African Nationhood

Chapter 28 New Teaching Methods

"Woooo..."

After the whistle blew, the "Hennessy" passenger ship slowly sailed away from the Alfred Pier in Victoria Harbor.

A group of immigrants stood on the deck and looked at the farther and farther away Table Bay and the mountain city of Cape Town further away without much emotion.

They were about to go to Master Shi's territory, so their hearts were full of joy, which was different from the uneasiness and insecurity they had felt when they got off the ship.

These days, they have enough to eat every day, and someone comes to register their information and inform them that Master Shi's jurisdiction is extremely vast.

In addition to lions and elephants, there are also cheetahs, jackals, dogs, and even ostriches and zebras. In short, there are rich water and grass and many animals.

When I get there, I will not only be able to eat every meal, but also eat meat every day. Of course, the premise of all this is that I must be loyal to Master Shi and not betray Master Shi.

Immigrants were at the lowest level in the Qing Dynasty. Let alone having enough to eat, even surviving was a luxury.

Nowadays, someone is willing to give them a full meal and meat. Who would be stupid enough to give up the good life?
  Ye Rong and several little sisters were crowded among the crowd on the deck, chattering non-stop.

At the moment, they are more thinking about the good days in the future. Ye Rong has never seen Master Shi again in the past few days.

He seems to have disappeared, but the number of big men and foreigners under him has not decreased. On the contrary, they can be seen every day.

She knew that Mr. Shi was busy with other important things. Such people were like the stars in the sky. He should not miss this little girl like her.

Although she knew that what she was thinking was the truth, she had a vague expectation in her heart that Master Shi would remember her.

As for remembering her for something, she couldn't figure it out. She just wanted to see him.

When she got on the boat today, she heard from the team leader that Mr. Shi would go back on the boat with them. At that time, she was so excited that she wanted to rush over and ask when Mr. Shi would come.

However, they got on the boat first and were told not to run around on the boat before sailing, let alone make loud noises.

Now we finally set sail, but we didn’t see Mr. Shi. I wonder what he was doing?
  ……

In the luxurious guest room on the top floor of the "Hennessy", Shi Jintang was leaning on the desk and writing furiously, and there were two young juniors standing behind the desk.

These two are the only two immigrants in this group who have attended private school. The taller one is called Qin Mo. He has a long face and his eyes are a little squinty due to myopia.

I am 18 years old and from Tianjin.

My father was once a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, and his family once had several acres of land, which was regarded as a farming and education heirloom.

However, just two years after he entered school, his father contracted tuberculosis, and even the depletion of the family's wealth could not save his father's life.

His mother became ill from overwork, and within a year he became a loner. In order to avoid debts, he simply joined the British and was pulled over.

The shorter one is called Li Tong, from Anhui, 17 years old this year.

The face is thin and the eyes are very large, making the whole face very uncoordinated.

He went to private school for several years, but later lost his home due to the Taiping Rebellion and became homeless. He was collected and transported by the British.

The two of them were called to Master Shi and waited for a long time. They saw Master Shi busy and did not dare to ask questions for fear of being punished.

After writing for a while, Shi Jintang raised his head and said to the two of them: "You two, sit down. I have to wait here for a while. Are you thirsty? If you are thirsty, pour yourself some water. Don't be restrained."

The elder Qin Mo knew a lot about rules. He waved his hand and said, "We are not thirsty. Mr. Shi, please do your work. We will just wait."

Shi Jintang nodded and continued writing materials, but he still did not forget to chat with the two of them: "How have you been during this time? Do you miss home?"

Qin Mo chuckled, "I don't think so, compared with Master Shi's place, my hometown is a hell."

Li Tong also nodded, "Yes, Mr. Shi, you are a kind person. Not only do you give us plenty to eat, you are also very kind. Being able to follow a master like you is a blessing that I, Li Tong, can only acquire in several lifetimes."

After listening to what the two said, Shi Jintang did not feel happy, he sighed silently.

"Since you two went to private school, I plan to let you two be teachers and teach other people how to read. What do you think?"

Qin Mo was very happy about Master Shi's appointment. With a regular job, he didn't have to do hard labor. After all, his body was too weak.

"Don't worry, Master Shi. I, Qin Mo, will teach well and never let Master Shi down."

But Li Tong was so frightened that he waved his hands, "Master Shi raised his hand to me, and I, Li Tong, should take over. It's just that I forgot all the ink in my belly when I was wandering, so I was afraid that I would miss Master Shi's business." .”

Shi Jintang had already anticipated the reaction of the two people, so he smiled and waved his hand.

"Don't worry, I have some new ideas about teaching, so I plan to let you two get used to it first, and then promote teaching."

Qin Mo and Li Tong looked at each other, both curious as to what kind of new idea Master Shi was talking about.

