The exploration of running a secondary vocational school in a western county allows children to learn to stand on the "hillside" to see the scenery, which also has a different beauty.
2024-08-28
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Students from Gulang County Vocational Secondary School performed the national unity and progress education dance "Pomegranate Blossoms". Photo provided by the school
"My grades were good enough for a regular high school, but I chose to go to a secondary vocational school." At the watershed of her life, Liu Huizhen from Gulang County, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, chose a "small path." Liu Huizhen was very determined. She said that going to this secondary vocational school was a decision made after careful consideration by herself and her family. In the academic diagnostic test in the third year of junior high school, her grades fluctuated greatly. She was afraid that she would not be able to get into a regular high school, so she learned about the recruitment policy of secondary vocational schools. "Studying here, I can still go to university and learn a skill in advance." Liu Huizhen said that this information dispelled her concerns. She carefully planned her future career direction and applied for the "Child Care" major of Gulang County Vocational Secondary School in Wuwei City, Gansu Province (hereinafter referred to as "Gulang Vocational School").
Liu Huizhen's choice is not an isolated case. Data from the Academic Affairs Office of Gulang Vocational College shows that among the more than 1,000 new students who registered recently, 16 students' scores in the high school entrance examination exceeded the score line for ordinary high schools. The number of students in the school has been increasing year by year, from more than 300 when the school was founded in 2006 to more than 3,000 at present. "In terms of export, employment and further study are equally important, and every child has found his own way out." Yu Sheng, deputy director of the Gulang County Education Bureau, said that many local people have taken off their "tinted glasses" and praised Gulang Vocational College as "Gulang University."
In the stereotyped cognition, "going to high school and taking the college entrance examination" is the only way to learn, and vocational education is "inferior". The Ministry of Education also regards "improving quality and enhancing image" as the key to overcoming difficulties in vocational education. Influenced by the preconceived "bad reviews", what is the secret of a county school in the western region to attract students to give up general high school and go to secondary vocational school? Where does the stable source of students come from? Why does it win trust and praise? With these questions, the reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network conducted an on-site visit.
To build a school that gives people peace of mind
It is summer vacation. When you step into the gate of Gulang Vocational School, you will see two rows of thriving trees and flower fields, as well as the library, dormitory building, canteen, and teaching buildings, training buildings, and office buildings named "Chongde Building", "Minxing Building", "Duxing Building", "Jiangxin Building", and "Wenxin Building". Some students and parents walked into the campus to visit or consult teachers on duty; school leaders were also on duty, and under the organization of Wang Borong, secretary of the school party committee, they discussed the work arrangements for the new school year.
As one of the largest secondary vocational schools in Wuwei City and even in Gansu Province with the largest number of students, this county school hopes to be among the top secondary vocational schools in the country and cultivate more well-rounded "modern craftsmen". 53-year-old Wang Borong has been in charge of this school for four years. He is tall and has a loud voice. He likes to add a short "rhetorical question" after an "affirmative sentence" to use his own views to trigger more collisions of views.
Four years ago, when he switched from ordinary high school to vocational education, this "veteran" teacher thought about school matters as soon as he opened his eyes - "Is the campus safe?" "Have the children made progress?" "Can I live up to the trust of parents?" A series of favorable policies on vocational education issued from the national to local levels are his source of motivation. On August 20, 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping, who was inspecting Gansu, came to Shandan Baili School for research and encouraged everyone: "Vocational education has broad prospects and great potential."
The General Secretary's ardent expectations for vocational education have been transformed into a powerful driving force for Gulang County to run education well. Focusing on the goal of promoting local economic and social development through "big vocational education", in 2020, Gulang County allocated 260.4 acres of land in the prime location of the county seat, invested 390 million yuan, and implemented the relocation project of Gulang County Vocational Education Center, reorganized and integrated vocational education resources in the county, and in 2022, completed the merger and overall relocation of the two schools with Dajing Vocational Education Center, and upgraded it to Gulang County Vocational Secondary School. "Only when the hardware conditions are improved can children come to school to eat well, live well, learn well, and play well." Wang Borong said that the beautiful school environment is the first step for Gulang Vocational School to break the traditional cognition.
At the same time, the Ministry of Education has repeatedly stated at press conferences that it is necessary to promote the diversified development of secondary vocational education, changing from the original "employment-oriented" to "giving equal importance to employment and further education". On May 1, 2022, the newly revised "Vocational Education Law of the People's Republic of China" came into effect, providing a legal basis for opening up the path for secondary vocational students to enter higher education.
Through cooperation between the ministry and the province, Gansu Province has created "Skillful Gansu", established a new pattern of vocational education development, formed a complete system for cultivating skilled talents at the secondary and higher levels, and a "Vocational Education College Entrance Examination" system and "Junior College to Undergraduate" examination and enrollment system with Gansu characteristics.
