Ask Tao Xingzhi for the "double subtraction" answer

Editor's note: October 18 this year marks the 130th anniversary of Mr. Tao Xingzhi's birth. A few months ago, the CPC Central Committee And the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-campus Training on Students in the Compulsory Education Stage," which has made some gratifying changes after the implementation of the education front. However, the education reform under the "double reduction" still faces many unsolved problems. To this end, this edition invites Tao Xingzhi research expert Chu Zhaohui to have a dialogue with Tao Xingzhi's writings on the issue of "double subtraction" and take this as a commemoration.

Spring is not a reading day: closed in front of the church, stuffy short life source.

Spring is not a day of reading: lift the curtain and run to nature.

Spring is not a reading day: birds singing tree tips, flowers laughing west garden.

Spring is not a reading day: rather than dreaming of butterflies, sleeping with flowers.

Spring is not a reading day: put a paper kite, fly for half a day.

Spring is not a day of reading: before the dancing goose wind, trance like a god.

Spring is not a reading day: grazing cattle by the pond, barefoot farming.

Spring is not a day of reading: climbing a mountain is like climbing nine days.

Spring is not a reading day: work strikes and visits the garden, and there is sweetness in bitterness.

Spring is not a reading day: the one who cares, too, is annoying!

Spring is not a book day: wandering in the book, either dull or insane.

——The song "Spring is not a reading day" Tao Xingzhi Lyrics Zhao Yuanren Qu

In 1917, Tao Xingzhi returned to the motherland with the ambition that every Chinese could be educated. After several years of practice, he saw that education is not only a question of whether there is a problem or not, and whether it is universal or not, but also a question of what kind of concept to run education, participate in education, and receive education. The disconnection, isolation, contradiction and harm between education and life are prominent problems in education, and how to reduce and eliminate education that harms life and growth has become a big problem that must be faced after the popularization of education. In the eyes of many people, education is just reading, education is only examinations, and education is only the pursuit of academic degrees, which directly hinders people from pursuing happiness through education, so that education becomes a burden and restriction for people.

"Living Education" looks for the happiness of education

Tao Xingzhi advocates "living education" and hopes that everyone will "read living books, live books, and read books live". At present, the academic burden of students is too heavy, and the source is due to the fact that education is only regarded as reading and examination in concept.

The ancients often said, "The plan of the year lies in the spring", but Tao Xingzhi said, "Spring is not a reading day", as if to rewrite the ancient precepts. On April 15, 1931, Tao Xingzhi signed as a "free poet" and published a poem entitled "Spring is not a reading day" in the inaugural issue of Teacher Training Students, trying to make people distinguish the differences and connections between reading, examination, study, and education.

Tao Xingzhi is not to let the child not read, but to think that the child's growth plan can not be limited to books, classroom teaching and examinations, to read more "living books" in this season that is most suitable for close to nature, not only to let him get the knowledge of books, but also to get the knowledge of nature, and then through the "knowledge as a graft", the relatives, smells, and knowledge will be integrated to generate a smart brain, with a healthy physique and an interesting and sound soul.

Tao Xingzhi is not generally opposed to reading, but opposes and warns people not to enter the vicious circle of "reading dead books, dead reading, reading dead", he advocates "living education", hoping that everyone will "read living books, live reading, reading live". He said, "Flowers and plants are living books, trees are living books, birds, animals, insects, microorganisms are living books, mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, storms, rains and snow, and celestial movements are all living books" "Living people, living problems, living culture, living martial arts, living worlds, living universes, and living changes are all living treasure houses of knowledge, and they are all living books." He believes that books are only one of the tools for education and learning, advocating the use of books in life, rather than reading as the whole of education, and writing poems: "Using books is like using knives, and you are not happy to sharpen yourself." If you don't cut vegetables, why do you see your mother-in-law?" That is, books are only educationally useful for the growth and pursuit of happiness.

At present, the academic burden of students is too heavy, the source is due to the fact that education is only regarded as reading and examination, ignoring the love of nature, exploring in nature, exercising in society, ignoring the educational value of labor, sports and leisure, and ignoring nature and society is the best enlightenment teacher for children. Parents, students, teachers and even some education administrators have entered such a misunderstanding, and they have to use a standard to compete who has the better effect in this misunderstanding, so that many people cannot extricate themselves. As long as such educational ideologies and concepts do not change, the burden on the balance of educational values will become heavier and heavier, the happiness side will become more and more light, the element of happiness in life or education will become more and more rare, and even the winners on this track will greatly increase the proportion of people who enter tragedy after a short period of joy.

"Look up and be the master of learning"

Tao Xingzhi called for education to be "six liberations" and to return the basic rights and freedoms of learning to children. For now, let the learner become the real master of learning in order to truly "reduce the burden".

