导语思想的力量，理想的光芒。京领全球领军校长系列，旨在全球范围内挖掘领军校长，用领军校长的思想力量引领行业发展，用领军校长的理想信念点燃奋斗激情，培养更多拔尖创新人才，用教育改变世界，用人才创造未来！促进社会进步，推动人类发展！年华易逝，但思想不灭；世事变迁，但理想永存。The Power of Thought, the Light of Ideals. The "KingLead Global Leading Principals" series aims to discover leading principals worldwide. Lead the development of the industry with the ideological power of leading principals. Ignite the passion with the belief of leading principals and cultivating more innovative talents. Promote social progress and promote human development!Time flies, but human thoughts are immortal. Things change, but ideals remain forever.本文为上海市民办平和学校万玮校长的领军校长专访。Following is an exclusive interview withWei Wan, Principal of Shanghai Pinghe School.校长名片万玮上海市民办平和学校总校长万玮校长是民进中央教育委员会委员、民进上海市委会基础教育委员会副主任、上海市民办中小学协会常务副会长，教育部国培计划首批专家库成员。曾出版《班主任兵法》系列、《用服务的态度做教师》、《教师的五重境界》、《40岁，开始做教育》、《学校管理的本质》、《教育只有一个主题》、《家长有远见，孩子有格局》等多部专著。学校简介上海市民办平和学校成立于1996年9月。2001年起，学校获准跨区县面向全市招生。2002年9月在高中部开设国际文凭组织课程，实施全英语教学。2003年5月通过国际文凭组织（IBO）审核，成为IBDP组织成员学校。2004年12月，学校被上海市教育委员会认定为“上海市首批双语学校”。2007年被批准为“上海市直接向境外招收外国留学生资格学校”。2014年成为上海市首批21所可以开设高中国际课程的学校。一、理想结合现实，成就“T”型人才京领：请问您的教育理念是什么？是如何在学校践行的？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：有关我的教育理念，我着重谈两点，第一个理念叫做自驱式成长，就是自我驱动。在我过去这些年的教育管理经历中，从一名普通的数学老师、班主任，到后面成为中层管理者，再成为学校校长，我越来越坚定地认为，教育这件事，最重要的就是把学生的内在动力激发出来。即使过程中需要一些外力推动，但它只是一个过程，不可能永远用外力推下去，孩子终究会长大。所以常言道，教育是激励，教育是唤醒，教育是点燃，我觉得讲的其实都是这层意思。所以在平和学校，我们特别提倡培养学生的“五自精神”，这“五自”分别是自主、自由、自然、自省和自信。我们学校每年都会评选“平和人物”。“平和人物”的一个重要标准就是用“五自精神”来衡量。这“五自”最核心的就是第一个词，自主。因为我们特别重视培养学生的独立自主能力。就像我前面提到的，最重要的就是让学生产生自我驱动力。第二个理念是面向未来的人才。未来人才有一个模型，很像是大写字母“T”。培养“T”形人才，落到平和学校的教育实践中时，意味着我们要先要画一“横”——代表的是让学生广泛接触各领域的知识，也就是“博雅教育”。在孩子成年之前，我们要尽可能地让他们去接触，了解自己擅长和不擅长哪些事情，对哪些事情感兴趣和不感兴趣。孩子小的时候经常会有很多梦想，但多半不切实际，或只是一时兴趣。所以我们要让学生真正地去接触和体验。在孩子本科毕业之后，去工作或读研究生，才真正确定职业或专业方向，才开始画那一“竖”，学校教育最关键的一点就是要找到画那一竖的“点”。当你找到合适的“点”，“横”又足够长，这一“竖”才能画得足够的深。这就代表你能在职业道路上取得的成就。这个横与竖的交集点需要符合三个条件:第一，天赋所在。每个人有属于自己的天赋，天赋有时候使你的起点就是别人的天花板，那么这一定是一个合适的点。第二，真正喜欢的事情。真正喜欢，才能有热情，才不需要外部驱动。没有回报和奖赏，你也愿意做，这就是你真的喜欢做的事情。第三，符合时代要求。如果有一件事情既是天赋，又是兴趣，又符合时代要求，就一定能成功。但是大部分人找不到这个点，能找到一个条件就已经很不错了。很多人三四十岁都不知道自己一生干了什么，不喜欢自己做的事情，也没有成就感，但那时换职业、换专业就很难了。教育过程就是帮学生做好自我认知。要找到这个点，最终听从内心的召唤，只有自己最了解自己。别人给你建议，老师、家长给你建议，或者社会上有些潮流，但是实际上你不适合，怎么办？比如，大家觉得金融行业很好，你也有条件进入金融行业，可是你天生对赚钱不感兴趣，那么你去那个行业干什么？所以，自我认知就是知道自己的长板和短板，知道自己内心真正想要的和恐惧的是什么。从学校管理的角度来说，我们要创造一个相对宽松的环境，这也是我们要向国际上先进教育学习的地方。一些学校很多元，可以给学生提供很多选择，让学生有很多试错机会。犯错很重要，犯错就是让学生对自我进行认识。对自我有充分的认识，才能真正做喜欢的事情。中国人强调立志，西方人强调使命，往大了说是做对社会有贡献的人，往小了说，是至少这一生对得起自己。这些都需要自我认知为前提。京领：您在教育行业有着非常丰富的理论与实践经验，您认为一线教师的经历对您作为校长有哪些帮助？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：对于这个问题我想谈三点。第一，我想引用日本教育家佐藤学的“教育的三个视角”。他曾经讲，教育研究有三个视角，分别是“飞鸟之眼”、“蜻蜓之眼”和“蚂蚁之眼”，也就是宏观、中观和微观的三个角度。在我身为普通老师的时候，我更多会关注在微观具体的事情上面，比如，怎么教调皮的孩子，怎么把一节课上好，怎么管理一个班级，怎么跟家长做有效沟通等等。这些是以“蚂蚁之眼”看待问题。后来做了中层，就是以“蜻蜓之眼”去看待问题。我站在相对高一点的位置，思考比如怎么带团队等问题，进而知道，我不光需要个人执行力强，还需要有影响力和组织能力，促进团队合作。成为校长之后，就需要“飞鸟之眼”。我就要站在一个更高的角度，对很多问题有一些深刻的认知。我的教育理念其实都是做了校长之后自己慢慢琢磨出来的。而且做了校长之后，我的眼光就会很长远，我需要用至少10年的眼光来看待孩子的成长。但如果没有做过一线普通教师，我就只有“飞鸟之眼”，那就不一定能体会到很多一线教师的感受。今天在一个系统里做任何事情，这三个视角都是必备的。不同的视角看到的东西是不一样的，我觉得从普通一线教师到校长，培养了我全面的视角。第二，站在校长的角度，两件事情特别重要。第一件事情就是做决策，第二件事就是用人。决策是对的，但用的人不对，事情也不会成功。我做过一线教师之后，经历过用人的过程，我就会知道不同的人会有不同的特点。人是非常复杂的。比如，领导觉得这个人很好，但一线教师觉得这个人不行。所以做过一线教师之后再做校长，我就会想，站在校长的角度，这个人为什么好，站在一线教师的角度，这个人为什么这么不好，差异在什么地方。另一方面，校长制定战略，也得懂战术。就像打仗如果没有实战经验，就像赵括一样是纸上谈兵，整个战略没有基础。所以我觉得做过一线教师之后，作为校长制定战略的时候会更加实际地考虑可行性。第三，我觉得也是一个老生常谈的问题，就是理想和现实。学校的愿景、使命和育人目标，一定有理想主义的部分。作为校长给学校指引方向的时候，也需要用理想来感召团队。但是校长不能只是空谈，也要考虑现实情况。比如一个老师连班级都控制不住，怎么谈理想。基于在一线的丰富经验，我才能感同身受一些具体情况，我才知道人性的多样性。就好像一朵花开得很鲜艳，但这只是它地面上的部分，地下的根系接触的是污泥。真实的生活就是这样，只有能够很现实地处理各种问题，躲过各种暗礁，我才能够讲理想主义。二、推动与引领，学校与家庭共创良性循环社区京领：您认为做好一名国际化学校的校长最应该注重的是什么？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：有两个方面是必须要做，第一个就是学校的定位。我们的社会是很多元的，不同的家长群体对教育的需求不同，但我们不可能满足所有需求。我们要用生态系统的观念来理解学校的定位。比如把基础教育界理解为一个生态系统，这个生态系统应该是百花齐放的。卢梭讲过，参差多态，乃幸福之本源。我觉得每一所学校要知道自己在生态系统里的生态位在哪里。平和作为民办国际化学校，高中开办国际课程，但我们非常清楚，我们永远是公办教育的一个有益补充，是一个满足社会多样化需求的本土学校。我们在义务教育阶段实施国家课程，10-12年级实施国际课程。同时我们试图用一些国际先进的教育理念来实施国家课程，比如重视艺术、体育、团队合作，重视学生的人格健全、口头表达、批判性思维等等。然后在引进国际课程时，也做了一些本土化建构。归根结底就是一定要把定位搞清楚。第二，在学校的管理过程中“增强回路”。增强回路是一种系统思维，就是让学校能在良性循环里运行。比如说，我们要提高办学质量，办学质量好了，家长学生对学校满意度高了，就会给我们带来口碑。再比如说，我们要关心爱护师资和团队，团队稳定之后，学校也能良性循环。所以一定要考虑哪些事情能推动学校往好的方向发展，这些就是要花大力气去做的事。相反，有一些可能导致恶性循环的事情，就要花大力气消灭在萌芽中。我刚开始做校长的时候，每一次的投诉我都非常认真地对待，哪怕有些投诉可能与事实不符。而且我会告诉我的团队，有则改之，无则加勉。近几年我们的投诉慢慢就少了。所以不能抱着敌视的态度对待投诉，用谦虚的姿态面对批评建议才能改进。这也是增强回路。能让学校变得更好的事情，哪怕很小的事情也得去做。京领：家长总会焦虑于学生的考试成绩以及升学等问题，但学生的个人成长过程也很重要，平和学校是如何平衡学生的学业与成长的？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：第一就是学校课程。我们现在提倡的是中西融合课程。中国的家长很多时候还是会分数焦虑，我觉得完全可以理解。因为我们的传统文化会强调望子成龙、望女成凤，而不是让孩子甘于做一个普通人。中国的基础教育取得了很多成绩，我觉得也跟我们文化息息相关。但有时候太极端了，也会造成现在的“内卷”，以及虎爸虎妈这种社会焦虑。在这个过程中，我们也要学习一些世界领先教育理念。现在我们的课程设置是朝着全人教育方向发展的。我们的校园活动非常丰富，我们有大量艺术和体育的选修课，我们还很认真地做跨学科整合和基于项目的学习。这个过程中，对于孩子某一方面的天赋，学校都能提供一个平台来展现。