Guest

Shanghai Aiguo School

Interview Background

Beneath the sycamore trees at 919 West Beijing Road in Shanghai sits a time-honored school with a 124-year history: Shanghai Aiguo School. Founded in 1901 by Cai Yuanpei as a girls' school, the school evolved from Aiguo Girls' School to Aiguo Girls' Middle School and Aiguo Middle School before relocating to its current site in 2003. Anchored in patriotism, it has continued to cultivate talent for the nation and shape lives for the era.

Host:

Beneath the sycamore trees at 919 West Beijing Road in Shanghai sits a time-honored school with a 124-year history: Shanghai Aiguo School. Founded in 1901 by Cai Yuanpei as a girls' school, the school evolved from Aiguo Girls' School to Aiguo Girls' Middle School and Aiguo Middle School before relocating to its current site in 2003. Anchored in patriotism, it has continued to cultivate talent for the nation and shape lives for the era. Join us today to explore Shanghai Aiguo School! Hello, Wang!

Wang Xinwei:

Hello, host! Hello, everyone!

Host:

The school's history is a journey of struggle that resonates with the destiny of the nation. From here emerged the Hu brothers (who responded to the December 9th Movement), Zhang Qinqiu (commander of the Red Army Women's Independent Regiment), and Li Lin (an anti-Japanese heroine willing to shed her blood on the battlefield).

Wang Xinwei:

In 1933, as a student at Shanghai Aiguo Girls' Middle School, Li Lin joined the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Youth League, vowing "never to stop until the Japanese invaders are wiped out." She died heroically at age 24 while covering a breakout during the most arduous days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Today, a statue of the martyr Li Lin stands quietly on the patriotic campus. Every Tomb-Sweeping Day, teachers and students gather here to honor the martyrs and carry forward their mission. The heroic spirit has long been ingrained in the blood of the students and faculty.

Host:

Cai Yuanpei's vision of "cultivating a complete personality" a century ago has evolved into the school's educational philosophy of "healthy living and harmonious development." Leveraging a multidimensional curriculum, the school has established an integrated five-pronged education system spanning primary and junior high schools.

Wang Xinwei:

Indeed. Moral education builds character: Lectures on the school's revolutionary history, site-based study tours, and nature exploration instill patriotism in students, while a comprehensive mentoring system and parent classrooms provide tailored growth plans for every child. Intellectual education inspires thinking: Chinese classes immerse students in traditional culture from the Three Character Classic to China on the Body; mathematics uses chess to sharpen thinking; English hones listening and speaking; and science adopts project-based learning to bring knowledge to life. Physical education builds the foundation: To overcome space limits, the school turns corridors into running tracks and classrooms into sports courts. It phases volleyball courses into daily routines and holds competitions to ignite enthusiasm, embodying the principle that "physical education comes first among the five dimensions of education." It simultaneously integrates aesthetic and labor education, allowing every student to thrive through diverse nourishment.

Host:

A faculty team skilled in both teaching and research guides students on their learning journey. Over the past three years, teachers at the school have won 114 awards in municipal and district competitions for young teachers and head teachers; interdisciplinary teaching research and specialized training have rooted new curriculum standards in classrooms; and exploration of integrated primary-junior high teaching has made education more continuous. Here, teachers not only impart knowledge but also walk alongside students as partners in their growth.

Wang Xinwei:

From Aiguo Girls' School to Shanghai Aiguo School, the location has changed, but the mission of cultivating talent for the nation remains steadfast. Today, Shanghai Aiguo School is recognized as a new high-quality project school and a "volleyball pipeline" talent training project school in Shanghai. It has garnered multiple honors, including the National Demonstration Unit for Conservation-Oriented Public Institutions, the Shanghai Green School, and the Shanghai Practice Base for Family Education Guidance.

Host:

Through a century of trials, the school's educational heritage endures. As morning sunlight falls on Li Lin's statue and children run laughing through the corridors, the school is writing a new chapter in the ever-evolving meaning of patriotism for our times. It is not just the name of a school, but a conviction etched into the hearts of every generation of students: keep the nation at heart and strive upward. Thank you, Wang Xinwei.

Wang Xinwei:

Thank you, everyone! Goodbye!