Once, When Tao Xingzhi saw that students used the idiom "bury their heads in hard work" when writing essays, he did not take it for granted that he changed it to "look up and enjoy hard work", which are two learning attitudes and ways with vastly different effects. If you "bury your head in hard work", you can only be like a donkey pulling the mill, never stopping around the millstone, the more you work harder, and eventually dry yourself up, you may not be able to benefit others and society; "look up and enjoy the work" needs to always see the direction, independently choose the route and way, rhythm, and content, with curiosity, the more you work, the happier you are, there is a steady stream of endogenous power, you can continue to grow, you can go longer than those who are buried in hard work, and you can also make yourself play the greatest possible role in social development and the pursuit of happiness of others.

Similarly, if the "burden reduction" is still limited to the metaphysical level of reduced operations, the goal will never be achieved. Because the burden is always relative to a person's will, endurance and needs, it needs to be judged according to the relationship and state of the learning party and the content of the learning. Learning the content of the same unit of knowledge may be too easy for one student and too heavy for another. A voluntary and autonomous learner, even if the content of the learning is difficult, he will also get pleasure from overcoming the difficulties, but if the content of the learning is not selected by him, nor can he learn according to the way he is used to and is good at, and may not prove how much value it has to the learner's life, learning will become a heavy burden.

In short, from the perspective of the subject, let the learner become the real master of learning in order to truly "reduce the burden". Tao Xingzhi's educational theory repeatedly emphasizes the cultivation of masters, training people to be their own masters, the masters of society, and the masters of the country. Fang Youyan, a student of Tao Xingzhi's school at Xiaozhuang Normal School, believed that the life education founded by Tao Xingzhi appeared in a revolutionary posture from the very beginning, that he wanted to teach the people to rise up and be masters, and that the revolution "can only teach people to bow down and obey, and only because of the old tradition of not knowing the creation of traditional education." Tao Xingzhi himself also wrote a poem: "Unveiling the revolutionary flag, flying on the side of Laoshan Mountain, where the wind and clouds roar, the nerd loses his soul." Don't be scared of nerds! The past is not responsible. Fit the hearts of adults and render children's colors. ”

Teach people to be the master needs to start from independent learning, if a person lives in an involuntary state for a long time, can not learn independently for a long time, the time, space, content, and theme of learning are arranged by parents and teachers, they have no opportunity to choose, it is difficult to develop the ability to choose and be autonomous, it will form a passive personality, it is difficult to be autonomous, such education is difficult to cultivate real masters, and it is impossible to truly achieve "burden reduction".

In view of the problem that the old education was too much bound to students, Tao Xingzhi said with an image and irony, just like the "three-inch golden lotus" after being wrapped in small feet, such education can only cultivate students into "three-inch golden heads", which not only restricts people's autonomy, but also destroys people's innate creativity. He called for the need for "six emancipations" in education: the emancipation of children's minds so that they can think; the emancipation of children's hands so that they can do it; the emancipation of children's eyes so that they can see; the emancipation of children's mouths so that they can speak; the emancipation of children's space so that they can contact nature and society; the liberation of children's time, without forcing them to rush to the examination, so that they can learn what they desire. In short, the fundamental right and freedom to learn is returned to children.

Everyone's nature is inclined to become the master of learning, tao Xingzhi's educational practice and theoretical characteristics are automatic and creative, people who are subdued by external pressure will lose autonomy, and the external environment has in fact become the main reason that hinders students from being the master of learning. To ensure that students become the masters of learning, it is necessary to ensure the teaching autonomy of teachers at the same time, to give full play to the innovation and autonomy of the school as much as possible, and to improve the management and evaluation of education and teaching.

Be a "man of man" to participate in the competition rationally

Tao Xingzhi advocates being a "person among men", everyone is equal, not to be a "person above the person", nor to be a "person under the person". "Seek equality at the foothold and strive for freedom at the head", that is, do not blindly participate in the competition of those who are "not willing to fall behind".

To a large extent, the academic pressure of students comes from the social and cultural environment in which everyone strives to be "superior to others", and the competition of everyone who is "not willing to be left behind" in such an environment. Many parents use "eat bitterly, be a good person" to educate their children to study hard, and take various measures to put pressure on their children. When Tao Xingzhi saw that some students had written this sentence that was deeply rooted in China in their essays, he changed it to: "Eat bitterly and not be a superior person."

Tao Xingzhi's criticism of the education of cultivating "people on top" is sharp and profound, calling it "cannibalism" education, one way is to teach people to "eat others", through instilling that "everything is inferior, only reading is high", taking the path of reading books and becoming an official, and grabbing the fruits of other people's labor after becoming a "superior person"; the other way is to "eat oneself", in the name of education, he hurts his body, loses his own nature and normal thinking ability, and is difficult to establish a correct world outlook, outlook on life, and values. Failure to acquire productive life skills, difficulty in "brain to hand", destroying everyone's autonomy and creativity.

