an huixia, a national model of teaching and educating people: dedicating her life to "early childhood education"
2024-09-15
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china youth daily and china youth network reporter wei qimeng
from a newly graduated novice kindergarten teacher to the youngest principal candidate in the city, and then to the chief principal who boldly tried to run a public kindergarten group for the first time in the province, an huixia, a 2024 national model of teaching and educating people and a member of xinghua preschool education group in wanbailin district, taiyuan city, shanxi province, has been deeply involved in early childhood education for 33 years. she often says: "because i like it, i choose it; because i love it, i persist."
just like many years ago, 52-year-old an huixia has a warm smile and is a loving "headmaster mom" in the eyes of the children. an huixia told reporters that after graduating from taiyuan preschool teachers college in 1991, she faced the choice of teaching in a public primary school or staying to engage in preschool education. encouraged by her mother, she, who has always loved being with children, chose to be a preschool enlightenment teacher, and also planted the seed of "choosing one career for the rest of your life" in her heart.
at that time, as a young novice teacher, an huixia was responsible in teaching, worked hard to improve, and cared for every child like a mother. she would bring children whose parents could not pick them up on time to her home, make delicious food for them, and give comforting hugs to children whose parents were divorced when they were sad. in 1998, taiyuan city held the first basic skills competition for kindergarten teachers, and an huixia won the first place in 7 individual competitions. on teacher's day in 2002, she officially took office as the principal of xinghua etiquette kindergarten.
in 2005, an huixia went to hangzhou for training as a local famous principal. when she saw the successful case of the group-run kindergarten in shanshui kindergarten in xihu district, hangzhou, she thought of the situation in taiyuan where there were few public kindergartens, private kindergartens were expensive, and it was difficult for children of school age to enter high-quality and affordable kindergartens. she decided to learn from hangzhou's advanced experience in taiyuan.
however, it was not easy to run a group of public kindergartens in taiyuan due to the lack of staff and money. an huixia and her team faced the difficulties head-on and chose to do the difficult but right thing. in 2006, an huixia rode a bicycle to visit communities and took the lead in opening the datang kindergarten in a large community in taiyuan. she designed the kindergarten environment from the perspective of children and selected excellent teachers from the main kindergarten to teach. after half a year, all 200 children in 6 classes were enrolled, which strengthened her confidence in continuing to promote group education.
in the following decade, an huixia took over and renovated new kindergartens one after another, many of which were in villages in the city or villages on the outskirts of the city. someone asked her, "why do you manage kindergartens so far away?" her answer was, "after so many years of working in early childhood education, i deeply understand that education should not be divided by region, let alone by size. children in mountains and valleys need us more."
an huixia recalled that when she first arrived at the kindergarten in chengbian village a few years ago, the six towels of the children there turned black in an instant in the morning. but now, the corners of the children's clothes are no longer dirty, their fingers are no longer black, and their smiles are confident and joyful.
in the eyes of her peers in preschool education, an huixia's profound educational sentiments and personal charm are very contagious, and she is like a "power bank".
yan linlin, director of the preschool education and research center of yanhu district, yuncheng city, shanxi province, met an huixia during a training session. her first impression of her was that she was "very sincere, straightforward, and intelligent." in 2020, yan linlin took on new tasks and faced many challenges and pressures. she felt frustrated. one night after new year's day, she mustered up the courage to call an huixia for advice. unexpectedly, the conversation lasted for three hours.
"from work planning to core tasks, from one kindergarten to the entire region, she told me that i should have a high position and a big picture, and that managers should achieve and support more people. her words were like an eye-opener for me. from then on, she has been the great teacher by my side, and it has become my habit to 'find sister an when i have difficulties' and 'find sister an when my morale is low'; and 'towards the light, follow the light, and become the light' is my driving force to move forward." yan linlin said.
zhang mei, a childhood friend of an huixia and secretary of the party branch of xinghua preschool education group in wanbailin district, taiyuan city, shanxi province, feels that principal an is a person who has the ideal and belief of sincerely serving the country and who practices "greater selflessness".
zhang mei remembers that one day in july 2021, an huixia led the team to set off from taiyuan at 5 a.m., and after transferring flights, chartering a car, and crossing mountain roads, they finally arrived at a kindergarten in the nujiang grand canyon at 9 p.m. when an huixia went deep into the kindergarten and learned that many teachers there had never left the mountains, she actively created opportunities for shadowing to help them open up their educational horizons. "everyone who has met principal huixia says that she has a 'big heart' and can bring the hearts of early childhood educators together to offer suggestions for building a community of shared destiny for early childhood educators. in the past two years, she has completed nearly a hundred lectures, inspiring early childhood educators to actively practice the spirit of educators with her passion and love."
qian junli, party secretary of the fukang kindergarten in changji prefecture, xinjiang, met an huixia for the first time when she visited taiyuan, shanxi in 2019. "you came to shanxi from xinjiang, thousands of miles away. we are one family. i will fully support you in any need." an huixia's opening remarks made qian junli feel close to her: "she seems to be born with a kind of 'harmonious' aura; she always responds to everyone's inquiries and questions."
at the end of 2023, qian junli's team took over a new kindergarten built with aid from shanxi. they were confused about the concept and future planning of the kindergarten. when an huixia heard about it, she immediately organized the backbone of the team to brainstorm online with qian junli's team. that day was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. director an in front of the screen was in high spirits, sorting out, condensing, planning and looking forward for everyone, which moved qian junli very much.
"principal an huixia has always adhered to the principle of 'sending a group of talents to xinjiang and bringing out a group of talents', changing 'blood transfusion' into 'blood production', and realizing the transformation from talent replacement to talent assistance, creating a team of excellent localized teachers for fukang kindergarten that cannot be taken away." qian junli said.
now, an huixia's studio has a map of shanxi and a map of china, which are filled with small red flags, indicating the places an huixia and her team have visited. she said: "the appearance of children today will definitely be the appearance of china in the future. we, as early childhood educators, may not be able to predict the future of children, but we can shape their present and achieve a beautiful and happy childhood."
(source: china youth daily client)