比如有一个学生学科成绩一般，但体育很好，然后我们学校每个学期都有各种体育活动和比赛，他总是能站上领奖台，我作为校长亲自给孩子颁奖，他就会很有自我实现的感觉。所以他虽然成绩一般，但每天也能欢欢喜喜来上学。所以第一点就是，我们的课程能够给各种各样有天赋的孩子提供展示自我的机会。第二点是评价和升学系统。我觉得现在的孩子很幸运，他们比我们这一代人有更多机会，有不同的升学渠道。我们那一代人千军万马过独木桥，所有的孩子最后都要中考、高考。但是现在的孩子拥有更多像平和这样的学校。我们的学生在初三毕业的时候，可以有两个方向的选择：考国内高中，或走国际方向。我们的高中申请结果也非常好，而且这条路实践了很多年，大家都觉得平和两方面结合得很好。评价和升学是很重要的，很多家长关注的就是他们的孩子将来至少有出路。而且现在越来越多的家长也认识到，让孩子去读书升学，归根结底是孩子适不适合，开不开心。当我们有不同的升学方向和途径，背后带来了不同的评价标准，就会缓解很多家长的焦虑。有很多家长确实也认为中西教育各有所长。他们觉得中国基础教育可以给孩子打下比较扎实的学术功底，但也不希望极端地让孩子整天刷题。而且家长也觉得在孩子小学的时候，很难帮孩子决定将来的人生。所以，平和能够把中西教育的精华有机地结合起来。京领：您认为“好教育的根源在家庭”，家庭教育对于学生的成长至关重要，那么在学生的教育上您是如何推进家校协作的？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：我简单谈三个观点，三句话。第一句话叫学校教育由家庭教育来推动。学校办学质量跟它所在的社区是休戚相关的。不同的社区，家长的理念是不同的，就带来对教育不同的期望，然后就会对学校教育起到一种推动作用。比如一个社区里的家长都是应试型的，觉得学校抓得越紧，布置作业越多越好，那么最后学校只能越抓越紧。另一种社区，很多家长有更加国际化的理念，觉得学校老师教学方法太死板，他们投诉的重点可能是这个。所以学校的教育和变革，学校的很多工作最终是家长群体推动的。第二句话是，学校教育要引领家庭教育。就像北京十一学校前校长李希贵校长说，教育是服务业。学校提供的是教育服务，要满足家长的需求，但是我们也不是简单的不考虑其他东西。我们毕竟是专业教育者，不能让家长将一些不理智的观点带进学校，我们要去引领。所以从这个角度来说，学校教育要有自己的主张。我认为，能够在这些浮躁的声音中坚定自己的办学理念，才最终可能得到社会的认同。然后第三句话是，学校的服务对象也包括家长。学校提供教育服务的对象主要是学生。那么学生的体验就很重要，家长看到孩子在学校的成长进步也会很高兴。但是更进一步来讲，学校教育的服务对象也要涵盖家长。对于家长来说，尤其是第一个孩子，他们确实有时候是很焦虑和迷惑的，但是学校在这方面是成熟的，因为我们看到一批批孩子从小学、初中到高中成长起来，对很多问题有比较清晰全面的认知。我们知道有些问题就是成长的问题，耐心等待就好。但是有些问题看起来是个小节问题，但是涉及学生品质，那么我们就要告诉家长花大力气去抓。从这些问题的角度，家校协作也是学校的责任。所以，我觉得学校应该在家校协作过程中用专业性来引领家长，给家长提供好的指导和帮助。三、和而不同促进创新涌现，中国叙事体系成就基础教育京领：平和学校提出要打造民族教育品牌，您打算从哪些方向布局去实现这个目标？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：第一点，肯定要努力把学校办好，要有很好的办学成果。升学结果很重要，但是现在很多家长也看学生的综合表现，比如从在校学生的精神面貌去判断一所学校的好坏，如果从一所学校孩子出来都是无精打采的，他就觉得这个学校有问题。我们甚至还有一些孩子到单位实习，单位的部门主管对学生印象非常好，就会问这个孩子是哪个学校的，然后慕名到我们学校来。所以一个学校的办学成果一定是在学生的整个精神面貌上体现出来的，它不单单是升学结果，还要看学生的综合能力。第二点就是，作为校长或者管理团队，我们要能明确地介绍办学成果和背后的办学理念。所以我们不但要有成果出来，而且要能够讲出来我们是怎么做到的。从培养目标开始，到学校的文化体系、课程体系和评价体系。有一套价值观和方法论非常重要，因为未来真的要打造民族教育品牌，要推广出去，内部的这套理念体系必须非常清晰。第三点就是，最终我们还要靠一个成熟稳定，专业强大的师资团队。因为小朋友进来之后，最终对他影响最大的还是任课老师。这些师资团队能不能深刻地、精准地把握学校的办学理念，是很重要的。甚至有的时候，这个团队对于个体孩子和家长可能比校长还重要。而且新教师进来之后，对他们影响最大的也不是校长，而是他所在的小团队。这关系到学校的传承，老话说铁打营盘流水的兵，团队背后的文化既影响了这个团队，这个团队本身也是文化的创造者和载体。最后我想补充一点，我们既然提出做民族教育品牌，还需要特别考虑我们的时代背景。作为一个学校，我们也要有一种使命感。今天我们处在大国崛起的过程中。真正的崛起不单单是科技、组织和经济的崛起，也是文化、教育的崛起。中国的基础教育将来也要在世界上有一席之地，要有发言权，学校应该承担一种历史使命，时代使命。京领：您认为创新人才该具备哪些素养，未来国际化教育该如何培养学生的创新能力？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：创新其实是一个永恒的话题，全社会都在讨论。尤其是现在国家之间的竞争，它其实是一个创新人才的竞争。关于创新，我有一个“三闲”理论。第一个是“闲暇”。我们要有闲暇时光，不能整天忙着为生活而奔波。闲暇的时候才会突然间灵光一闪，才可以培养兴趣爱好。第二个叫“闲钱”，要有一定的经济基础。而且创新是需要不断地试错的。试错是需要花钱的。第三个叫“闲情”，要愿意且有兴趣做这个事情。而且很多事情是不知道结果的，但你就是喜欢去做。很多创新是无心插柳的。我还有一句话叫做，创新不是自上而下的执行，而是自下而上的涌现。所以第一，不能太多功利。第二，对于创新人才来说，有两个能力特别重要。这两个能力基于“T”型人才的原则。第一个叫博雅，就是人首先要有放松的状态，要有好奇心。创新不是无中生有，更多的时候是不同领域的连接。那么这就需要很多跨界知识。有时候在某一个细分领域里面一个大家都知道的常规方法，迁移到另一个领域里，就是一个创新。所以现在讲创新可能就不是“T”型了，而是“π”型。第二个叫专注，就是很多人各个领域都知道一些，但是要画那一“竖”的时候，需要非常专注，才能达到创新需要的能力。关于创新还有一点是平和学校提倡的一种校园文化，“和而不同”。我们创造和谐的校园氛围，但是我们肯定会有“不同”。对于创新来说，“不同”才有价值。而且创新涌现的基础就是这个系统要足够复杂，有各种各样不同的元素。我们鼓励“不同”，甚至鼓励各种偏才怪才——很多创新人才本身是偏才。所以学校要有一种特别包容的文化。京领：您如何看待如今更新迭代快速发展的人工智能先进科技？它们将对教育产生怎样的影响？学校应做出怎样的调整以应对该变化？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：对于ChatGPT有两派观点，一派认为我们高估了ChatGPT，它虽然厉害，但不过是把已有的东西融合起来，不会产生新的东西，不会产生人类思维之外的东西。还有一派觉得这个类似于工业革命，认为ChatGPT是一种全新的智能，当它发展到足够复杂的程度，就能产生意识。我觉得他们的共同点就是ChatGPT确实是一个非常厉害的工具，掌握这个工具，人和人之间的差距就会拉大。从教育的角度来说，丹尼尔·卡尼曼有一本书叫《思考快与慢》。他提出我们的思维系统有两个，一个是快系统，一个是慢系统。快系统靠感觉直觉、情绪情感来做判断，慢系统靠逻辑和理性慢慢分析。他讲到人类做决策，实际上是这两个系统的结合。今天的人工智能，特别是ChatGPT，突破的是人类的慢系统，它的逻辑推理能力超过以前所有人工智能，它大数据分析的能力、计算能力非常强。但是它不能取代快思维系统。这是人类的优势。丹尼尔·平克也在他《全新思维》这本书中讲到，未来的人类更多地依靠右脑，而不是左脑。左脑负责理性，右脑负责感性。他还提出“三感三力”。“三感”是设计感、娱乐感、意义感，“三力”是故事力、交响力、共情力。教育将来就是要培养这样的人。未来很有可能是人类跟人工智能共处的时代。AI不能干的事情就是人类的价值所在，人如果足够有能力驾驭AI，AI就能够增强人类的能力。而AI暂时不能具有的能力，就是教育需要培养能力。我看到很多人讲，现在的学校教育是在用训练机器的方法在训练人，我们在努力培养人的慢思考能力，而把快思考能力剥夺了。其实孩子很小的时候，都有好奇心，甚至小孩子的直觉都是很准的，长之后就没了。所以我觉得现在的教育要更多地思考，要更多地对传统教育做一些反思。我还要提到一本书叫《教育3.0》，作者是顾远和周贤。他们提倡学校教育要进入3.0时代。他们有一个社会化学习的概念，比如“学习在窗外、他人即老师，世界是教材”。所以我个人认为未来的学校，无论是外部形态，组织架构还是内部的课程体系，教育方式都会发生改变。京领：接下来，上海平和学校有哪些短期和长期的发展目标可与我们分享？上海市民办平和学校校长万玮：短期目标就是学校的规模可能会有扩大。接下来在上海浦东，我们可能还会有一个全新的校区，叫金鼎平和教育综合体。我们的高中规模可能会做大一些。这对于学校未来发展很重要，因为学校的发展需要有一定规模，才会有新鲜血液加入。这个过程中，学校会有一些升级，课程体系会不断地完备。长期就是在大国崛起的过程中，我们要打造基础教育的中国叙事体系。比如我们高中部的IBDP课程是一个全球课程，有很大的包容性。它虽然有课程的大纲，但它允许各个学校在不同的国家和地区，根据不同的情况进行本土化实施。我觉得这是一个很好的平台。作为一所中国学校，在全球舞台上，跟全球IB学校实施同样的课程，如果我们学校办得很好，也可以提炼我们的一些做法，在这个全球平台上用中国叙事体系的方式，把中国的基础教育推向国际。English VersionI. Ideal Bond with Reality:Cultivating the "T"-talentsKingLead: What is your educational philosophy? And how is it practiced in international education?