In view of the deep-rooted pursuit of being a "person above man" in China, Tao Xingzhi advocates being a "person among people", everyone is equal, not to be a "person above the person", nor to be a "person under the person". From an individual point of view, people who pursue to be "people above people" must still be "people under people"; from a social point of view, when most of them are pursuing to be "people on top", it will inevitably aggravate inequality and expand the difference in ranks, thus causing increased tension between people, which is reflected in education.

If we take "people among people" as the goal, what we want to build is a society in which everyone is equal, there is no significant hierarchical difference and mutual ownership relationship between people, interpersonal tension can be greatly reduced, and then through the establishment of a social mechanism of mutual respect, incentive and moderate competition that "seeks equality at the foothold and strives for freedom at the head", a more equal and dynamic social relationship is established, so that the social concepts, systems and conditions that cause students' academic competition will be improved, and the academic pressure will be greatly reduced.

Because the traditional concept of hierarchy still exists, there is still a distinction between social status and income in the current society, so that the concept of being a "superior person" is still more common in society, and the existing system and mechanism have opened the door of convenience for people with this concept to a certain extent, so that their wishes can be realized and can benefit from it, so the pursuit of "people on top" is still a strong or even coercive force for many parents to educate their children, or children to drive and demand themselves.

Therefore, to reduce the current excessive academic burden and pressure on further education and school choice, and to reduce excessive training, it is necessary to eliminate the conceptual basis of pursuing "people on top" and the foundation of the actual institutional mechanism from the root. At the same time, in accordance with the "equality" advocated by the core values of socialism, educate students to be "people among people", devote themselves to creating an equal society, and constantly improve all aspects of social systems and mechanisms related to it, so that it gradually reduces the profit space for those who pursue to be "people on top", and is more and more conducive to protecting the rights of those who pursue to be "people among people". Long-term persistence will certainly see its effectiveness in reducing academic pressure.

"Created Exams" Truly "Reduces the Burden" for Students

Tao Xingzhi called for "stopping the examination of the words that destroy the power of life; and initiating the examination of the creation of the power of life." At present, it is necessary to further deepen the reform of the education evaluation system and release stronger impetus for the "double reduction".

How to evaluate students and education determines the way students and education parties live. 90 years ago, Tao Xingzhi had a clear understanding of this, and in 1934 he published "The Examination of Killing and the Examination of Creation", which clearly opposed the "Examination".

Tao Xingzhi believes that the logic of the examination is what to learn, not what to learn, is to use the same standard to evaluate different people, the examination can be tested is the homogeneous part of all people, can not test the personalized creative talent. In addition, the pressure of the examination will also inhibit the growth and development of people's creative talents, resulting in "students are learning to take the exam, and teachers are teaching people to take the exam." What the examination requires must be taught, and what the examination institute does not want must not be taught. Therefore, singing is no longer taught, drawing is not taught, gymnastics is not taught, household chores are not taught, agronomy is not taught, craftsmanship is not taught, scientific experiments are not done, and the so-called extracurricular activities are not taught. All you're teaching is books, just exam guides! Education is equal to reading; reading is equal to catching up with examinations. Fun, traditional Chinese education! Therefore, Tao Xingzhi objected: "Driving away the flesh, driving away the blood, and even driving away the lives of some people... Driving away a meaningful life... The examination that drove away the future of the Chinese nation" called for "the cessation of the examination of the words that destroy the vitality; and the initiation of the examination of the creation of the cultivation of the vitality."

According to Tao Xingzhi, the difference between the examination and the examination is that the former examines the essence of life. For example, how strong are the teachers and students in the school and the people around them? What is the evidence? To what extent have teachers, students and people around them used both hands and brains? How many are gaining continued intellectual curiosity? What is the evidence? To what extent have teachers, students and the people around them reached in transforming the material and social environment? What is the evidence?

In short, the scope of the examination is expanded from a number of disciplines to the whole of life, the examination is based on empirical evidence, the examination is based on the whole to determine the weight of each part, the goal of the examination is to make education close to life, increase people's vitality, guide education to serve people's lives more closely, develop upwards, achieve life goals, and create a happier life.

Tao Xingzhi said that the examination did not form a systematic and operable system, but later the theory and practice of education evaluation in various countries in the world developed in such a general direction. Therefore, learning and effectively applying the theory and practice of evaluation based on the whole, empirical, pluralistic and comprehensive, and improving the education evaluation system, including the examination enrollment system, can create better conditions for "reducing burden".

(Author: Chu Zhaohui, Research Fellow, Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences)