Foster the Core Values in Educat

Last July, just as Dr. Ted put it,  "It has demonstrated the exponential growth of knowledge in our times". That is, we live in the digital time, while our concepts that define knowledge, education have to change in a good way. In the fall of 2015, there is a group of American students came to Shanghai, East China to study. Some Shanghai schools have already prepared the class and instruction schedules. Surprisingly, they did not go to the local schools but went straight and immersed themselves into field studies of the companies in urban and rural areas. On the contrary, the process that American students explore, learn and acquire the knowledge from the field study has been integrated with their talent, innovation, and observation. After this field study, they would write reports on it. There is no doubt that what they learned must be more valuable than the knowledge in the books.

This kind of international study combines study and social reality indeed, which is more vivid and realistic than the normal instructions in China. Actually, the students in European and American secondary schools are planned to complete this kind of international programs every year. This is the reason why an increasing number of Chinese students choose to participate summer and winter programs each year. All above the programs have in common that they are intended to foster students' Core Values. Their common original expectation is to combine knowledge with action, namely, combining students' knowledge, creativity, observation and integrated practical capacities in order to foster their Core Values.

Classwork should be not restricted in the classroom but out of the class. After the graduation, graduates will figure out that old knowledge on the books has already been replaced by the newest updated knowledge. The old knowledge has been outdated and not handy as our guideline for practices. Therefore, what students should learn is not the knowledge itself but the Core Values.

So, the question goes by, what is the Core Values and how to foster it in our education system? The Core Values are a multi-subject combination of knowledge, capacity and EQ, etc. At this point, our students need to absorb the newest knowledge in every subject, to explore, activate and acquire the new knowledge in their lives. In a nutshell, the Core Values are the most useful and basic values for students. Specifically, they are necessary for doing everything, profoundly influencing and even determining their future and development of personal lives.

                                                                      教育应培养学生核心素养

去年7月的中美校长高峰论坛上，Ted博士用经典示例论述了知识呈现指数增长的趋势，这就意味着在数字化时代大背景下，“知识”、"教育"需要重新定义。 去年秋天，美国一群中学生前往上海“访学”。上海学校立即安排班级，制定教学计划。可美国中学生直奔上海的企业、社区、农村，开展实地调研。如果美国学生通过这种室外实地调研，写成报告，也许比书本知识更有价值。这次访学活动，不仅让教育与社会现实相结合，而且让我们的教学活动更显生动、更接地气。

其实，欧美等发达国家的中学每年都会规定完成这样的国际性的游学项目，以及每年中国学生都会选择参与寒暑假国际项目，都是出于以上考量，它们共同的初衷简单来说，就是知行合一，将学生的知识储备、创造力、观察力和综合实践能力相结合，培养学生的核心素养。“课堂”不能局限在教室里，更应该在课外，等到我们毕业以后才发现，教材里的旧知识部分已经被新生事物所取代，不再适应高速发展的时代需求了，更别说用于指导我们的实践，所以学生需要培养的不是知识本身，而是更具价值的"核心素养"。

那么，何为"核心素养"？如何培养所谓的"核心素养"？ "核心素养"是"知识＋能力＋情商"、跨学科的集合体，学生需要最前沿的学科知识，通过亲身实践，去探索、激活和收获新技能。总之，核心素养就是一个学生最有用的基础素养，所谓“做什么都离不开”，它能深刻影响甚至决定一个人的格局与发展。