On August 26, the 7th Blue Sky Spring Bud Teacher Training Class jointly sponsored by the Air Force and China Children and Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF) held the completion ceremony at Peking University. The week-long training has benefited 100 students from 13 nationalities in 19 provinces.

Group photo of the 7th “Blue Sky Spring Bud Teacher Training Class”

In recent years, the Air Force has been implementing the “Blue Sky Spring Bud” program with CCTF, holding a “Blue Sky Spring Bud Teacher Training Class” aimed at improving the teaching management level of teachers in poor areas and their abilities to use modern teaching methods.

Cherish the Opportunity

The Blue Sky Spring Bud teachers were having class

Most of the students in the Spring Bud Teacher Training Class came from the frontline teachers in underdeveloped areas. They have had rich teaching experience, but there were relatively few opportunities of training to broaden their horizons. The 7th Blue Sky Spring Bud Teacher Training Class continued cooperating with Peking University, with professional curriculum setting, and paying more attention to improve teachers’ teaching level. It helped teachers in the underdeveloped areas to improve the management level of the teaching and research at the same time, and create a new era of innovative teachers.

Such opportunities were rare for those teachers.

Zhou Zheng came from the Blue Sky Hope Primary School in Chashan, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, where the Air Force has funded the school for many years. Zhou’s nephew joined the army last year and served in an Air Force unit. Zhou Zheng said that after he came to Beijing, he had told his nephew that “the funds for the training class were saved by the airmen who saved their daily money. CCTF has invited famous teachers and experts from Peking University to teach us”. Nephew gave him back two words “study hard”. made he cried. On the day of completion of the training class, Zhou Zheng made an impromptu poem named “Spring Buds in the Blue Sky”, expressing his gratitude to the Air Force officers for supporting the education in rural areas, firmly established the confidence to run Spring Bud school, as well as promoted and influenced the teachers to cultivate Spring Bud students to grow into talents. In his poem, he wrote: the people will miss the Air Force, and the support of Air Force will be always remembered. 

At the second day of the training, Cai Xianhua received a phone call, learning that her young daughter broke her leg, but she decided to insist on completing the training. In a text message to a colleague, she wrote, “Due to the scarce training opportunities, I did not tell anyone about the incident, nor did I take leave of absence, and I continued to take the next four-day class. Before I got on the airplane, I told the crew that my daughter was hurt and I had to get home early”.

In the classroom

Su Wei, Deputy Dean of the Management Communication and Speech Research Group of Peking University, has been teaching the Blue Sky Spring Bud Teacher Training Class since 2012. “These teachers had a strong desire,” he said, “they were like sponges, constantly absorbing teaching skills and experience. The lack of local teaching resources makes them extremely cherish every course, and they were very motivated to learn everything”.

At the graduation ceremony, Pu Heli, a Yi-Nationality teacher at the Central Primary School of Qiaopingdu Town, Luzhou County, Kunming, Yunan Province, dressed in a pleated skirt of four colors: black, purple, yellow and rose red, dancing to show the gratitude to the Air Force.

Update the education concept

The students are having group discussion

In the afternoon of August 23, the 100 teachers were divided into six groups in the group discussion. When asked about what impressed her the most, Pu Heli blurted out “Children’s rights and protection class” without thinking. What she talked about was the course “Protecting Children’s Rights and Promoting Positive Growth of Adolescents”.

“The teacher taught us the importance of giving children the right of speaking”, Pu Heli said, “Having been a teacher for a long time, I tend to be strong in front of the children, and inherent the teaching model, always think that grades are the most important thing. However, this course opened up a new way for me that children should have diversified and multifaceted opportunities of development”. Sometimes teachers are too strong, which will cause the children in trouble, even the character flaw. Although she has been a teacher for 10 years, she never thought about it until this time.

In the seminar, teachers also opened their mind to talk about the experience of training.

“Teaching should be more to inspire and guide, starting from the interest of children”.

“If I didn’t come to the training, I always think that my knowledge is enough to teach students”.

“It was the first time I experienced such an active and imaginative course”.

Su Wei, a lecturer at Peking University, said the amount of information students absorb, the knowledge they an acquire and even the depth of infection and influence depend to some extent on the teachers’ ability to express themselves. In addition, the occurrence and effective solution of problems between teachers and students lie in the improvement of communication skills.

In the past few years, Su felt that children’s individuality was becoming more prominent, and they were receiving more and more information. If teachers’ communication skills could not change with the growth of children, problems between teachers and students would increase. All of these require teachers to constantly improve their expression and communication skills and level, so it is extremely necessary for teacher to learn more in training.

A Spark Drives Rural Education

Trainees of the Blue Sky Spring Bud Teacher Training Class are visiting China Aviation Museum

In addition to the theoretical training in the classroom, the trainees also went to the China Aviation Museum to experience the development process of the Air Force from scratch to strong. At Tsinghua Science Park, they learned about the application prospect of the latest VR technology. At the Great Wall, they experienced the long history of the Chinese Nation.

Standing in front of the Air Force Development Zone, Li Xiaoqing, a teacher from Gangzi Primary School in Songshan District, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, stayed for a long time. “I worshiped the military since childhood, because they are masculine, responsible, discipline, noble, protecting and defend our country”, he said. The success of the Air Force today is due to the unremitting efforts and dedication of many airmen and airwomen. “I am encouraged by the spirit of not being afraid of difficulties and striving for excellence. No matter how hard I encounter difficulties in teaching, I do not shrink back”, Li said.

“Amazing! Wonderful!” Deep-see shipwrecks, giant whales, bustling metropolis... Immersive audio-visual experience made trainees excited and full of admiration, and they began to imagine how to apply these to teaching. On August 25, trainees wore headgear to experience the magic of VR technology at Tsinghua Science Park.

 

Group photo of trainees at the front gate of Peking University

Since 1995, the Air Force has been involved in the implementation of the “Blue Sky Spring Bud” program for 24 consecutive years through CCTF. The Air Force has donated 140 million Yuan to help 28,877 children complete their studies, build 94 schools and 110 “Happy Home for Children”. In addition, it has provided skills training to 3,910 Spring Bud teachers and girls, helped over 40,000 infants improve nutrition and helped over 1,000 children with congenital heart disease.