This is an article written more than a decade ago, flipped out today, and communicated with friends of the headlines.
I met Xiao Li at the city's primary school math lecture competition. His novel teaching philosophy, witty and humorous language, and just the right guidance pushed the teaching to a climax again and again, and bursts of applause broke out from the audience from time to time. After the lecture, he smiled and talked about the people-oriented teaching concept. His profound understanding of the new educational concept and its wonderful application won the praise of the judges.
Later, Xiao Li's township engaged in a competition for principals. His superb teaching skills, elegant manners and humanistic management concept once again conquered the teachers present. He competed for the principal of a complete elementary school with a high vote. We have always been optimistic about him and believe that he will definitely make great achievements in education management.
A regular check-up happened to pass by his school, and we all proposed to see Xiao Li, who had been absent for a long time. When we arrived at the school, we were taken aback, the campus was full of confetti, and the garden was overgrown with weeds. Coincidentally, during recess, many students are chasing and fighting; Teachers in the office were laughing and laughing, the room was full of smoke, and several female teachers were choked by cigarettes and coughed. We had to turn around and enter the principal's room, Xiao Li was preparing for class, and it seemed very awkward to see us.
Xiao Li told us that most of the teachers in this school are private teachers who have turned regular, are generally older, conservative in their thinking, have been working in this school for many years, have not participated in any formal training, the teaching methods are relatively old, the townships and schools have carried out many new curriculum reform training for teachers, but there is almost no effect, and Xiao Li's teaching reform ideas have become a bubble.
Xiao Li recalled that at the beginning, he was welcomed by the teachers of the school, and everyone commented that the new principal had a human touch in management, which was also what Xiao Li pursued. It didn't take long and everything seemed to change. Taking cleaning as an example, the school office is lined up for duty, and everything depends on everyone's conscious cleaning. Every time Xiao Li was on duty, he would go to the teacher's office to clean, but when it was the teacher's turn, the office was messy and dirty, and no one thought of cleaning. So the school introduced some systems with a punitive nature, and for various reasons, it was ultimately not implemented. Xiao Li said that he was fully committed to the school, and in order to do a good job, he moved his family to the school. The principal of the other schools did not teach, and he did two classes of mathematics. In terms of school management, he also often talks with teachers, and he also sets an example in his work, and many things in the school fully respect the opinions of each staff member. Why did you end up in such a situation?
On the way back, several of us fell into contemplation.
It should be recognized that putting people first is conducive to the establishment of a democratic and harmonious educational environment and to stimulating the creative vitality of everyone, which is welcomed by everyone. But all this should be based on the mobilization of work enthusiasm, on the premise of improving the efficiency of work and completing educational goals. If the goal of unity is lost, this people-oriented will become a "hotbed" of lazy thinking, making management arbitrary and chaotic.
What is more important about management thinking is adaptability, which can promote development, and what can be accepted and implemented by everyone is good management. Looking at our educational reality, many new educational concepts do not yet have good room for development. In a group of teachers with low overall quality, excessive emphasis on democracy and freedom, and excessive emphasis on people-oriented management will lead to an extreme. Management cannot be suitable for everyone, management does not need to be understood by everyone, and people should be based on the majority of teachers and students.
I thought of an "iron-fisted headmaster" I knew, and every "mess" became organized under his command. He was "arbitrary", identifying work goals and plans that half of the people would implement through him. He is very "domineering", and the middle-level cadres who only promise to promise have no say in front of him. He has no "human touch", and he has to implement the results of every work, and even hold him accountable. In a routine spot check of school teaching, a teacher was entangled in family affairs and failed to correct several unit test questions in time. At the school-wide faculty meeting, the principal asked the teacher, the director of instruction, and the vice principal in charge of teaching to review and order rectification. This management method began to make many teachers feel breathless. But this kind of management, a year later, the school's management standardization, teaching quality has also improved, teachers not only no longer feel depressed, but feel more and more spirited, work more and more relaxed.
It seems that based on human development is the real sense of people-oriented. It is wrong to cling to the freedom and feelings of some people for a while, which will inevitably affect the long-term interests of most teachers and students, not only is society not recognized, parents are not satisfied, but also contrary to the goal of education, and ultimately untenable.