Text |Song Defa.
It feels like you're very similar to Chen Pingyuan: a professor in the Chinese department on the one hand, and a university problem on the other. There is the Chen Plain of Peking University in the north, and Song Defa of Hunan University in the south. This kind of compliment, similar to "you are getting thinner" and "you are getting more and more handsome", makes people happy, but I don't take it too seriously. I immediately replied, "Thank you so much!" But it doesn't look like a god! The level is too far apart! The popularity is too far away! The influence is too far apart! ”。
As a professor of literature, in addition to professional research, I am also committed to education research, which is the "similarity" between me and Chen Pingyuan, but the gap between me and him is all-round and irreparable. I am a junior, reader, and loyal "fan" of Chen Pingyuan. His writing is a model of Chinese writing, which I have always imitated and never hoped to surpass. I get a lot of empathy and inspiration from his educational research, but my research on education stems from an inner life impulse and individualized career pursuit. Therefore, I can also talk about "my educational philosophy and practice", and I can talk about my own experiences, experiences, feelings and opinions.
Yearn for the podium. In 2002, after graduating with a master's degree, I stayed on to teach at the university and became an honorable university teacher. A university teacher "yearns for the podium", just like a player yearns for the pitch or a horse yearns for the grassland, and there is no need for a reason.
Longing for the podium is due to my identity as a "teacher". Different identities require different responsibilities. In my "stereotype", "standing on the podium" is the signature duty and iconic image of a teacher. University teachers are also teachers, and it is natural to "stand on the podium", and it is reasonable to yearn for "standing on the podium".
yearning for the podium" is also because I have the blood of "normal students" in my body. I majored in Chinese language and literature education as an undergraduate, and I received the rigorous training that a "normal student" receives, including writing on boards, preparing lessons, lecturing, and speaking Mandarin. Later, I was admitted to graduate school and chose to become a university teacher.
In 2021, I went back to my alma mater, Shau Polytechnic University, to give a lecture, and in the face of the teachers who taught me back then, I said a very affectionate sentence: "Many years have passed, my hair has turned white, my body has become fat, and my face has changed vicissitudes, but there are three things that have not changed, that is, the identity of a teacher has not changed, the responsibilities of teachers have not changed, and the dream of being a good teacher has not changed. ”
"Longing for the podium" is also the result of my personalized career choice. This option may not be the best choice, but it is the best choice for me. For me, the right fit is the best.
"yearning for the podium" is of course also an intrinsic need for "teaching". From the perspective of pedagogy, "yearning for the podium" means respecting, liking and being good at "lecturing". Under the impact of trendy concepts such as "student-centered", "flipped classroom" and "OBE concept", the teaching method seems to have become an outdated teaching method. As everyone knows, although the teaching method has its limitations, whether it is in the past or present, abroad or at home, the teaching method is one of the classic and effective teaching methods. A low-level lecture is indoctrination, and a high-level lecture is likewise heuristic teaching. What we want to oppose is a low level of teaching, not the teaching method itself.
I "yearn for the podium", in fact, I hope that I can become a good teacher. Great countries need "craftsmen", and universities also need "teaching craftsmen". If a teacher really wants to teach books well, he also needs to be creative and it is an art.
Now the country calls on us to be "Mr. Big", but "Mr. Big" is not created out of thin air. "Mr. Big" first stood out from the "teaching craftsman" and grew up on the basis of "teaching craftsman". It is difficult for a teacher who has never been a "teacher" or a teacher who is not even a "teacher" to become a "Mr. Big".
Stand firm on the podium. On the occasion of graduating with a master's degree and staying at the university to teach, Mr. Zhang Tiefu, the tutor of the master's students, sent me a professional blessing: "Xiao Song, first of all, we must stand firm on the podium!" "Standing on the podium" has become my belief and dream since then. If "yearning for the podium" represents a professional attitude, then "standing firm on the podium" reflects the professional level. If teachers can teach and realize the unity of ideology and art.
First, the system of antenna and grounding.
1. Meaningful and interesting unity.
First, the unity of knowledge transfer and spiritual transmission will naturally be able to "stand firmly on the podium". I have worked tirelessly to achieve this.
The first is to continuously enhance the academic heritage. When lecturing at university, skills and abilities are important, but in the end, it is the academic background that competes. Therefore, I asked myself to "write at least one book in one class".
For example, I taught "Comparative Literature", I wrote three books such as "Comparative Literature as a Method", and I also published dozens of articles**. Of course, writing is mainly for the sake of lessons, so I pay more attention to the unity of the object of study and the object of teaching, that is, what is taught is what is studied. Writing is how I prepare for my lessons, so to speak.
The second is to continuously improve the level of speech. The reason why many people with real talents and real learning can't give lectures is mainly because of the lack of presentation skills. It can be said that teaching is one of the professions that most require the ability to speak.