"Our students have more diversified channels for advancement." Wang Borong said that this is an important reason for the continuous growth of the number of students in Gulang Vocational and Technical College. "Now, children can take the 'Vocational Education College Entrance Examination', and can also go to school through various channels such as the '3+2' secondary and higher vocational education, the five-year integrated system, and the '3+4' secondary and undergraduate education." Wang Borong said that Gulang Vocational and Technical College actively implements some new policies. At present, it has established cooperation with 8 higher vocational and technical colleges in Gansu Province and launched a secondary and higher vocational education training plan. In the future, it will organize transfer examinations and send qualified graduates to corresponding schools for further study.
In 2022, Gulang Vocational School was established as a pilot school for "integration of vocational and general education" in Wuwei City. Students studying in the "integration of vocational and general education" class will take the National College Entrance Examination. Last year, 22 of the first 50 graduates were admitted to undergraduate colleges, and this year another 25 students will enter undergraduate campuses. While the organizers understand the relevant policies of vocational education reform, they also let the public know the relevant policies of vocational education development in a timely manner through the issuance of promotional leaflets, parent meetings, campus open days, etc.
Gao Licheng, a parent of a student, said that he learned from the patient explanation of the teacher of Gulang Vocational School that the "Vocational Education College Entrance Examination" consists of two parts: "cultural quality + vocational skills". Cultural quality covers the scores of four public basic courses, namely Chinese, mathematics, English, and comprehensive literacy, with a full score of 300 points, as well as the scores of three professional basic courses in the professional category of the secondary vocational students, with a full score of 250 points; vocational skills are based on the scores of the national, provincial, municipal, and county (school) vocational school student skill competitions during the secondary vocational students' school years. Different levels and different awards correspond to different scores; obtaining a vocational grade certificate issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security can also be converted into the corresponding vocational skills test scores.
With a plan in mind, he and the school teachers made a plan for his daughter Gao Jing's study, so that her skills would be "brilliant" and her academic subjects would not "stumble" her. This year, his daughter took the "Vocational Education College Entrance Examination", exceeded the undergraduate line, and was successfully admitted to the university of her choice.
"In recent years, among the school's graduates, 10% of the students were admitted to undergraduate colleges, and about 88% of the students were admitted to higher vocational colleges and junior colleges to continue their studies. About 2% of the students with a strong desire for employment have successfully found jobs in Gulang County and its surrounding areas." Wang Borong said that this result makes parents and students "feel at ease" when choosing Gulang Vocational and Technical School.
Build a reputation for "excellent technology"
Seizing the golden period of development, Gulang Vocational and Technical School regards teaching as an important measure to shape the new image of vocational education. It gives full play to the characteristics of vocational education and national economic development, makes timely adjustments to majors, and determines six major categories: agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, industry, finance and trade, tourism services, education and culture and art, and information technology, and adds majors such as facility agriculture technology and new energy vehicle maintenance and services.
Wang Borong gave an example, Gulang is a traditional agricultural county. In recent years, it has done a lot of work around agricultural structural adjustment, facility agriculture construction, water-saving technology promotion, etc. The county and surrounding areas are "thirsty" for agricultural talents.
Gulang Vocational School combines the local conditions of the county and flexibly sets up majors, which are recognized by all sectors. Last academic year, the newly established facility agriculture major enrolled more than 100 students. Graduates can not only enter university, but also apply their knowledge and give back to their hometown.
In Kangle New Village, Xijing Town, Gulang County, Zhang Feifei, who just finished the "Vocational Education College Entrance Examination", helps her grandparents take care of the vegetable greenhouse. Her parents are working in other places, and the mastery of modern breeding technology has made this 18-year-old "quasi-college student" a capable helper for her grandparents, and neighbors often come to her for advice.
"What bothers me is that I haven't learned enough." Zhang Feifei said that this year she applied for Gansu Forestry Vocational and Technical University, and all the majors she chose were related to "agriculture". "I want to help my grandparents, help more people, and contribute to rural revitalization."
Wang Deling, who graduated from Gulang Vocational School and was admitted to Gansu Agricultural University, worked at Gulang Vocational School as a teacher of agricultural production technology after graduation, and also had the wish to "give back to her hometown". She said that what she could do was to lead her classmates to learn advanced agricultural technology, help them grow, and contribute to the development of the country and the countryside.
However, to teach this group of "poor students" well, schools and teachers have to put in a lot of effort.
Wang Borong told the China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter that Gulang Vocational School has been recruiting vocational education teachers for many years. Taking advantage of the "East-West Cooperation" opportunity, it fully utilized the "group-style" support resources of educational cadres and talents from Jizhou District and Wuwei City, Tianjin, introduced professional teachers from Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University, and coordinated with Tianjin Transportation School to support the construction of a skill talent training base to comprehensively improve the professional skills and teaching ability of vocational teachers.
The school also put forward four requirements for each teacher: "teaching skills", "questioning skills", "doing skills" and "watching skills", asking them to "have a bucket of water first, and then give students a bowl of water".
High standards and strict requirements have enabled Wu Jicheng, a teacher born after 1985 who majors in mechanical foundation and CNC machining, to make rapid progress. He said that he studied engineering in college but preferred engineering. After taking practical training classes, he forced himself to "study hard and practice hard" for the children's future.
