A few days ago, Wu Yefan, a third-grade student studying at the Second Central Primary School in Pudong New Area, found a picture error in the art textbook with careful observation and knowledge reserves. As a result, the relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Education Publishing House came to Wu Yefan's school and presented her with two sets of "Natural Plants" series of books, thanking her for pointing out the errors in the book. The teacher of the publishing house came to the door to thank him, which made Wu Yefan excited, and that night, the 10-year-old Xiaoyuan happily read "Natural Plants", which stimulated her strong interest in learning biology.
Recently, there have been reports across the country of primary and secondary school students pointing out errors in textbooks. In the view of education experts, what is very valuable is that the children's rich knowledge does not come from make-up classes or exercise banks, but from life and from the natural classrooms set up between the vast world. After the "double subtraction" landed, experts believe that this kind of "touch life" learning can stimulate students' innovation and curiosity, and also make the family life more rich and diverse.
The museum's "little enthusiast" found an error in the art textbook
"At the time, I thought this work called 'Leaves' was very familiar." Wu Yefan recalled, "Isn't this the fossil sea lily I saw in the Museum of Nature!" ”
At the beginning of this year, on the first day of school in 2021, Wu Yefan, who was reading the second grade at the time, took out his newly received textbook with anticipation and curiosity and looked it back and forth. When she saw the art textbook for the second semester of the second year, the picture in the upper right corner of page 13 caught her eye—a very familiar picture was quoted in the book, marked as "Leaves" modern pottery work.
Wu Yefan's mother told reporters that Wu Yefan is a "little enthusiast" of the Shanghai Museum of Natural History, and every holiday she will go to the self-museum to "punch the clock", and the fossils in the paleontological area are as precious as her family.
With doubts, Wu Yefan found his father for verification, and finally agreed that the two were indeed similar.
Parents and teachers encourage children to dare to question and be good at verification
After a primary school student questioned the textbook, a more valuable scene appeared: the parents, teachers, and even researchers of the Museum of Natural History encouraged Wu Yefan to dare to question, be good at verification, and trace back to the source to find the real answer.
The day after the problem was discovered, Dad took Wu Yefan on another trip to the Natural History Museum. Through the on-site examination and picture comparison of the museum staff, it was confirmed that there were indeed factual problems in the pictures of "Leaves" modern ceramic works on the Second Grade Art Textbook of the Shanghai Education Edition. "Our museum believes that the children's judgment is correct, and the illustrations in the primary school art textbook are indeed wrong." The staff of the self-museum said. At present, the publishing house has traced the source of the error for the first time and reported it for revision.
Absorb richer knowledge in the ocean of living
In recent years, primary and secondary school students have "corrected" their teaching materials, which is not an isolated case. Not long ago, Xiao Cui, a 12-year-old student in Shenyang, also found that the picture of the word "Bee" in the English book was not a bee, but an aphid-eating fly. These primary and secondary school students who dare to question the teaching materials are exclaimed by netizens that "touching knowledge reserves" often come from life experience.
Lu Feiwen, deputy director of the Shanghai Youth Research Center, said that this is a gratifying phenomenon, especially after the "double reduction", children are expected to become small masters of learning, and go to places of interest to extend and expand learning in their spare time. Parents and teachers should encourage children to become small masters of the family and small masters of society, broaden the paths and channels of learning, and master knowledge and skills in real life situations.
Author: Zhang Peng
Edit: Wang Xing