Hello Teacher | Rock Teacher of "Cloud School": Music Makes Children in the Mountain Work Miracles

[Editor's Note]

September 10 is the 37th Teacher's Day, education The Ministry of Education has set the theme of this year's Teachers' Day as "Continuing the centennial spirit and undertaking the mission of educating people". To salute the teachers, the surging news launched a series of reports on "Good Teachers". Some of them brought students“ Rock ”Some young teachers, as well as some old teachers who still stay in mountain village schools after retirement, stick to and inherit their original mission of teaching and educating people.

"Encounter", "Unknown Teenager" and "Naughty Fairy" are the three rock stars of Haiga Primary School band Name of.

The first band "Encounter"

Haiga Primary School is located in Dawan Village, Dawan Town, Zhongshan District, Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province. The school is 2300 meters above sea level. Haiga Village is the village with the highest altitude in Guizhou, known as "Cloud School".

In 2018, "rock youth" Gu Ya came to Haiga Primary School to teach. A chance, he held guitar Sitting in the office playing and singing, I accidentally found a group of children in the school peeping through the window.

The second band, "Unknown Youth"

At that time, the guitar was quite strange to these children. Some students asked him, "Is this the piano, teacher?" The curiosity in the students' eyes made him suddenly wonder: Can you teach children to play rock and roll?

Rock music has brought him closer to the children. In 2018, the first band of Haiga Primary School, "Yu", was formed under the leadership of Gu Ya. In the following three years, the "unknown youth" and "naughty elves" bands were also formed.

On August 19, 2020, in Haiga Primary School, 11 girls from the mountains and the band "New Pants" held a rock concert, which millions of people watched online through live webcast.

The third band "naughty elves"

Before the live broadcast, Gu Ya foresaw that traffic would give these Children in the Mountains Make a difference. In the process of rehearsal and performance, Gu Ya stressed to the children, "Even if the fire continues, everything will pass. Don't indulge in this sense of superiority".

"You are a student, but the most important thing is your study." On the evening of September 8, 2021, one year after becoming popular, Gu Ya was interviewed by the surging news (www.thepaper.cn). In Gu Ya's opinion, music It is just a carrier that can give children in the mountain more opportunities to go out of the mountain to have a look. However, how far children can go depends on their studies.

When talking about what to expect in the future, Gu Ya, 34, said that he hoped that music could teach these children to do everything with a careful attitude, and that music could make these children in the mountains more confident.

Rehearsal of Gu Ya and the students

After becoming popular, he told students: Don't indulge in it, don't have a sense of superiority

Surging news: After the concert became popular, what is the current teaching arrangement?

Gu Ya: Now I'm mainly responsible for the daily management of the school, and I also have classes in other subjects. Music clubs basically rehearse after school.

Surging news: What are the most intuitive changes after the band has received the attention of the media and netizens?

Gu Ya: The most intuitive change is that the hardware facilities of the school have been greatly improved, and many public welfare groups have paid attention to the school. Now every semester, some enterprises will subsidize some students, which is a direct benefit to students.

Surge News: Will these concerns bring you a burden?

Gu Ya: There will be some burdens, because there will be more groups coming to the school from outside, which will also have a certain impact on normal teaching.

After the attention, I told my colleagues that "a storm is coming".

I told the students that even if we get a lot of attention now, even if we get angry again, everything will pass. Don't indulge in our current sense of superiority. You can't have too much sense of superiority. I told them, these are temporary, you are a student, the most important thing is to study hard; I am a teacher. I will take my lessons well and teach you well.

Music can make children in mountain areas more confident

Surging news: what is the most intuitive impact of music on these students?

Gu Ya: From the three bands I've led, it's obvious that their self-confidence has changed a lot. Because there are no other recreational activities in daily life, through music, these children can integrate into the collective, find themselves and feel in the collective, and let them find confidence in music.

Surging news: How did these children react when they first came into contact with musical instruments?

Gu Ya: At the beginning, although many students are curious and eager, they are still shy and conservative in the process of learning or communication.

For example, in music, we may have some actions that need to be slightly exaggerated and have some performance. Many students still can't let go. Slowly, they found their emotions in the music, and their hearts slowly opened. The band that just graduated this year went to participate in the performance, and the scene was very active, and their personality was very lively.

Surging news: What can we do to make these children no longer timid?

Gu Ya: The most difficult thing is the first band, because they have no experience of band performance or guitar playing, and their mind is completely blank. We can only tell them little by little through time, so that they can experience the rhythm of music.

In fact, there are some differences between the music courses and instrumental music courses taught in traditional primary schools. In particular, the performance teaching of modern musical instruments is actually different from the traditional music lessons. In the traditional music class, we may teach children's songs in accordance with the teaching materials. In form, we may sit in the classroom and let students sing along. The performance of modern instruments may be more casual and less rigorous.

Surging news: Some media described you as "the spring of cattle herding class". What do you think?

Gu Ya: Why did I want the band to go out to perform later? In fact, I also want to have the opportunity to let the children go out of the mountain to see more and broaden their horizons. In addition, I want more groups to pay attention to the education status of rural children.

I think these children in the mountains are very energetic and simple. I want more people to see (this side).

Objectively speaking, these children are also very happy. When I was young, I didn't even know what a musical instrument was, and I didn't even hear of it at that time.

The band plays with the teacher and the principal

Miracles can also be created in the ordinary

Surge News: What's the biggest difficulty for you in the process of forming a band?

Gu Ya: At the beginning, the biggest difficulty was the lack of musical instruments. At that time, there was only one guitar of my own.

With only one guitar, it is impossible for a group of children to learn it. So I only taught one student at that time, and found that the student did not learn as slowly as expected, and the progress was quite fast.

Later, hoping to get more students involved, he went to friends to borrow some money. After I talked to the headmaster, the headmaster also supported me very much. He said that he would go to other schools to see if there were any unused musical instruments, and then borrow a batch of musical instruments from other schools.

Surging news: What was the first song rehearsed after the first band was formed?

Gu Ya: The Ordinary Road. When I came to this school, I actually experienced a lot, and felt that it was not easy for children to go to school here. I taught them that they must study hard so that they can have a better life in the future. The title of the song "Ordinary Road" means that we are ordinary, but we can create some miracles of our own in the ordinary, so we chose this song at that time.

Surge News: What's your state when you get along with the band's students?

Gu Ya: I am just like their brother when I am with them. I like this kind of relationship, and they don't particularly fear teachers.

Surging news: what is your most fulfilling moment?

Gu Ya: I watched myself grow up with these children. From never knowing musical instruments to learning to contact, from not daring to perform to being able to perform confidently on stage. The most unforgettable thing for me is that this year the "naughty spirit" stepped on the stage of Midi.

Surging news: What's your idea of music education?

Gu Ya: I hope that children can learn well, find themselves in the atmosphere of music, release themselves and restore their nature, instead of completing a certain skill or a certain song according to the script.

Surge news: Teacher's Day is coming, what do you expect of yourself and the band?

Gu Ya: Music is a way of communication for these children. They can learn more about how to make music. I hope to tell them through music that everything needs to be done carefully and carefully, and I hope they can do everything carefully and reliably.

As a teacher, I also hope that each of our teachers is constantly learning and making progress.

Surging news: How far-reaching does rock music have for these children in your opinion?

Gu Ya: I didn't say what the spirit of rock and roll is. I just told them that every time we choose to do anything, no matter how many setbacks or difficulties we will encounter, I think we should try and do it in a down-to-earth manner. Do every little thing well before you think about doing a decent thing. For me, rock spirit is about doing practical things. Be down-to-earth, not too impetuous, not too ambitious.