A beautiful education is encouragement in times of loss, sharing in times of joy, the company of daily warmth, the great force of living together, the awakening of one soul to another, and the protection of one’s life and others.
In order to broaden students’ horizons and enrich their experiences in the classroom as well as build a better platform for home-school co-education, “Parents in the Classroom” themed activities in Class 6C were officially launched in May 2023. The parents of Class 6C transformed into ‘teachers’, providing children with multiple fields, dimensions, and forms of vocational enlightenment lessons.
What kinds of surprises would parents bring to the classroom? What kinds of educational sparks would parents generate when they became ‘teachers’? Let’s look together and see how those parents captured the hearts of teachers and children.
Yu Minzhi’s father from Class 6C is from the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, and he is also an artist appointed by the Shanghai International Arts Festival. He has previously won first place in the variety show “National Music Ceremony”, which tells the story of Chinese national music and how this music has helped to pass down Chinese culture over thousands of years.
The children of 6C were treated to a pipa performance by Yu Bing, the sound of which at times flowed like water before becoming strong like a sword, filling our souls with the joy of music.
Yu Bing’s wonderful pipa solo, “A wonderful night in spring”, played like a beautiful and elegant scroll across a landscape, with exquisite ‘brushwork’ and ‘soft colours’. You could feel the setting sun as it reflected on the river’s surface, and the soft breeze as it caressed the ripples. It was like seeing the gentle breeze of the river, swaying flowers and plants, reflecting in the water, layered in a daze. Under deep clouds, the magnificent scenery of “the river and the sky are one colour without dust, and the solitary moon stays in the sky” arose spontaneously. The pipa was played with a sweeping wheel, just like a fishing boat breaking through the water, setting off on powerful waves before crashing on the shore. The artistic conception of “returning to the boat” was like a boat breaking through the water, splashed with waves, the sound of the oars “finding the ocean”, moving from far to near. At last, all sounds became silent, and the Chunjiang River appeared even more peaceful. The whole song ended in a harmonious and gentle melody giving the students an endless aftertaste.
As a senior engineer and chief technical expert in the field of microchips, Daming’s father gave a lecture to students on June 9 entitled, “One Chinese Chip, One Chinese Dream”. He explained the subject to the children by asking and answering several questions such as, “What is a chip?”, “How are chips manufactured?”, “How difficult is it to make a chip?”, and “What are the uses of chips?” He also told students about the developmental history and current situation of China’s chip industry. Daming’s father finally shared a sentence with children: “The past has passed, the future is coming.” His father shared that he hopes that through his Parent Class, a light can be lit in the hearts of the students, illuminating their direction of progress. He hopes they learn the significance of studying hard and have the opportunity to become a member of high-tech workers in the future, to climb to the top of the science and technology ladder and master core technology, and to compete with the most advanced foreign products so that they can win honours for the country while realizing their own life values.
Nearing the final weeks of the semester, parents’ classroom activities came to an end. For a time, the small classroom became a big world, broadening the children’s horizons and giving them more aspirations for the future! Children gained knowledge that could not be acquired in the classroom and learned about industries that otherwise they would have no contact with. Children not only witnessed a new side of their parents, but also learned about more colourful sides of the world. Now let’s look at the students’ opinions!
I could see my father’s confident expression during his speech. I hope that someday I can speak as confidently as he does. My father talked about some chip production and their application range. He also talked about the current situation of China’s chip shortage. In the end, he told us that if young people are strong, the country will be strong. We need to work hard so that we can use more advanced domestic chips in the future. If you want to learn chip knowledge well, you should learn mathematics, physics and chemistry well. We need to work hard from now on.
— Parent Teacher, Yu Minzhi’s father
On June 9, it was an honour to give a lecture on microchip knowledge and the current microchip situation to my child’s classmates. The manufacturing technology of microchips is carried out in a microscopic world, invisible and intangible. I thought that, because microchip production is an abstract process that the students would find it difficult to understand. I didn’t expect that the on-site interaction would be so very lively, especially after answering that the ratio of 1 meter to 1 nanometer is 1 billion to 1. I was also amazed by the students’ sufficient knowledge and strong mathematical calculation abilities. Thank you, Ms Suyou for your organization and arrangements. I was delighted to have had the experience of sharing in this activity.
The progress of humanity and the development of society cannot be separated from the progress of technology. Integrated circuits are currently one of the three leading industries promoted in Shanghai. Chips are the grain of industry and the hardware core of technological progress. It integrates the knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry and other subjects.
A strong youth makes a strong country. I hope that students can lay a solid foundation in their knowledge and explore cutting-edge technologies in the future.
— Parent Teacher, Daming’s father