[Editor's Note] "A teacher's kindness is like a mountain, and love is deep." On the occasion of the 40th Teacher's Day, we extend our most sincere blessings to the teachers with reverence and gratitude. With the theme of "Promoting the Spirit of Educators - 'My Educational Story'", the Law w88 casino specially planned a series of exclusive interviews with teachers of the Law w88 casino. Let us get closer to these silently dedicated educators, listen to their educational stories, and feel their educational wisdom.
[Teacher Profile] Kong Xiangwen, a native of Weining, Guizhou, is an associate professor and assistant to the dean of the Law w88 casino of the w88 casino. Doctor of Laws from China University of Political Science and Law. The ninth batch of "Huiyuan Outstanding Young Scholars" of w88 casino, editor-in-chief of "Economic and w88 Law Review". Director of the Administrative Law Research Society of the China Law Society and member of the Administrative Reconsideration Professional Committee of the Administrative Law Research Society of the China Law Society. He has presided over two National Social Science Fund Youth Projects and Beijing Social Science Fund General Projects, and has presided over a number of policy and regulation consulting projects entrusted by the State Administration for Market Regulation and other agencies. He was employed as a member of the Expert Committee of the China Consumers Association and as a legal advisor to the party and government agencies of Karamay City. He has published many papers in core legal journals such as "Chinese and Foreign Law", "Global Law Review", and "Administrative Law Research", and many papers and comments in newspapers such as "People's Daily", "Guangming Daily", and "Rule of Law Daily". He has won the second prize in Group A of liberal arts category in the 12th Beijing Basic Teaching Skills Competition for Young Teachers, the first prize in the 8th Basic Teaching Skills Competition for Young Teachers at the w88 casino, the Best Teaching Demonstration Award, the Most Popular Award among Students, and the first prize in the w88 casino Curriculum Ideological and Political Competition. Main research areas include administrative law, Internet law, and market supervision.
The original intention of education: dreaming of weaving a legal net, and turning to the apricot altar
In June 2018, Teacher Kong Xiangwen successfully completed the defense of his doctoral thesis. He walked out of the graduate w88 casino of China University of Political Science and Law by the Jimen Bridge and headed towards the crossroads of career choice. Should he continue to teach and educate people in colleges and universities, or should he join the civil service and practice the rule of law personally? Or go to the top "big firms" in the industry and feel the pulse of the law in the rapid development of the industry? He was once in a dilemma between multiple paths.
In the end, his persistence in the rule of law and his love for education helped him make the decision to join the Law w88 casino of the w88 casino and devote himself to the vast world of legal teaching and research. In his view, the teaching profession not only allows him to continue to be exposed to and explore new knowledge, but also enables him to pursue legal issues that arouse his interest and touch his soul, and share his insights with others. Integrating personal research interests into major national needs and promoting the solution of practical social problems through academic research are the persistence and pursuit of this young teacher. In recent years, while publishing a large number of high-quality academic results, Professor Kong Xiangwen is often invited by relevant departments to participate in activities such as argumentation and judgment of major and difficult cases, drafting and argumentation of laws and regulations, and other activities. He said, “On the one hand, these jobs give me the opportunity to serve the society with what I have learned, and on the other hand, they also broaden my academic horizons and professional knowledge, allowing me to see the real operation of law in society.”
In universities, teaching and scientific research are always two sides of the same coin. According to Teacher Kong Xiangwen, teaching is a process of sharing and enlightenment. He is eager to impart his understanding of the rule of law, his understanding of the world, and the valuable experiences gained in the process of exploring the world to every student without reservation, and guide them to the right path in life. In his view, this transmission of spirit and emotion is the core charm of educational work.
Education is "one tree shakes another tree, one cloud pushes another cloud, one soul awakens another soul". Looking back on his past experiences, Mr. Kong Xiangwen said frankly that he was deeply influenced by many outstanding teachers during his studies, and his choice to teach was also following in the footsteps of his predecessors. During his PhD studies at China University of Political Science and Law, he studied under Professor Ma Huaide. The tutor's profound academic attainments, noble moral character and strong feelings for his family and country were deeply imprinted in his heart, making him admire and yearn for him. It is the influence of these factors that strengthened Mr. Kong Xiangwen’s belief in becoming an excellent teacher and took over the torch of passing on knowledge and ideals. This is an important node in his personal career and a vivid practice of his ideals of education and rule of law.