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:There are two focuses from my philosophy.The first philosophy is called self-driven growth, which refers to autonomy. In my past years of educational management experience, from being an ordinary math teacher and head teacher, then becoming a middle manager, and today as a principal of a school, I have believed with increasing conviction that the most vital thing about education is to bring out the inner motivation of students. Even though this process requires some external stimuli, it is but a process and cannot be pushed on forever with external stimuli because children will eventually grow up. Therefore, there are often words that education is motivation, awakening, and ignition, which is all of what I think we are talking about.That's why at Pinghe School, we especially advocate the cultivation of the "Five Spirits", which are Autonomy, Freedom, Nature, Self-reflection and Self-confidence. Our school selects the " Pinghe Person" annually. An important criterion for the " Ping He character" is to use the Five Self Spirit to measure. The core of these " Five Spirits" is that of the first word, autonomy. Because we place special emphasis on cultivating students' independence and autonomy. As I mentioned above, the most important thing is to make students self-motivated.The second philosophy is future-oriented talent.There is a model of future talent, much like a capital "T". When applied to the educational practice of the Pinghe School, cultivating "T" talents means that we have to draw a cross "-" first: The "-" indicates that students are exposed to a wide range of fields of knowledge, or "liberal arts education". Before children reach adulthood, we need to expose them to as many things as possible to learn what they are good at and what they are weak at, as well as what they are interested in and what they are disinterested in.When children are little, they usually have numerous dreams, but most of them are unrealistic or just a passing interest. So, we need to get students really exposed and experiencing. It's not until after the child graduates from undergraduate school and goes to work or graduate school, that he or she really determines a career or professional direction and begins to draw the "l." Then, the key to schooling is to find the“point”to draw that "l".When you find the right "point" and the "-" is long enough, the "l" can be drawn deep enough. This represents what you can achieve in your career path.This intersection of "-" and "l"needs to meet three conditions.Firstly,where the talent is. Everyone has a talent that belongs to them, and if that talent makes your starting point the ceiling of others, then this must be a suitable foothold.Secondly, what you really like.Only the things you really like can make you passionate and do not need to be externally driven. Even if there is no return and reward, you are willing to do, this is what you really like to do.Third, meet the requirements of the times.If there is something that is both a talent and an interest and meets the requirements of the times, it will definitely be successful. But most people cannot find this point, then it is good enough to find one condition. Many people in their 30s and 40s still don't know what they have done in their life, they have no feeling of accomplishment when they don't like what they are doing, but at that time it is very difficult to change their occupation or major.The educational process is about helping students to become well aware of themselves. To find the point is ultimately to listen to the call of the heart, only you know yourself best. Other people give you advice, teachers, parents give you advice, or there are some trends in society, but what if in reality you don't fit into them? For example, people think that the financial industry is very good, and you are qualified to enter the financial industry, but you are not naturally interested in making money, so what are you doing in that industry? So, self-awareness is to know your own strengths and weaknesses, to know what you really want and fear inside.From the schooling management perspective,we need to create a relatively relaxed environment, and this is what we need to learn from international education. Some schools have multiple elements and can offer students plenty of choices and opportunities for trial and error. Making mistakes is important as it allows students to become aware of themselves. A full understanding of self is the only way to really do what you like. While the Chinese emphasize aspiration, the Westerners emphasize mission. In the grand scheme it is to be a contributor to society, and in the small scheme it is to at least be worthy of oneself in this life. All of these are subject to self-awareness.KingLead: With a wealth of theoretical and practical experience in the education industry, how do you think your experience as a first-line teacher can help you as a principal?