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Introduction: Gao Wei was born in Tianjin in October 1968. From 1979 to 1985, he studied in junior high school and senior high school of Tianjin Yaohua Middle School. In 1984, he participated in the national mathematics competition and won the fourth place in China and the first place in Tianjin. In 1985, he was recommended to the Department of Mathematics in Peking University, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1989, and was recommended to Nankai Institute of Mathematics for postgraduate study. After receiving a master’s degree in mathematics in 1992, he went to the United States to study in the Department of Mathematics at UCLA, specializing in mathematical logic. Received a doctorate in mathematics in 1998. From 1998 to 2001, he did postdoctoral research in California Institute of Technology. In 2001, he became a professor of mathematics at the University of North Texas. In 2005, he was hired as a tenured professor at the University of North Texas, a member of the American Mathematical Society, a member of the International Society of Symbolic Logic, a member of the Translation Committee, and served as a professional reviewer and guest editor of several internationally renowned mathematical magazines.
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What it was like in high school
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Get a doctorate in mathematics and take a photo with your tutor.
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Accept congratulations from colleagues when you are awarded tenure.
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Happy family on campus.
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Talking with President Qu Limin
Our reporter Sun Huiying took photos of Liu Yaohui.
Interview notes:
It is a coincidence and an accident to interview Gao Speed.
Because October 6th this year is the eightieth birthday of Tianjin Yaohua Middle School, before that, alumni from all over the world and from all walks of life contacted their alma mater to inquire about and understand the celebration. At this time, as a tenured professor at the University of North Texas in the United States and a graduate of Yaohua Middle School, Gao Wei just came from the United States to the Chen Shengshen Institute of Mathematics of Nankai University to be a visiting scholar for one month. According to President Qu of Yaohua Middle School, this outstanding student who studied and lived in Yaohua Middle School for six years has been engaged in mathematics research and worked in different educational fields in China and the United States for more than ten years after graduation. He not only has outstanding academic achievements and rich educational experience, but also organized Yaohua Alumni Association in the United States to unite alumni to care about the development of his alma mater and support the construction of the school.
What kind of life experience will a high-speed student who left the middle school in the 1980s, experienced 20 years of growth, and now has become a tenured professor at the university? What kind of experience and feelings will you share with your younger brothers and sisters? Being in different education modes between China and China, what thoughts does he have in the face of today’s education in? Therefore, the interview speed was recorded in my work schedule.
As agreed in advance, I went to Chen Shengshen Institute of Mathematics of Nankai University this day. Although I also returned to my alma mater, the campus has changed a lot. With so many new modern teaching buildings, it is difficult for me to tell which one I want to go to. I just saw the most distinctive provincial building far away, and I couldn’t find the road leading there after driving for a long time. Finally, I had to stop at a small intersection and walk along the grass path beside the building to the main entrance of the building.
I think I should describe my first impression of this building with grandeur and style, and then see the statue of Mr. Chen Shengshen and the portraits of many internationally renowned mathematicians in the hall. I feel like I have entered a mysterious and sacred science temple, and I can’t help but give birth to a special respect. Perhaps this respect is unique to liberal arts students, because we always regard mathematics as abstruse, wonderful, difficult and difficult to learn. When it comes to high speed, this young scholar can have his own office here to do his math research, and this respect extends to him.
The high-speed office is quiet and simple, with a desk, a computer, a blackboard, several bookcases and chairs, and one or two mathematical formulas written on the blackboard. Gao Wei, who is less than forty years old, looks very young. He doesn’t look like a tenured professor with rich works and imposing momentum at all, but rather like a modest, patient, considerate and easy-going little teacher. He is even a little shy when talking, and he doesn’t know what to say in the face of interviews.
"Then briefly describe your learning process first." I propose.
"I played truant in the third grade of primary school and went to play with a group of older children; Junior high school is a middle school student who has not been admitted to the mathematics experimental class; I got excellent grades in the senior high school entrance examination, ranking first in my class; In the three years of high school, I was the first in my class in both big and small exams, and I was also the monitor and participated in the work of the student union. When I graduated from high school, I became the first batch of students to walk, so I chose to go to the Department of Mathematics in Peking University. "
A child who used to play truant in primary school has become an excellent university student in the past few years. I am curious, how did this change happen?
Gao Wei smiled. He told me that he often thought of that experience himself and would tell this story when communicating with the students.