Self-study, asking teachers of the same major, attending training at other schools, asking alumni of related majors to be "masters"... "A few years ago, I took students to participate in municipal skill competitions but received no results. Last year, the top four places in the city were all taken by our school. Among the three students who participated in the provincial competition, two won second prizes and one won third prize." Wu Jicheng enjoyed this process.
In addition to "skill-based", Wu Jicheng's teaching experience is to make friends with students and make them interested and motivated.
Wu Jicheng replaced abstract knowledge points with concrete pictures, corrected students' practical mistakes step by step, and told stories of role models who changed their destiny through professional skills from time to time. The children also began to love and enjoy learning.
Wu Jicheng said that before every competition, he would accompany the students to the training room for "extra practice". From 7:30 in the morning to 10:30 in the evening, except for lunch time, everyone stared at the products in their hands without any slackness, measuring the processed products and analyzing the reasons why the accuracy did not meet the requirements.
"I am really touched." Wu Jicheng said that in his eyes, those "poor students" considered by the public just have "shortcomings" in learning cultural knowledge, but each of them has an upward heart.
Let children learn to stand on the "halfway up the mountain" to enjoy the scenery
"The greatest wish of the common people is that their children can grow up," said Wang Borong. For this reason, Gulang Vocational and Technical School puts "moral education" at the "first place" of all its work.
In his opinion, parents and society have instilled in children the idea of climbing to the top, but realistically speaking, some children will never reach the top. "What should we do? Then learn to stand on the 'halfway up the mountain' to enjoy the scenery." Wang Borong said that the mountain looks like a peak when viewed from the side, and it looks different from far and near, high and low. The 'halfway up the mountain' also has different beauty. As a school with a "score guarantee" and an important part of the people's livelihood project, secondary vocational schools should give these children the opportunity to try to climb.
Adhering to this teaching philosophy, Gulang Vocational School enriches children's extracurricular life and their inner world through "beating gongs and drums, singing red songs, dancing, volunteers, introducing excellent traditional culture, and establishing socialist core values". In order to better serve students, Zhao Gengmei, who has been a Chinese teacher for nearly 20 years, specially obtained a psychological counselor certificate.
She said that the students of Gulang Vocational School are basically students below the general high school level. Many children have neither formed good study habits nor good living habits in junior high school or even elementary school. Zhao Gengmei said that among these children, some are from single-parent or divorced families, some are seriously ill or disabled, some are orphans, and a large number are left-behind children in rural areas... In their growth, they lack love and companionship.
The school realized this problem and launched the "Nourish the Heart and Make You Happy Project". On the surface, through psychological lectures and group counseling, students can establish ideals and regain confidence in learning and life; on the point, a special student care file is established, and psychological teachers and class teachers follow up and counsel one-on-one, caring for and supporting them to get out of confusion and integrate into the group. "Based on sincerity, there is no confusion that cannot be resolved." Zhao Gengmei said that many children "have no ideals and ambitions, but love to show off their so-called personality." Perhaps, in the eyes of the public, such children are "hopeless", but Zhao Gengmei and other teachers cannot give up. "At any time, in any school, children can reposition themselves and make up for their previous deficiencies." Zhao Gengmei said.
The rich culture and shining contemporary spirit of the Northwest Loess Land are also a "tonic" for children's souls. Gulang Vocational School organized students to visit the "Babusha Forest Farm" in the suburbs of the county to learn the enterprising spirit of the contemporary "Yugong" who did not bow down in the face of difficulties and dared to turn the desert into an oasis; introduced intangible cultural heritage such as Liangzhou Xianxiao, Gongguzi, Xiliang Music and Dance, and Gulang Old Tune into the club, and encouraged children to participate in the intangible cultural heritage competition to understand the local conditions and customs of their hometown.
Wang Borong told the China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter that the campus greening, which attracts people's attention as soon as they enter the school gate, is planted and maintained by all the teachers and students of Gulang Vocational School. In two years, they have built 15 forest gardens and flower gardens, planted 15,000 trees, more than 560,000 shrubs and flowers, and greened the campus while purifying everyone's soul. The school also organized student volunteer teams to go to nursing homes, welfare homes, bus stations, railway stations and other places to carry out volunteer services, giving Gulang Vocational School students a new label of "handsome boys, beautiful girls, high emotional intelligence, and strong hands-on ability."
"The children's growth and success have given us more confidence in running schools in the future," said Wang Borong. In the next step, Gulang Vocational School will continue to create a good development environment where "everyone can become a talent and everyone can show their talents," and provide vocational education that satisfies the people. "The children of Gulang Vocational School are not grass, but also the treasures of their parents. If rural areas want to stop the intergenerational transmission of poverty, the hope lies in these children." Wang Borong said that they have learned a skill, go to the countryside, go to their homes, and go to the fields, so as to empower rural revitalization and provide intellectual support and talent guarantee for rural revitalization. Therefore, running vocational education well is of far-reaching significance.
China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter Wang Hao Source: China Youth Daily
(Source: China Youth Daily)