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:As to this issue, there are three points concerning it. Firstly, I would like to quote the Japanese educator Manabu Sato's"three perspectives on education". He once said that there are three perspectives in educational research, namely,"the eye of the bird", "the eye of the dragonfly" and "the eye of the ant". I think these are the Macro, Meso and Micro perspectives.When I was an ordinary teacher, I focused more on micro and specific things, such as how to teach a naughty child, how to teach a lesson well, how to manage a class, how to communicate effectively with parents, and so on. These are “the eye of the ant” view of the problem. Subsequently, when I became a middle level, I saw the problems with “the eyes of a dragonfly”. I stood in a relatively high position and thought about issues such as how to lead a team, and then I knew that I needed not only strong personal execution, but also influence and organizational skills to promote teamwork. After becoming a principal, I needed “the eye of the bird”. I have to stand in a higher perspective and have some deep knowledge of many issues. My educational philosophy has been slowly worked out by myself after becoming a principal. And after being a principal, my vision will be a long term one. I need to look at the growth of children with at least 10 years' vision.But if I hadn't been a first-line teacher ever, I would have had only “the eyes of a bird”, and I wouldn't necessarily have been able to appreciate what many first-line teachers feel. Whereas these three perspectives are necessary to do anything in a system today. Different perspectives see things differently, and I feel that going from being a regular first-line teacher to a principal has cultivated a well-rounded perspective in me.Secondly, from the perspective of a principal, two things are particularly important.The first thing is to make decisions, and thesecond thing is to apply people. The decision is right, but if you don't use the right people, things won't work. I feel that after I have been a front-line teacher, I have experienced the process of employing people, and I will know that different people will have different characteristics.People are very complex. For example, the leader may think the person is good, while a teacher may not think the same. So after being a frontline teacher and then a principal, I would think about why this person is considered good from the principal's perspective and why this person is considered so bad from the frontline teacher's perspective, and what the differences are.On the other hand, principals develop strategies and have to know tactics. Just like fighting a war, if you don't have real-world experience, you're like Zhao Zhuo who is an armchair strategist. So I think after working as a front-line teacher, you will be more practical in considering the feasibility when developing strategies as a principal.Third, which I think is a cliché, relates to ideals and reality. There must be idealism in the school's vision, mission and educational goals. When being the principal to set the school's direction, you also need to use ideals to inspire your team. But principals can't just talk the talk, they also need to be realistic. For example, how can a teacher talk about ideals when he or she can't even control the class. Based on my extensive experience on the front line, I came to know some details of the situation, and I came to know the existence of human nature. It's like a flower blooming brightly, but that's only the above-ground part of it; the underground roots are in contact with the dirt. Real life is like this, only when I can deal with various problems in a realistic way and dodge various reefs, I can speak of idealism.II.Promoting and Leading:School-Family Collaboration Createsa Virtuous Cycle CommunityKingLead: What do you think is the most important thing for an international school principal to focus on?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:There are two areas that must be addressed, the first of which isthe school's positioning. Our society is multidimensional and different groups of parents differ in their needs for education, but we are unable to meet all needs. It is important that we use an ecosystem concept to understand the positioning of schools. For example, if we understand the basic schooling community as an ecosystem, this should be a diverse ecosystem. Rousseau once said that diversity is the source of happiness. I think every school should know where its ecological position is in the ecosystem. As a private international school, Pinghe conducts the high school international curriculum, but we are very clear that we will always be