It was in the third grade of primary school, and he was very playful until he played truant. One day he didn’t go to class again, and the head teacher found a home, blocked him red-handed, and told his father about his truancy. High-speed was afraid. After the teacher left, he waited nervously for his father to criticize him. But my father didn’t fly into a rage like other parents, adding sticks to him, but asked seriously, "Why are you absent from school?" High-speed said: "I know all the things the teacher said in class, and there is no need to listen to them again." Father listened and thought, and said, "Since you know everything the teacher says, let’s apply to the school for advanced placement." At that time, students rarely advanced placement, although he applied, but also because there is no such precedent was rejected by the school. Coincidentally, this year, the school building expanded, and the high-speed was transferred to another school building. During the transfer process, the school allowed him to take the advanced placement exam. As a result, the high-speed performance was good, and he was promoted directly from the third grade to the fifth grade. However, the school put forward an additional condition: depending on his academic performance in one semester, if he can get more than 90 points in each subject in the mid-term and final exams, he will continue to stay, otherwise he will be returned to his original grade.
For the sake of his own face, high-speed intelligence was forced out at once. He had to prove his strength to his parents and let them know that their trust, tolerance and understanding were right. It is in this spirit that I was encouraged to enter middle school at a high speed and smoothly. A child who played truant once returned to the right path because he was trusted and guided correctly.
This may be a major turning point in the fate of high speed. Since then, in the six years of middle school, he has been like a "sponge baby", absorbing the nutrition from the treasure house of knowledge and the "rain and sunshine" from inside and outside the campus, which not only laid a solid foundation for his knowledge palace, but also made him discover the happiness brought by knowledge, interest, study and research. Since then until now, he has been pursuing and enjoying this kind of happiness. He thinks that to succeed in one thing, you must first make yourself happy and let your interest become the driving force of development. On this basis, you must let nature take its course and stick to it. He said that he was happy in his studies. He won’t deliberately do anything for himself, nor will he be so busy that he doesn’t have time for fitness, entertainment and family happiness, but he will still inadvertently come up with one academic paper after another. This is the harvest of his happiness, which makes him very satisfied.
Reporter: I found that you enjoyed your six years of middle school life, which had a great influence on your knowledge and study habits, and also pointed out the direction for your future life.
High-speed: Yes, I remember that when I first entered junior high school, I was a very ordinary student. Although my academic performance was also upstream, it was not the best. I didn’t pass the selection exam for the advanced math class. At that time, I was envious of watching others go to the promotion class. However, teenagers’ interests change quickly, and I am interested in the Rubik’s Cube Competition at school, the China and World Geography Competition and the Memory of the 50 States Puzzle Competition. These activities can not only broaden my horizons and enrich my knowledge, but also make me feel the enrichment and happiness brought by new knowledge. Maybe learning can promote each other. After that, I was promoted to high school with the first place in my class. The class teacher also named me as the monitor and gave me an "almost impossible task": I should continue to take the first place in every exam. It is this sentence that inspired me to go through high school for three years. But I’m not an avid reader. I have many hobbies. I take a group of boys to run on Nanjing Road in the morning, play football on campus in the afternoon, and join interest groups such as physics, chemistry and photography. What makes me proud is that I am qualified to participate in the activities of the math improvement class. This is an inspiration and promotion for me, and the teachers’ example, words and deeds and their high-quality professionalism have also taught me how to turn pressure into motivation, regard learning as a happy thing, and then enjoy the happiness it brings me. At that time, I thought, I want to be a teacher in the future.
Reporter: You are really a teacher now, and you are a tenured professor in an American university. Has your ideal never changed during this process?
Expressway: If you look at my resume, you will find that I have had an indissoluble bond with mathematics since I went to Peking University. Then I read a master’s degree, a doctor’s degree and a postdoctoral degree. There were indeed many temptations in the middle. Most of my classmates in the department of mathematics changed careers to earn much more money than me, but I always adhered to my ideal. Now I teach undergraduates, master students and doctoral students. Although I dare not say that I am a good teacher, I have always been proud of my career, because I know that teachers who regard teaching and educating people as their first job, stick to their beliefs and constantly explore and pursue them are worthy of respect.
Reporter: You were educated in China and educated students in the United States, which will definitely make you unconsciously compare the education between China and the United States.
High-speed: I often make some comparisons and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese and American education. When I came back to talk with middle school students this time, I also spent a lot of time thinking about it. What should I say to children now? Middle school students now have better learning conditions and broader horizons than we did then, but what is the purpose of learning? Just to get into college?
American education emphasizes children’s natural preferences and acquired efforts. As long as he makes small achievements in any place, he will be encouraged by teachers and parents, especially teachers. They like to talk about their children’s advantages and hope that they will develop into their own strengths. They will not judge a child by a single academic achievement, and they will never rank students according to their achievements except in competitions. The unified measure of middle school education in China has a great influence on students’ development, and their interests and hobbies have become their luxuries. Some students told me that my mother chose my major and asked me to study hard. I asked: What about your own thoughts? He said: She told me to learn. From these words, I can feel that his heart is bitter and it is difficult to do. Can he be happy? But he did it anyway, maybe he will do it well, but he will have regrets in his heart.