Sukhomlinsky said it well: "The language of the teacher's mouth is a powerful tool, like a musical instrument in the hands of a performer, paint in the hands of a painter, a carving knife and marble in the hands of a sculptor." There is no ** without musical instruments, no painting without paints and brushes, no sculpture without marble and carving knives, and in the same way, there is no school and no education without a living, deeply rooted and moving language. ”
I have a talent for public speaking, but it's not enough. Since joining the company, I have been working to improve my speech skills in a variety of ways, such as improving the rhythm of my language through daily recitation, and improving my body movements and facial expressions. I also secretly observed how people who sell kitchen knives sell kitchen knives and how people who sell firefighting equipment sell firefighting equipment. In fact, this is to lower the means and learn the art of oral expression from the folk masters, so as to make the lectures more pyrotechnic.
The third is to consciously study the skills of lecturing. When it comes to lecturing, skill is not a panacea, but no skill is also impossible. For example, "unscripted" is very simple, and it is also a very important teaching technique. Many university teachers read according to PPT in their lectures, and the communication effect is very poor. Therefore, I said, "For lectures, unscripted is not the highest requirement, but the lowest requirement." ”
How can I "get off the script" throughout the process? One is to write a lecture in spoken language, and the other is to find an unoccupied classroom and rehearse it dozens of times. The skills of the lecture also include "suspense", "examples", "stories", "interjections", "humor", etc. I summarized the common teaching skills and then consciously integrated them into my own lectures, and finally improved the teaching level.
Go beyond the podium. After standing firmly on the podium", I also went beyond the podium in three aspects, from "a teacher who can give lectures" to "a teaching expert".
The first is to move from "lecturing" to "teaching". "Lecturing" is certainly "teaching", but "teaching" is not just "lecturing". To a certain extent, teaching outside the "podium" pays more attention to face-to-face, emotionally charged teacher-student interactions, which is more educational.
The second is to move from "experience" to "experience". "Experience" stands for "experience", and the richer the experience, the richer the "experience" may be. Valuable "experiences" can only become "experiences" through perception, sublimation and refinement. From "experience" to "experience", it is a conscious teaching and research.
When I was teaching "Foreign Literature", I wrote "Ten Key Words in Liberal Arts Teaching in Colleges and Universities: Taking the Teaching of Western Literary History as an Example"; After I had been a class teacher for more than ten years, I wrote "Four Ideas for Being a Class Teacher". I give presentations to my peers, usually on the topic of "How is a Famous Mouth Made?" "The selection of lecture methods and the improvement of lecture ability" and "writing ** is not the only sign of university teachers - talking about the comprehensive quality of university teachers" can be regarded as the summary and promotion of "experience".
"Experience" can only come from oneself, and "experience" can come from both "oneself" and "others".
I summarized and wrote ""The Most Important Thing is the Feeling of Class" - A Discussion on Mr. Tong Qingbing's Classroom Teaching Thoughts", "The Seven Most Famous Mouths of the University", "The Teaching and Educating People of the Famous Teachers of Old Peking University - Taking "Negative Trivial Words" and "Negative Xuan Continuation" as the Investigation Center", the monograph "Research on Famous Teachers in University Teaching", the collection "The Sound of Education" and the collection of essays "Being a University Teacher with the Whole Heart", "The Pain and Dream of the University", "Teaching is a Faith", etc., which are also empirical works as a whole.
In recent years, in order to better guide graduate students, I began to explore the experience of graduate training, and published articles such as ""The Relationship between Teachers and Students is Very Harmonious" - The Performance, Essence and Practical Significance of Southwest Associated University Mentors' Harmonious Relationship" and "Three Styles of Good Tutors". Before writing these articles, I was confused about how to mentor graduate students. After writing it, I was confident about how to guide graduate students, and played a "visible and tangible" reference role for the specific teaching practices of my peers, and won the favor of many readers.
Finally, there is a move from "experience" to "theory". Although I have dabbled in some theories of education and teaching, as a front-line teacher, I pay more attention to micro and specific teaching problems.
The long-term training in literary theory has given me a certain theoretical impulse and theoretical thinking. In my book "Standing on the Podium - University Lectures", I have made a more conscious theoretical construction of the classic teaching technique of "teaching" from the aspects of "why we should pay attention to teaching" and "what is a good teaching", which is groundbreaking.
It should be said that there are many university teachers who have rich and real "experience", but there are few who are willing and able to elevate "experience" to "experience" and "theory".
In my opinion, studying both "what to teach" and "how to teach" is what a university teacher should do.
If I had to sum up my career planning and career pursuits in one sentence, it would be: I don't expect to make a name for myself in the academic world, but I want to leave my mark in the education world!
Educating people like Chen Pingyuan and Qian Liqun will not be my career goal. I just want to be a true teaching expert. At a time when people are vying to be scholars and scientists, this can be regarded as "off the beaten path".