a useful supplement to public education, a home-grown school that meets the diverse needs of society. We implement the national curriculum in compulsory education and the international curriculum in grades 10-12. At the same time, we try to implement the National Curriculum with some of the advanced concepts of international education, such as the emphasis on art, sports, teamwork, the integrity of students, speech, critical thinking, etc. Then when introducing the international curriculum, we also try to do some localization. It all boils down to making sure to get the positioning right.The second is to strengthen the circuits in the school's management process.Enhancing the circuit is a systemic thinking that allows the school to operate in a virtuous cycle. For instance, we need to improve the quality of schooling, and when the quality of schooling is high, parents and students will be more satisfied with the school, which will eventually bring us word of mouth. Furthermore, for example, we shall provide care and support for the teaching faculty and their teams, and when the teams are stable, the school will be in a virtuous cycle. Therefore, we must consider which things can drive the school in a good direction, and these are the things that we should spend a lot of effort on. Conversely, if there are things that could lead to a vicious cycle, you need to put a lot of effort into nipping them in the bud. When I first started as a principal, I took every complaint with great consideration, even if some of them might not be factually correct. And I would inform my team that a complaint is an investment, and that if you have one, you should correct it. In recent years, our complaints have slowly decreased. Thus, you can't treat complaints with a hostile attitude, facing critics and suggestions with a humble attitude is the only way to be better. This is also enhancing the circuit. Things that can make the school better, even the smallest things have to be done.KingLead: Parents are always anxious about their students' examination performance and higher education, but their students' personal growth process is also important, how does Pinghe School balance students' academics and growth?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:The first point is theschool curriculum. We are now promoting a curriculum that integrates the East and the West. Chinese parents are often anxious about grades, which I think is completely understandable. Because our traditional culture emphasizes the desire for the sons to become dragons and the daughters to become phoenixes, instead of letting the children settle for being an ordinary person. China's Basic Education has achieved a lot, and I think it is closely related to our culture. But going too far can also cause the current social anxiety of involution and Tiger parents.So in this process, we also have to learn from Western educational philosophy. That's why our curriculum is now moving toward holistic education. We have rich campus activities, we have abundant elective courses in arts education and physical education, and we are also very diligent about interdisciplinary integration and project-based learning. This process provides a platform for any child's talents in a particular area to be showcased. For example, there is a student who is average in his subject but very good in sports, and then we have various sports activities and competitions in our school every semester, and he always stands on the podium, and I as the principal personally give the award to the child, and he gets a great sense of self-actualization. So, he comes to school happily every day even though his academic performance is average. So, the first point is that our program can really give a variety of talented children the opportunity to demonstrate themselves.The second point is the assessment and admission system. I think kids today are very fortunate that they have more opportunities than my generation and have different channels for further education. In our generation, thousands of people crossed a single bridge, and all the kids ended up taking the enrollment examinations for high school and university. But today's children have access to a wider range of schools like Pinghe.When our students graduate from junior high school, they have a choice of two pathways: take a domestic high school or go to an international school. Our high school application results are also outstanding, and this path has been practiced for many years, and everyone feels that Pinghe has a good combination of both. Assessment and higher education are very important, and many parents are concerned that their children will at least be on their