Revolution in Education: Our Experience (2)

by Chen Shui-lian, teacher in the department of automation at Tsinghua University

Published in Peking Review, 14(36), 3 September 1971

I am a teacher of mathematics. When the first group of worker-peasant-soldier students was enrolled in June last year, I was quite enthusiastic when I began teaching. However, I began to have misgivings when six of my ten lectures fell short of the requirements. I felt that I could do nothing about it and waited for the leadership to solve the problem.

It was then that the Party committee and the workers’ and P.L.A. men’s Mao Tsetung Thought propaganda team called a meeting of all the teachers in the university and pointed out that although there were many contradictions in teaching and learning, the first thing to be stressed was remoulding the teachers’ world outlook. Otherwise, nothing could be achieved. The meeting helped me see the way out. With my own ideological problem in mind, I studied Chairman Mao’s a teaching “In the problem of transforming education it is the teachers who are the main problem” and his other teachings on serving the workers, peasants and soldiers.

Revolution in Education: Our Experience (1)

by Kuei Yu-peng, student of the department of mechanical engineering, Tsinghua University

Published in Peking Review, 14(34), 20 August 1971

All students in our class are workers who have worked at least ten years in different plants. Since we have come to the university, what should be our attitude towards the tasks of “studying in the university, managing the university and using Mao Tsetung Thought to transform the university”? It took us some time to know the correct answer. When we first entered the university, as I recall, we were really quite enthusiastic! But as soon as we take up our study, many contradictions arose and our earlier enthusiasm began to cool down.

The main shaft’s gear box is a key part of machine tools. This is the part where bourgeois technical “authorities” used to create obstacles for us. This time we made up our minds to master this key part in our class of machine tool designing. But no sooner had our teacher touched on it than problems cropped up. When she mentioned common multiplier φ in explaining the speed diagram of gear box in a machine tool, we didn’t know what she was talking about. We passed on to her our opinion several times, but there wasn’t much improvement. Then, we became impatient. Some said: “We can’t even ‘study’ well, what’s the use of talking about ’managing’ and ’transforming’ the university!” They also found some “grounds” to support their argument: Since there was the leadership, we didn’t have to bother about “management”. Since we all came from the factories and were unfamiliar with things in the university, it was difficult for us to “manage“ the university. Besides, heavy load of study left us no time for dealing with matters of “management”.

Who Transforms Whom?

First published in Honqi No 2, 1970 and then printed again in Peking Review No 10.

A very interesting criticism on the revisionist- capitalist way of thinking on education issues during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China. The Chinese communists criticize Kairov and his work (Pedagogika) to be pro capitalist and trying to bring back the capitalist way in education and culture. Mao and the red guards criticize the forces that try to bring capitalism back and state that the main issue is the contradiction of the working class with the bourgeois. This article is defending the proletariat way of thinking in education and the superstructure . On July of 1968 Mao gives the directive of the 21st of July, which sets the example of the Shanghai Machine Tools Plant in training technicians from amongst the workers and the issue of the separation of practice from theory with a vanguard way of thinking.



A comment on Kairov’s  “Pedagogy” by the Shanghai Revolutionary Mass Criticism Writing Group

Drawn up under Chairman Mao’s personal guidance, the Decision of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Concerning the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution pointed out: “In the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution a most important task is to transform the old educational system and the old principles and methods of teaching.” At present, we must press ahead with redoubled efforts to accomplish what Chairman Mao pointed out as “a most important task.”