There are cultural differences and habits of thinking. In the United States, when schools let students participate in science competitions, no parents will come out to help them. Parents just want to find out whether their children are talented in this field, and they also hope that their children will find their own interests and strengths from various activities and gain something from them. In China, every parent attaches great importance to their children’s learning, and students also make special efforts. However, there will always be differences in people’s intelligence, and it is impossible for everyone to be the first. In fact, interest is more important for a person. It is more important to find out his own interests, find a suitable learning method and make continuous progress. This requires parents and teachers to treat their children in new ways, inspire and guide them, give them a space and a choice to discover their talents and find ways to learn happily. In the future, the society will be more and more diversified, and academic performance will not represent a person’s ability. Everyone has his own opportunities, and doing a line of love will also make achievements.
Reporter: Is it because China students ignore their own interests and preferences in their studies, which makes you feel that children in China are not clear about their learning objectives and don’t know why they are studying?
Expressway: For this reason, I found that many students study hard in middle school for the purpose of getting into a good university, but entering a university is like completing their task. They don’t seem to think too much about what kind of people the society will need in another 20 years. With the development of society, the requirements for talents will be different, and the requirements for knowledge will change with the rapid development of occupation, which requires everyone to grasp the most essential things and cultivate their own abilities, including the ability to learn again. Life is a long way, and going to college is just a process of learning knowledge, accumulating energy and improving quality. Some people take going abroad as their goal, but they don’t know that foreign countries have high requirements for research-oriented talents. In addition, students who have just gone abroad are in a foreign land and have no money, and everything has to be started from scratch. It is a problem for some people to graduate from graduate school. As a result, these people’s mentality is prone to problems, and when they think about their future work problems and identity problems, they have no mind to do research, just want to make money, which makes them very tired. In fact, they never thought that if they do well in a certain field, the problems they are worried about will be solved naturally.
Reporter: Your own experience has indeed proved this point. But have you ever wondered what is the root cause of this phenomenon?
Expressway: I have always wondered whether the education in China today can adapt to the development of the whole world. Now so many students who have studied hard can’t find jobs that suit them. What are the reasons? I think we should find the reason from our educational methods, because it is useless to train people and it is also a great waste of resources. One of the problems is the allocation of investment. It can be said that our whole society pays more attention to primary and secondary education than other places. Parents are more willing to invest in educating their children. The key is not only to pay attention to the hardware of education, but also to improve the quality of educators. The state’s investment in education can not be limited to building buildings. There are many things that can be done to train teachers, and there are many advanced experiences abroad that can be used for reference. Generally speaking, our education lacks one of the most important studies, that is, the study of pedagogy. From a small point of view, teachers with high quality and broad vision should not only impart knowledge to students, but also find out the strengths of each student to give correct encouragement and accurate guidance to guide students in life. When universities recruit students, they should not only look at their grades, but also look at their ability and the needs of future talents in the country. I am teaching students at the same time as doing cutting-edge scientific research, which makes me understand that to cultivate a good mathematician, it depends on the most important characteristics of a student.
Reporter: You have always emphasized the happiness of learning and learning happily, and you are enjoying the happiness of learning all the way. Do you want to tell our students that lifelong learning will benefit for life?
Expressway: Yes, I think the characteristic of talents in the 21st century is to have a habit of lifelong learning. School education can’t provide you with all the skills you will use in the future. I’m going to lecture and write articles in English now. Ten years ago, I wrote by hand, and the typist helped me type, which naturally lengthened the period of writing articles. I specially took a typing class and learned to type. Now I don’t need a draft, and an article can be completed on the computer soon, which improves the efficiency a lot. We can’t be afraid of new knowledge, and we can learn from scratch what we can’t. When some people in the United States apply for a job, they say yes to everything they are asked, and then go home and study immediately, and use it after learning. We can learn things according to our own interests, and we can also learn things according to our own needs. I never feel that learning is a pressure on me, and I don’t give myself pressure. I can learn easily at any time, and I can learn a lot without knowing it, so that I can enrich myself more and more. Now I also ask my son every day: Tell me what new things you learned today? There is a saying in the motto of Nankai University: With each passing day, we do what we should do every day and get some new knowledge, so that persistence and accumulation can lead to success.
Reporter: Will you attend the 80th anniversary celebration of your alma mater this year?
Expressway: At that time, my school started, so I’m afraid I won’t have a chance to come back, but I will connect with the school on the other side of the ocean to celebrate her 80th birthday!
Chen Xin
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