way in the future. And an increasing number of parents are now realizing that getting their children to study and go on to higher education comes down to whether or not they are suitable and happy. When we have different pathways and directions for further education, which bring different evaluation criteria behind them, it will relieve the anxiety of many parents.It is true that there are many parents who also believe that Chinese and Western education have their own strengths and weaknesses. They feel that Chinese Basic Education can give their children a more solid academic foundation, but they also do not want to go to the extreme of having their children study all day. And parents also feel that it is difficult to help their children decide their future life when they are in elementary school. Therefore, Pinghe is able to combine the best of Chinese and Western education organically.KingLead: You believe that "the root of a good education is in the family" and that family education is crucial to the growth of students, how do you promote home-school collaboration in the education of students?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:Let me briefly talk aboutthree points and three sentences. The first is thatschool education is driven by family education. The quality of schooling is closely related to the community in which it is located. Different communities have different parental philosophies, which bring about different expectations and expectations for education, which then play a role in promoting school education. For example, in one community, parents are test-oriented and feel that the tighter the school is and the more homework they assign, the better. In another community, many parents have a more international philosophy and feel that the school teachers are too rigid in their teaching methods, and this may be the focus of their complaints. So education and change in schools, a lot of what schools do is ultimately driven by the parent community.The second statement is thatschool education should lead family education. As Principal Li Xigui, former principal of Beijing No.11 High School, said, education is a service industry. Schools provide educational services to meet the needs of parents, but we are not simply disregarding other things. We are, after all, professionals who cannot allow some irrational views of parents to enter the school, we have to lead. So， from that perspective, schooling has to have its own advocacies. I think that being able to hold firm to one's schooling philosophy in the midst of all these impetuous voices is what may eventually gain the acceptance of the community.And then the third statement is thatthe school serves a population that also includes parents. The school provides educational services primarily to the students. The student experience is essential, and parents are happy to see their children's growth and progress in school. But furthermore, the school serves the parents as well. It is true that parents, especially those with their first child, are sometimes anxious and confused, but schools are mature in this regard because we have seen clusters of children grow up from elementary, middle and high school and develop a clear and comprehensive understanding on many issues. We know that some issues are just growth issues, which are better to be patient about. However, there are some issues that seem to be a minor one, on the other hand, when it comes to student quality, then we have to tell parents to put a lot of effort into catching them. From the perspective of these issues, home-school collaboration is also the school's responsibility. Therefore, I think the school should lead parents with professionalism in the process of home-school collaboration and provide good guidance and help to parents.III. Harmony in Diversity and Innovation:China's Narrative for Basic EducationKingLead: Pinghe School proposes to establish a national education brand, what directions do you plan to lay out for achieving this goal?