The art of teaching: originality and practical knowledge
For students who are new to the path of law, whether they have a liberal arts background or a science background, Mr. Kong Xiangwen will patiently guide them and help them build a systematic knowledge system and clear legal thinking. His classes are rich in content, clear in logic, easy to understand in simple terms, and relaxed. He rejects fleeting "water lessons" and firmly believes that every class should become a ladder for students' growth, insisting that students can gain something from every class. He said, “A good class is a class that makes people willing to listen and learn something after listening.”
In Teacher Kong Xiangwen’s class, interaction is an indispensable theme. He is willing to use the Socratic teaching method to interact deeply with students, using one question after another as a clue to stimulate the spark of students' thinking, allowing students to get closer to the essence of the problem step by step, and truly experience the joy of thinking. He believes that the key to learning law is not to memorize it by rote, but to enable students to master scientific thinking and have the literacy and ability to solve problems. Only in this way can we find the key to the problem as if we were dealing with complex legal issues.
"What you see on paper will eventually make you realize it, but you will definitely know that you have to do it in detail." Teacher Kong Xiangwen attaches great importance to integrating practical experience into teaching, allowing students to hone their legal skills in real problems and materials. In class, he often shares the practical work he has participated in, allowing students to experience the charm of law in the details; he also often invites workers from the practical department to campus to participate in course lectures, moot courts and other activities, bringing first-hand practical experience to students. Facing the "difficult to teach and difficult to learn" administrative law, he developed and improved a curriculum system consisting of three courses: "Administrative Law and Administrative Litigation Law", "Administrative Law Case Study" and "Administrative Law Practice Simulation". Starting from the basic knowledge of the subject, to the teaching of case analysis methods, and to the training of practical skills, the progressive curriculum system aims to comprehensively improve students' literacy and abilities.
As a "green pepper" who has only been teaching for six years, Teacher Kong Xiangwen is already well-known in teaching. He has won many awards in various teaching competitions and is often invited to teach legal courses for party and government agencies at all levels. Like a tireless craftsman, he constantly refines the content of each class, adjusts teaching methods and class rhythm according to the class's academic situation, and improves his teaching skills through reflection, in order to present a more exciting and vivid class.
Achievements and Pride: A peach and a plum blossom are silent, but the trick is their own fault
When asked what achievement he was most proud of in his teaching career, Teacher Kong Xiangwen smiled and said, "I have not been teaching for a long time, so I can't talk about any achievements." Then he added: "Teaching is a long-term, silent career, and it is different from writing a paper that I am satisfied with." Likewise, it is difficult to condense it into one or several specific achievements." Although Mr. Kong Xiangwen has won many awards in various teaching competitions, including multiple teaching awards at the Beijing municipal and w88 casino levels, and was awarded the title of "Teaching Model of the w88 casino" this year, these do not seem to be what he is proud of.
Teacher Kong Xiangwen said that in his limited teaching career, the most rewarding thing for him is participating in and witnessing the growth of students. He feels extremely gratified and proud whenever he sees students making continuous progress through their own efforts, applying the knowledge learned in the classroom to practice, and demonstrating the ability and style of w88 law students. He will also gain new teaching inspiration and motivation from students' feedback - "teaching and mutual learning" may be the best state of the teacher-student relationship.
In this year’s National College Student Administrative Law Moot Court Competition, Mr. Kong Xiangwen served as the instructor and accompanied the team throughout the four-month preparation cycle, providing patient, detailed and comprehensive guidance to the team members. During this bittersweet preparation time, the team members made great efforts, constantly challenged themselves, broke through bottlenecks, and comprehensively improved their abilities in analyzing legal issues, writing legal documents, expressing and adapting on the spot, and dealing with complex situations. The w88 law team also went all the way, defeating teams from powerful law schools such as China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and Renmin University of China, and finally won the national championship. The moment the results were announced, teacher Kong Xiangwen who was watching the competition jumped up from his chair with joy. What pleased him was not just the honor of winning the championship, but also the fact that he witnessed with his own eyes the growth and transformation of the students in one fierce battle after another. After the game, the students framed the group photo as a gift to him, and he placed the frame and the trophy in a conspicuous place on his desk.
