The Education Strategy and Concrete Scheme in the Second Home

xidai

The Education Strategy and Concrete Scheme in the Second Home

Xuefeng

(Translated by Ailian and Edited by Kaer)

Nov 21, 2013

Many people who care about children’s growth worry that the way the Second Home educates our children may be unfavorable for the children to enter into society and be successful in the future. They think that when the children grow up, they will know very little about general society, and they may find it too much with which to cope and not be able to find jobs in the society.

This kind of care for children is understandable and such worries are reasonable.

Now I am going to give a brief introduction on children's education strategies, with our specific implementation plan in the Second Home. Anyone in the education department or anyone who is interested in the study of children’s education can think about it or take this for reference.

First, the essence of education is to cultivate individuals with all-round developments of soul, intelligence, and body, rather than to simply cultivate a large number of labor-biological robots. It is to nurture people to have healthy souls and independent minds, as well as to be able to live independently, rather than to merely become bio robots for making money. The purpose of education is to allow everyone to live happy, joyful, free, and blessed lives, not just to be successful in society and become the so-called, “best person”.

In addition to compulsory courses regulated by the Chinese Ministry of Education, the school of the Second Home has opened up additional courses to the children, which are the knowledge of how to be a decent person and the knowledge of the relationship between man and the Greatest Creator (nature). There are six lessons every day, apart from teaching the children basic knowledge and transmitting wisdom and problem solving, we also pay attention to the children’s living practices. The children go to nature and participate in daily practical activities in order for them to receive all-round development.

If only judged by test scores, children educated in the Second Home may not fare as well as students in the general society. However, in terms of the understanding of nature and the knowledge of how to be a decent person as well as the quality of being harmonious with people and nature and the ability of living practice, there is no doubt that the children in the Second Home are more capable than children in general society, especially with regards to their outgoing and cheerful personalities, social skills, singing and dancing, and their independent minds and living abilities.

This effective theory comes from practice in daily life, and in turn it guides the daily activities. The education my child received was commonwealth education. I found that my child usually left school at one o'clock in the afternoon and rarely had any homework. The activities in the afternoon were to cultivate social skills and hands-on practical skills. Therefore, my child has very strong abilities of independent living and problem solving, and I rarely need to worry about him. After graduating from high school, he was accepted into one of the world’s top fifty universities with excellent scores. During that period, He solved many common problems on his own. This proves that the standard of measuring the quality of education based purely upon test scores and the amount of homework is defective.

We need to individualize children’s learning, teach through lively activities, and develop their thinking skills, as well as to motivate their enthusiasm for learning. Let children have happy childhoods. That youth have good tastes and young people have their interests is the fundamental principle of education in the Second Home. We respect the children’s will and we do not force children to study in the Second Home. If a child would prefer to study at a school outside the community, we would not stop them. However, children in the Second Home really like the community life and the home education. You could ask each child in details, and they would answer correspondingly.

Yes, the children cultivated in the Second Home are honest and simple with no sourness.  They may meet with setbacks when they enter society, but I firmly believe that regardless of whether it is a government department or a private company, the administrators' and supervisors' most valued employees are those who are honest, diligent, simple, and trustworthy. The children from in the Second Home will be more adaptable and flexible when compared with those who are educated in general society.

School is not a place to nurture heroes and elites. Times produce heroes and practice makes elites. The more important thing for schools is to nurture constant batches of ordinary workers who exude all-round developments of soul, intelligence, and body, and are capable of creating soul, spirit, and material wealth for society. The school education establishment of the Second Home is for this purpose.

Although we only offer a primary school in the Second Home now, we will also have a high school and a university in the future.

Facts speak louder than words, and presumptions make for groundless statements. Let the ultimate truth give us the answer.

Here I want to add something, I Xuefeng received my education in preschool, primary school, middle school, technical school, college, and a university. And my college majors were in education and children’s psychology. In addition, I have five years teaching experience and have been a head teacher in a middle school.