountain, the baby to go to school basically have to walk more than an hour...... Local villagers point to the mountains in the distance and describe the hardships of their children's schooling.
Yang Xueyi, principal of Wangguanying Central School, said that most of the students at the teaching site are left-behind families, who have long lacked the company of their parents, and are raised by grandfathers and grandmothers from generation to generation. Isolated teaching points and boring learning Xi make it impossible for them to participate in normal group life, and they dare not look directly and take the initiative to greet people when they meet them.
In the context of the urban-rural integration education reform, the integrated school provides apartments for these students. "Boarding is not one-size-fits-all and can be flexibly adjusted. Wang Weifu, director of the teaching and research department of the Education Bureau of Qilihe District, Lanzhou City, said: "Parents of junior students can be sent home, eat breakfast at school, eat and live at noon, and take home at night, we advocate parents to participate in their children's education as much as possible." ”
Lu Zuowang, 12 years old this year, whose parents work outside the home all the year round, has lived with his grandfather since he was a child, and he is eager to make more friends and participate in collective life, but Shaojiawa Primary School, which had only 21 students before, could not achieve it at all. In 2020, all the students of the "shrinking" primary school near Lu Zuowang's primary school were transferred to Songjiagou Primary School, which has convenient transportation, and Lu Zuowang moved into the school's student apartment.
When he saw Lu Zuowang again, he had more friends by his side. On the basketball court, he broke through with the ball, dunked, high-fived and cheered with his teammates. His face flushed slightly in the sunlight and he smiled brightly.
Zhu Yi, principal of Songjiagou Primary School, said that Lu Zuowang, like other children living in the dormitory, likes dormitory life very much, becoming more confident and generous, and more willing to open himself up and participate in the collective life of mutual help and friendship. In order to take care of the students' lives, the school hires the extra teachers after the integration as the life teachers of the apartment, and pays attention to cultivating good life Xi habits and behaviors while giving students life and emotional companionship.
Li Jiadong is the dormitory director of Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School, and in addition to boarding management, he is also responsible for picking up and dropping off children every week. "Every Friday, four school buses will take the students to their parents along five optimized routes. Although it takes a lot of time, it can't delay the reunion of family affection. ”
The mountains here are deep and deep, especially in winter, and the school bus will face the embarrassment of difficult travel. Zang Xuling, a life teacher, said: "In the winter of 2021, there was snowfall, heavy snow closed the mountains, the roads were slippery, and the students who had a route could not take the bus home on the weekend. ”
Lu Jinbin (first from right) and his sister and brother play on the wheat straw stack in front of their homes. (Photo taken on September 1, 2023)
Zang Xuling used to be a math teacher at Yaoling Primary School for fourth-grader Lu Jinbin. She said that Lu Jinbin had just transferred to another school three years ago, and his hair was an inch long, so he didn't dare to look up at people. On the first day of reporting to the new school, Zang Xuling took him to get a haircut, wash his face, and wash his clothes......
Now, Lu Jinbin, his sister Lu Jinling, and his sister Lu Jinyu are studying in Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School.
Transformation happens slowly and day by day. Now Lu Jinbin sees that the teacher is no longer hiding. One day in the ideological and moral class, Lu Jinbin began to be "naughty". Zang Xuling said with a smile: "When I heard the news, my first reaction was very gratifying, which shows that the children are slowly integrating into the big family." ”
At the end of the week, Lu Jinbin's sister and brother took a school bus through the winding mountain road back to the village, and 74-year-old grandfather Zhao Huaibao was already standing at the school bus pick-up point at the entrance of the village waiting for them. On the way home, they ran in front, and grandpa followed.
"I don't read much, and I can only help the children with their Xi. Seeing that they can be fed, clothed, and grow up healthily in the new school, and can ask teachers questions that they don't know, I finally feel at ease. Zhao Huaibao said.