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:The first point relates todefinitely striving to run the school well with highly visible results.The outcomes of further education do matter, but many parents nowadays also take into account the all-round performance of the students. For example, they will judge a school by the spirit of its students. If all the children coming out of a school are lethargic, they will think there is something wrong with the school. Some of our students have even gone on internships, and the heads of the departments are so impressed with the students that would ask them which school they came from, and then they would come to our school on purpose. Therefore, the achievement of a school must be reflected in the whole spirit of the students, it is not only the result of further education, but also the overall ability of the students.The second point is that as principals or managerial teams, we need to be able to explicitly present the outcomes of the school and the philosophy behind it.This means that not only do we need to be able to demonstrate our achievements, but we also need to be able to show how we have achieved them. Starting from the cultivation goal, to the school's culture system, curriculum system, and assessment system. It is vital to have a set of values and methodologies, because in the future, if we aim to build a national education brand and promote it, the internal philosophy system must be very well defined.The third point is that, ultimately, we have to rely ona mature and stable, and professionally competent team of teachers. After a student is admitted, it is the teacher who will have the greatest influence on him/her. It's crucial that these teachers profoundly and accurately grasp the school's philosophy. In some cases, this teaching team may play a more significant role for individual children and parents than the principal. And when a new teacher comes in, it is not the principal who has the greatest influence on them, but the small team he or she is part of. The culture behind the team influences both the team and the team itself is also the creator and carrier of the culture.Lastly, I would like to add that since we propose to be a national education brand, we also need to give particular consideration to the context of our times. As a school, we also need to have a sense of calling. Today we are in the process of the rise of a great nation. The real rise is not only the rise of technology, organization and economy, but also the rise of culture and education. China's basic education must have a place in the world and even a voice in the future. I think schools should take on a historical mission, a mission of the times.KingLead: What qualities do you think innovative talents should have and how should international education foster innovation in students in the future?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:Innovation is actually an everlasting topic, which is discussed by the whole society. Especially the competition between countries nowadays, it is actually a competition of innovative talents.About innovation, I have a" Triple Leisure "theory. The first is" Leisure Time ". We need to have leisure time, instead of being busy all day long and running around for life. Only when we are idle will we suddenly have a flash of light, and only then can we develop hobbies. The second is called" Leisure money ", to have a certain economic base. And innovation requires constant trial and error. Trial and error costs money. The third is called" Leisure passion", to be willing and interested in doing this thing. And many things are not certain of the outcome, but you just like to do. Many innovations are unintentional.I have another statement saying thatinnovation is not executed from the top down, but emerges from the bottom up. Hence firstly, it should not be too much utilitarian. Secondly, there are two abilities that are particularly important for innovative talents. These two abilities are based on the principle of "T" talents. The first one is called "liberal arts", which means that people should first be relaxed and curious. Innovation is not something that comes from nothing, but more often a connection between various fields. Then this requires a wealth of knowledge in different fields. Sometimes a conventional method that everyone knows in a certain segment is an innovation when it is transferred to another field. Therefore, innovation may not be "T" type, but "π" type. The second is called focus, that is, many people know something in each field, but when they want to draw that "vertical", they need to be very focused in order to achieve the ability needed for innovation.Another point about innovation is a campus culture promoted by Pinghe School, "Harmony in Diversity". We create a harmonious campus atmosphere, but we definitely have "differences". "Differences" are valuable for innovation. And the basis for innovation to emerge is that the system is complex enough to have a variety of different elements. That's why we encourage "differences", even all kinds of eccentric talents. Many innovative people are themselves eccentrics. That's why schools need to have a particularly inclusive culture.KingLead: What do you think of today's rapidly developing AI technologies? What impact will they have on education? How should international schools adapt to cope with this change?