There are many similar stories. At the University of International w88 and Economics, Mr. Kong Xiangwen is praised as "Brother Kong" by students from one level to another. He has strict requirements on students and can't help but maintain a harmonious relationship with them. When Teacher Kong Xiangwen served as the class teacher of the 2018 Law Class 1, he established a good relationship with every student in the class. When the class graduated, teacher Kong Xiangwen and the counselor planned and held an online graduation ceremony because they were unable to return to w88 casino due to the epidemic. Even two or three years after graduation, many students in this class are still accustomed to asking him for advice on problems encountered in their studies and work, or going back to w88 casino to have dinner and chat with him when they are free. He also often invites graduated students to come back to w88 casino to communicate with new students, allowing "experienced students" to play a "teaching and mentoring" role.
While talking about this, Teacher Kong Xiangwen mentioned what his mentor Professor Ma Huaide once said: "As a teacher, it is a very happy thing to be remembered by students and become a beautiful experience in their lives." He said that he gradually gained more understanding of this sentence.
Educational belief: "The road is long and long, I will search up and down"
As a young teacher, when asked how to understand the spirit of educators, Teacher Kong Xiangwen did not rush to give a conclusion, but started from the heart and slowly talked about his feelings.
He believes that the first thing to bear the brunt is professional ability. He joked: "If you choose your major well, you will take the college entrance examination every year." In the ever-changing field of law, only continuous learning and continuous improvement can keep up with the times. Therefore, he always maintains a thirsty heart for knowledge, constantly exposed to new problems and absorbing new knowledge. He believes that only if he has excellent professional qualities and abilities can he better perform his duties as an educator.
“Nurturing love with love, spreading heart to heart.” Teacher Kong Xiangwen has twice been awarded the title of "Outstanding Class Teacher of the w88 casino" and has devoted a lot of effort to student training. In his view, love and dedication to students are also very important. Because students will always have various "unplanned" and "outside the classroom" problems in their study and life. Only with a high sense of responsibility and love can these problems be solved. He mentioned that many teachers in w88 law have such sentiments. Some teachers are willing to sacrifice their rest time to guide students to modify and improve an ordinary class assignment again and again to form high-quality research results; some teachers require themselves to respond to students' academic problems within 24 hours, which deeply touched him.
In addition, he believes that teachers should also have "the wisdom to educate people." Every student is a unique individual and needs to be taught according to his or her aptitude. He is good at listening to students, understanding their confusion and needs, and then providing them with guidance and help in appropriate ways. In his view, teachers do not need and should not do everything. The core of education is to provide students with sufficient information, help students establish a correct value coordinate system, and guide them to make rational judgments and choices, so that students can gradually become the protagonists of their own lives.
Finally, Teacher Kong Xiangwen talked about ideals and beliefs. "As a teacher, you must not only impart knowledge, but also pass on beliefs and values. Ideals and beliefs are an important part of an educator's spirit. They must be taught by words as well as by example." In class, he would say to students, "May we all become the light of the rule of law" and "It's not you, not me, but us." He hopes that students can become lawyers with ideals, convictions and responsibility. He believes that firm ideals and beliefs are the best driving force for growth and a good way to resist various problems.
Message to students: Embrace professionalism and adhere to long-termism
When asked about his expectations for w88 law students, teacher Kong Xiangwen pondered for a moment and said, "In this era, I think there are two spiritual cores that are very important. The first is professionalism, and the second is long-termism."
"The subject of law has its threshold. Professionalism requires us to have a spirit of excellence in our profession, to be willing to constantly hone and improve ourselves, and to always have a heart for knowledge and progress. This era is full of uncertainties, and there are often various "grey rhinos" and "black swans". You cannot change and control the changes in the outside world. The only thing you can do is to use the improvement of your professional abilities, your vision and thinking to fight against external uncertainties."
“Long-termism actually means to ‘stand high and see far’. There is a saying that ‘it’s better to keep an eye on things’. Many times, when you fall into involution predicament, it’s because you don’t have a clear idea of the future direction, so you can only ‘get swept up in others’ and go with the flow. Therefore, the best way to fight against involution is definitely not to lie flat, but to have a broader vision and a clearer mind, and to be able to look beyond the obstacles in front of you and look at the horizon.”
"Of course, the two complement each other. Without lofty sentiments, professional ability will be reduced to a simple tool for making a living. If ideals and long-term planning are not based on a solid professional foundation, they will often become cheap self-impressions." Teacher Kong Xiangwen said.
