For schools, should “students come first” or “teachers come first”?
Wang Ying (special commentator)
A few years ago, I went to an experimental primary school in this city to study and learn from experience. I was attracted by a slogan hanging on the wall of the school - "Students first, teachers second." The principal’s explanation is: All work in the school must be student-centered and revolve around students; if teachers want to serve students, they should naturally put “students first, teachers second.”
Maybe this school has a good intention, but I don’t know what the teachers think of this slogan. I don’t know where the slogan comes from. I always feel that it is inappropriate, but I can’t find any reason to refute it. I didn't find the answer until I saw an article introducing the "Visible Learning" series of books by Professor John Harty of the University of Melbourne, Australia a few days ago.
Harty conducted a comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting academic achievement in more than 800 studies, and put these factors on the same ruler for examination. This is the internationally famous "Harty Ranking". If you look closely at this ranking, you will find that the factors that have the greatest impact on students' academic achievement are not the curriculum design that educators are keen to talk about, nor the school environment and school running conditions that policymakers strive to improve, but factors related to teachers and teaching. In the book, Professor Harty synthesizes the important evidence and conclusions obtained in educational empirical research so far and points out that teachers are the most important.
Since teachers are the most important, school management should put teachers first. From the perspective of order, it should be: "teachers first, students second". But it is undeniable that for a long time, many schools have used the slogan of "students first" to reverse the order of teachers and students, resulting in management dislocation. There are even situations where students violate school rules and disciplines and should be punished accordingly, but the blame is placed on teachers; when conflicts arise between home and school, parents have to punish teachers for unreasonable troubles; coupled with the teacher evaluation mechanism that mainly focuses on student scores, teachers often feel stressed out and exhausted both physically and mentally.
Teachers are educators and students are educated. From the perspective of the relationship between the two, of course "teachers come first". Because whether it is the implementation of educational policies, the realization of educational goals, or the practice of educational concepts, teachers need to start with daily lesson preparation, classroom teaching, homework correction, and student management. Teachers are the bridge and link between courses and students. Without the work of teachers day after day and year after year, no matter how lofty the educational goals and advanced educational concepts are, it will be difficult to implement them on students.
Only a good teacher can create talents. Teachers’ ideological realm, professional knowledge, and educational and teaching abilities are the guarantee for promoting students’ growth and success. In daily education and teaching work, many people often object to the statement that "there are no students who cannot teach well, only teachers who cannot teach", believing that this is a moral kidnapping of teachers. We really cannot expect teachers to teach all students well, but we have to admit that "good teachers" can indeed teach a large number of "good students". Sometimes they can make a poor student gradually become outstanding, and turn a poor class into a good class.
Only when schools put teachers first can teachers put students first. Whether in life or in the classroom, every move and gesture of a teacher will subtly affect students. Teachers' ideals and pursuits sometimes affect students' lives. In Harty’s view, school education should be a “regulator” that amplifies the positive effects of family and society while neutralizing their negative effects, and teachers are crucial in this process. They are not only imparters of knowledge and culture, but also role models for students to learn from.Only when schools put teachers first and pay attention to cultivating teachers' positive values and outlook on life can teachers have educational ideals in mind, always have students in their hearts, and regard teaching and educating people as their sacred mission.
The school insists on "teachers first", which means putting the construction of the teaching team first and treating teachers as the masters of school development. cares about their thoughts, life, work and study, respects their ideals, pursuits and personalities, reduces their work burden and mental pressure, and creates a suitable internal and external environment to provide a stage for the growth of every teacher. When making every major decision, the school should consider the problem from the perspective of teachers, brainstorm ideas, and extensively solicit teachers' opinions. When conflicts and disputes arise between teachers and students, home and school, we must be impartial, safeguard the legitimate and legitimate rights and interests of teachers, and dare to fight against behaviors that humiliate teachers. Only in this way can teachers maintain their dignity and status in society, concentrate on education and teaching, create education suitable for students, and win the respect and trust of students and parents.