The students of the Primary School of No. 29 Secondary School are accompanied by their life teacher on the school bus. (Photo taken on September 1, 2023)
We look forward to the healthy growth of more children
"Student-oriented, rooted in the countryside. Wang Wei, director of the Education Bureau of Qilihe District, Lanzhou City, said: "After the centralized operation of the school, we closely follow the 'rural revitalization', give full play to the advantages of rural education, and explore the integration of after-school services and local culture, which has become the most unique education here." ”
The village primary schools managed by Wangguanying Central School in Huangyu Town, Qilihe District, have been consolidated from 21 in 2014 to 4 at present. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, as soon as the bell rang for the end of class, the children of Wangguanying Primary School couldn't wait to run to the playground. Everyone quickly lined up, holding a drum in their left hand and a whip in their right hand, and the children sometimes jumped and played, sometimes lifting and playing, accompanied by the rhythmic whistle of the physical education teacher, the movements rose and fell in a certain degree, and the drum sounded sonorously.
The Taiping drum carries a strong sense of nostalgia, and as soon as the drum sounds, the local complex here will be awakened. Yang Xueyi, principal of Wangguanying Central School, said that in 2020, the school will explore the full integration of education and local customs, introduce after-school services in schools, use rural resources, invite experts, scholars and folk artists into the classroom, and at the same time break through the restrictions of rural areas Xi......
Tian Xinyue, a fifth-grade student at Wangguanying Primary School, has been practicing Xi Lanzhou Taiping Drum for some time. "In the past, whenever the Taiping drum sounded in the village, my friends and I would run to see the excitement. I found out that it was not so easy to learn. There are many patterns of Taiping drums, and after playing for a while, you will sweat profusely. ”
From drumming to formation drills, children need to learn at least one year before they can master the basics. Mao Xiping, a physical arts teacher at the school, said. "Since the children played the Lanzhou Taiping Drum, their spirit has changed, they are more optimistic and confident, and their physical fitness has also been improved. The children also have a deeper understanding of the local culture. ”
Not only the Taiping drums in their hometowns, but also other art forms such as African drums can be exposed to the classroom as well. The picture shows the students of Lanzhou No. 29 Middle School learning to Xi African drums. (Photo taken on September 1, 2023)
For rural children, there is more potential to be explored. Nan Zhanjun, director of the Lanzhou Municipal Education Bureau, said that in the process of integrating urban and rural education, it is necessary to take into account the actual situation of each child, so that they can enjoy a quality and warm education. "Let the concept of 'no one be left behind' effectively protect the fairness of education, which is needed in many villages today. ”
Wang Wei introduced that in the process of integrating educational resources, according to the demands of parents and the willingness to go to school, more than 400 students were diverted nearby, and 146 teachers were exchanged and deployed. At present, it can save about 9 million yuan in education expenditure every year, and invest the saved funds in places where rural education is more needed, such as improving and integrating school hardware facilities, building student apartments, and investing in school buses.
At present, Qilihe District invests special funds in rural schools every year to improve the quality of rural schools that integrate resources. The deployment of advanced educational equipment such as "Banbantong", smart blackboards, and digital recording classrooms has enabled all rural schools to achieve full coverage of digital educational resources.
There are still many things to be done to revitalize rural education, and it still needs to be strengthened by many parties to persist in this model: such as cracking the "integration but not grouping" of urban-rural integration of running schools, whether high-quality resources continue to flow to the countryside, how to continue to support in the case of heavy financial burden, and how to strengthen the safety of school buses walking around the mountains...... This series of problems still needs to be explored, practiced, and solved. Rui Wengang, secretary of the Qilihe District Party Committee of Lanzhou City, said: "But 'putting every student in mind' is our common philosophy. We will continue to provide a high-quality and warm educational environment for rural children, and hope that more students will become talents for rural revitalization. ”
Teach students according to their aptitude and adapt measures to local conditions
May all around the village schools
You can explore your own way to solve the problem!
Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph WeChat public account
Authors: Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporters Bai Liping and Ren Yanxin