On the occasion of my country's 21st Teacher's Day, Wen Jiabao, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, met with representatives attending the Fifth Higher Education National Teaching Achievement Award Ceremony and the keynote speaker at the Beijing Outstanding Teachers' Ethics Report in the Great Hall of the People on the morning of the 9th. On behalf of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, he expressed warm congratulations and cordial condolences to teachers across the country. Premier Wen proposed three things to do well: first, implement the heuristic education policy and cultivate students' independent thinking ability and innovative thinking; second, professors and famous teachers should attend classes and teach basic courses to students; third, in addition to teaching, teachers should also educate people and cultivate knowledgeable and moral students.
In early autumn in Beijing, there is a hint of coolness in the morning. Early in the morning, Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Chen Zhili came to the Great Hall of the People to meet with the winners of the fifth National Higher Education Teaching Achievement Award. When Wen Jiabao walked into the North Hall of the Great Hall, the audience burst into warm applause. Wen Jiabao walked up to shake hands with the award-winning representatives and waved to everyone.
After taking photos with the delegates, Wen Jiabao said sincerely to more than 300 delegates: "China's education currently faces three major tasks: the first is to popularize compulsory education, the second is to develop vocational education, and the third is to improve the quality of higher education. What does improving the quality of higher education rely on? The key lies in teachers and the improvement of teachers' own quality."
Wen Jiabao pointed out that to improve the quality of higher education, in addition to deepening the reform of higher education systems and methods, three specific things must be done:
The first thing is to implement the heuristic education policy. Confucius said: "If you are not angry, you will not be enlightened; if you are not angry, you will not be angry." The meaning of these eight words is to implement heuristic education and put students as the center of teaching, so that students can maintain initiative in the entire process of learning, actively ask questions, actively think about problems, actively discover, and actively explore. The core of heuristic education is to cultivate students' independent thinking and innovative thinking. The so-called teaching is for the sake of not teaching, which means to enable students to master their own learning methods and improve their ability to innovate. Only in this way can they leave teachers, surpass teachers, and become talents.
When talking about the second thing, Wen Jiabao solemnly proposed that professors and famous teachers should attend classes. He said: "There is a famous saying that a university is not about having a building, but about having masters. In many schools now, professors and famous teachers do not attend classes. This practice should be changed."
Wen Jiabao fondly recalled the time when his teacher taught class. He said that everyone was a student and knew that every lesson taught by the teacher left a deep impression on the students and would be unforgettable for their entire lives. Professors and academicians have to attend classes and teach basic courses to students. I hope this tradition will be promoted in various colleges and universities. Before Wen Jiabao finished speaking, the venue burst into long and warm applause.
The third thing is to teach and educate people. Teachers received teaching achievement awards today. In addition to teaching, you also have another task, which is to educate people. The students we train should be knowledgeable and moral people, not just experts in a certain field, but people who develop harmoniously. "Thousands of teachings teach people to seek truth; thousands of studies teach them to be real people." Wen Jiabao ended his speech by quoting a quote from educator Tao Xingzhi.
Wen Jiabao said that teachers influence the lives of children and young people. To cultivate students with comprehensive moral, intellectual and physical development, we need teachers with moral literacy. All the models of teacher ethics here have set an example in this regard, which is worthy of praise and promotion.
Wen Jiabao said that as a teacher, you must first be caring. There is a saying, without love, there is no education. We must care for children and students, be tolerant, and be patient, so that we can be considerate and educate them well. To do this, teachers must have high moral standards.
Wen Jiabao quoted Han Yu's "Teacher's Theory" of the Tang Dynasty as saying, "Teachers preach, teach, and solve doubts." Preaching, teaching, and solving doubts is what a teacher must do well in his life. Now when we talk about preaching, we want to impart patriotism and collectivism to students, so that they love the motherland and the people, and have a strong sense of social responsibility; teaching means imparting knowledge and skills to students. The most important thing at present is to improve the quality of teaching and strive to cultivate outstanding talents; and dispel doubts, which means that when students encounter problems, teachers should clear up their doubts. There must be methods to resolve doubts, and we must get rid of those rigid, rigid, and dogmatic methods and replace them with vivid, lively, patient, and meticulous methods. To do these three things well, you must put morality first.