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:There are two streams of opinion about Chat GPT. One school of thought thinks that we overestimate Chat GPT, and that although it is powerful, it is nothing more than a fusion of what already exists and will not produce anything new or outside of the human mind. There is also a school of thought that considers this akin to the industrial revolution, that Chat GPT is a new kind of intellectual connection that can produce consciousness when it develops enough complexity. I think what they have in common is that Chat GPT is indeed a very powerful tool, and mastering it will widen the gap between people.From an educational perspective, Daniel Kahneman has a book called Thinking Fast and Slow. He suggests that we have two systems of thinking, a fast system and a slow system. The fast system relies on sensory intuition, emotions and feelings to make judgments, while the slow system relies on logic and reason to analyze slowly. He talked about humans making decisions, which is actually a combination of these two systems. Today's Artificial Intelligence, especially ChatGPT, is a breakthrough in the human slow-thinking system, its logical reasoning ability exceeds all previous artificial intelligence, its ability to analyze big data, computing power is very strong. But it cannot replace the fast-thinking system. This is the advantage of human beings.Daniel Pink also talks about this in his book called A Whole New Mind：Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. He mentioned that humans of the future will rely more on the right brain than the left brain. The left brain is responsible for rationality, and the right brain is responsible for sensibility. He also proposed the "three senses and three powers". The "three senses and three abilities", "three senses" are the sense of design, entertainment and meaning, and "three abilities" are the power of story, symphony and empathy. The future of education is to cultivate such people. The future is likely to be the era of human coexistence with artificial intelligence. What AI cannot do may be the value of human beings, and if people are capable enough to continue to harness AI, AI can enhance human capabilities. But AI temporarily is uncapable of having these capabilities, which education needs to cultivate the ability.I have noticed that many people say that schooling nowadays is training people with the same method of training machines, and we are trying to develop people's ability to think slowly while depriving them of the ability to think fast. In fact, when children are young, they all have curiosity, and even children's intuition is highly precise, which disappears when they grow up. So I think that the education now needs to be more thoughtful and to do some reflection on traditional education more.I would also like to mention a book called Education 3.0 by Gu Yuan and Zhou Xian. They advocate that school education should go into the 3.0 era. They have a concept of social learning, such as "learning is outside the window" and "others are the teachers, the world is the teaching material". So I personally believe that the future of schools will change in terms of external form, organizational structure, internal curriculum and educational approach.KingLead: What are the short-term and long-term development goals of Shanghai Pinghe School that you are willing to share with us?Wan Wei, Principal, Shanghai Pinghe School:The short-term goal is thatthere may be an expansion of the school. In Pudong, Shanghai, we may also have a brand-new campus next, called the Jinding Education Complex. The size of our high school may get larger. This is important for the future development of the school, because the school needs to be of a certain size in order to have fresh blood join. During this process, the school will have some upgrades and the curriculum will continue to be completed.The long-term goal is to create a Chinese narrative of basic education as in the rise of our great nation.For example, our IBDP curriculum in the High School is a global curriculum that is very inclusive. It has a curriculum outline, but it allows individual schools to implement it locally in different countries and regions, depending on the situation.I think it is a great platform. As a Chinese school, on a global stage, implementing the same curriculum as the global IB schools. And if our school is doing well, we can also refine some of our practices, and use the Chinese narrative on this platform to promote Chinese Basic Education at international level.【点击进入京领国际学校大数据平台，为孩子选择美好人生】本文为京领原创出品未经授权，请勿转载电话：010-82362348微信：Kinglead008京领家长圈京领 KingLead