2022-03-25
In the primary section of Nanjing Golden Future School, no two students are the same and no two classes are exactly the same. In order to give each child full opportunities and a personalised development path, the classes at Gemdale Future are designed for the students, with each class having its own characteristics and character, resulting in a diverse, personalised and innovative class 'character', and a colourful, East-meets-West school culture.
We have shared with you the story of Mr. Tang, the "warm-hearted white" who led the students to dream of Chinese spaceflight, and witnessed a group of Year 3 students setting up a "publishing house" to compile and draw their first collection of fairy tales.
At Nanjing Golden Land Future School, there is also this amazing class where 22 class leaders were born out of 22 students. At first, this group of children, with their longing for the past four years of primary school and confusion about their future, some would say: I don't know why I changed schools, my parents told me to come.
After just one term, they have amazed their parents and teachers with the changes they have undergone and have "rolled up" into one, showing the kind of students that can be nurtured in the attractive cultural soil of the future of Golden Land.
22 class leaders sound the rallying cry for innovation
Meet the 'laziest' class teacher ever
"Teacher, are all the three best students given to the class president, vice president and study committee members?"
This was the first problem that Yang Yuan, the class teacher of the Year 5 class, faced: what kind of environment and experience had created such a simple and straightforward perception among the children, who felt that the top ones were always the ones who stood out, and thus were overly concerned about the successes and failures of the class committee elections?
Therefore, Yang Yuan organised a class assembly and asked the children, who were strangers to each other and had very different personalities, to describe their ideal class style.
Yang Yuan was surprised to find that this was not exactly the educational philosophy that the school had been advocating.
So, amidst the cries of the whole class, Yang Yuan formally announced such a class covenant: to learn happily in a free and orderly environment, and elected 22 class cadres on a rotational basis. In addition to the familiar class president and vice-president, a novel team of class cadres such as a class mini-court and an emotional management group was also created. After a semester of bonding, the students managed the class independently and formed a relatively mature and effective management system, which actually made the class teacher, Yang Yuan, the most "useless" presence in the class.
Stimulating interest with a fine stream of care
Librarians "transformed" into literary committee members
"Due to the over-subscription of the librarian, Alice will be the literature committee member for this year, combining the votes of the students and the anonymous votes of the teachers." In one of the class committee elections, Yang Yuan quietly played a "careful" hand in the establishment of the publicity committee.
In the new team, introverted children are always slow and shy, like small beasts with newly opened eyes, gently exploring the world, curious about others but afraid to open their hearts, Alice is one of them.
In class, Alice would sit quietly, not talking, not raising her hand, and only occasionally drawing small pictures. Yang Yuan remembers that during a project learning session in a large language class, she showed her classmates Alice's drawing of Sushi's "circle of friends" and received praise for the little girl's pride in her shy eyes.
"You have to take the publicity on together." The little girl carefully remembered Yang Yuan's words and made a great effort to get herself to help with the production whenever words or drawings were involved. At the Parent-Child Sports Day, she led the publicity team and recorded the football playing with leaves and oil paintings, which touched Alice's mother: it was the first time she had seen her daughter go and take the initiative to participate.
In February this year, under the guidance of Yang Yuan, Alice's essay "The Most Beautiful Scenery of Morning Mist" was successfully published in Yangzi Evening News, and the young girl's fine progress was gradually revealed to the public.
A civilized member who grew up with the "advice" of his classmates
Matching the red scarf with nationality and habit
On January 5, 2022, the 105th day Sean had been eyeing the red scarf of other students, when his parents finally transferred his nationality back to China, the child jumped three feet high and excitedly said to Yang Yuan, "I am now a full Chinese and can wear the red scarf!"
With his school's heritage of red culture and various rituals, wearing the red scarf has always been Sean's obsession. Yang Yuan told him, "Manners are the underpinnings of Chinese civilisation and are intrinsically binding. If you want to be a pioneer, you must not only do well in what you have in hand, but also regulate your behaviour as much as possible and drive others to progress together."
However, for this "young returnee", he could not understand many of the daily norms in China and often unintentionally got into minor conflicts with other students.
It is a good thing that in the Year 5 class there is a system of "praise by name, criticism by default". When students behave inappropriately, others will raise their hands in the form of a suggestion: someone did something yesterday. I would like to suggest to him that next time he could communicate with others in a different way, which would be more polite. Because names are not made public, children feel that if they change, they will be the next to be named and praised.
Under such a class system, Sean served as a plant caretaker and a civilisation committee member. He would label the plants for care when handing them over, and also led other students in regulating their behaviour, finally winning the unanimous approval of his classmates and teachers in the selection of the class star, and letting his exclusive red scarf fly high in the presence of Yang Yuan and the brigade counselor, Ms Hu.
Give the ability a time to break out of the ground
Class Junior Judge Strength in action
When faced with a new class, Felix's refusal to fit in was written all over him. Therefore, during the class's first ice-breaking activity, he stood aside with his unique teenage pride, pretending to be indifferent: "Our group can carry on without me."
However, with Yang Yuan's patient company, he observed the strengths of the other groups from a spectator's point of view and saw the weaknesses of his own group, and eventually, unable to resist his compassion, he took off his armour and reconciled with himself.
Gradually, Felix's unique powers of observation, organisation and creativity became apparent in each activity. When he became the first class judge by chance, Felix once thought that Mr. Yang was lazy in "pushing" the courtroom when conflicts arose. But from that day on, the class court became the mantra of the class when conflicts arose: "Where is the class court?" "Where's the president?"
When Yang Yuan stood quietly on the side and found that her students had friction, but none of them came running to her to sue, and listened to the voice in charge of mediation coming from the crowd: "He speaks first, you wait for a while before stating your case, okay, you speak when he finishes," in this moment, Yang Yuan saw the growth break out of the ground.
A class culture "rolled up" by responsibility
Making students the real owners of Goldie's future
Parents often ask how the classes at Goldie Future School are run, and it seems to be the default that the only person who can run a class is the teacher.
When we delegate this power to the students, we see the life committee meeting to discuss the distribution of meals; the reading leader sitting down and reading like a pin, and others following suit; and even students actively urging the Chinese and foreign teachers to hurry up with their assignments. ...... As each student becomes the master of classroom management, competing to make themselves As each student takes ownership of the class and competes to be better, the class culture of "roll up" spreads among the students spontaneously.
Whether it is the 22 class members or the class point system, the educators at Nanjing Jindi Future School never stop pursuing innovative education models that are more suitable for children, matching the changing needs of students with varied educational methods, building a platform for each child to grow up with integrity, tolerance, health, perseverance and enterprise in all educational activities and in specific educational behaviours, truly making the school for the students and the teachers for the students. The school is designed for the students, the teachers teach for the students, rooted in tradition and oriented towards the future, and this is the way of education that Nanjing Jindi Future School has always insisted on and practised.