"Okay, this is my proposed new literacy method. You two should take a look at it first and then talk about it."

Qin Mo and Li Tong stood up and each took a manuscript from Shi Jintang's hand. The manuscript clearly stated at the beginning: Chinese Pinyin Literacy Method.

The two of them continued to look down and saw that Mr. Shi had divided the pronunciation of Chinese characters into initial consonants and finals, and at the same time simplified the tones in traditional rhyme books, changing them from the original seven tones to four.

As long as ordinary people have mastered the new pinyin literacy method, they can quickly and effectively identify words. This new literacy method is simply an unprecedented pioneering work.

"Master Shi, your pioneering work can be said to be groundbreaking, and your achievements are comparable to those of Cangzu. You are truly a strange person through the ages!"

Qin Mo's flattery made Shi Jintang so beautiful that he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous, it's just a cheap move to enlighten people's wisdom."

Li Tong also admired Mr. Shi's talent very much, but he didn't expect that Qin Mo would take the lead, and even photographed Mr. Shi so happy. "Master Shi is too self-effacing. This is an achievement that will shine through the annals of history. After a hundred years, we will all turn into dry bones, but Master Shi, your achievements will be remembered immortally by future generations!"

Shi Jintang didn't care if he was overjoyed. It would be too shameless to film again.

So he waved his hand and said, "Okay, this new literacy method has not been implemented yet and the effect will not be seen yet. You can think about it on your own, and then we will discuss it together. I have something to show you later."

They both nodded, "Yes."

After nearly an hour, the two of them raised their heads together and said, "Master Shi, we have almost digested it. This method of separating initial consonants, finals, and tones is indeed practical.

I think Mr. Shi must have understood a lot of the essence of foreign civilization.

Mr. Shi, you have accomplished this at such a young age, a feat that has not been accomplished by many great scholars throughout the ages..."

"Okay, stop flattering me. This is the simplified word list I have drawn up, and it needs to be taught in conjunction with the pinyin literacy method."

"Simplified Chinese characters?"

"Well, the complexity of Chinese characters is not conducive to beginners' learning, so simplifying the font is more conducive to promotion.

This is a major event of long-term significance, and you must help me complete it. "

After hearing this, Qin Mo and Li Tong both felt a heavy responsibility. Master Shi trusted him so much and entrusted such a major matter, which made them feel even more excited. They also secretly vowed to follow Master Shi wholeheartedly.

The methods that Qin and Li learned in private schools were not applicable at all in Shijintang's new literacy system.

Therefore, they have to follow the consultation to write new textbooks, which are divided into three stages: junior, intermediate and advanced.

Under the current situation, they only need to write elementary textbooks, leaving intermediate and advanced textbooks to be discussed later when the staff is sufficient.

After writing the textbook, we still need to negotiate new teaching methods. Shi Jintang takes the lead in all this, and Qin Li can only act as a support.

They provided materials to help Shi Jintang understand the progress and difficulty of Chinese teaching in the contemporary Qing Dynasty. The three of them worked together to discuss how to incorporate the essence of traditional culture into teaching.

Evaluating how to choose and reject the Mongolian allusions in the Thousand-Character Classic and the Three-Character Classic requires a lot of energy.

In this way, the three people struggled in the cabin for three and a half days, initially agreed on the teaching progress of the elementary literacy textbook, and successfully completed the compilation of the elementary literacy textbook.

The preparation of mathematics textbooks is relatively simple. After all, the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are not difficult.

Shi Jintang could completely write it by himself. By the time he finished writing the textbook, the passenger ship was already approaching Walvis Bay Port.

When Qin and Li were writing mathematics textbooks in Shijintang, Qin Mo was responsible for teaching 300 boys, while Li Tong taught girls.

Seeing that Shi Jintang was out of seclusion, Qin and Li came to report the progress of the work.

The two of them conducted pilot teaching in the early stage, and the number of pilots was set at 20 people.

The early pilot phase mainly tests students' acceptance. After the pilot students who accept it quickly and fully master the new knowledge, teachers and outstanding students will carry out pilot teaching at the same time.

In this way, the first scholars will drive the later scholars, and the first scholars can also consolidate the knowledge points they have learned through teaching activities.

The results of this kind of pilot teaching are very good, and many top students on both sides of the gender stand out.

Qin and Li made a emphatically introduction in front of Mr. Shi. After listening to their reports, Shi Jintang tried his best to help them.

Then he told the two that they would be arriving at Walvis Bay Port soon, and that the teaching work would be suspended and would continue after arriving at Walvis Bay Port.

The two naturally agreed and went to announce it to the students. Cheers immediately broke out on the boat.

Then they ran out of the cabin in twos and threes and came to the deck to watch the spectacular scenery of Walvis Bay.

When pelicans and whales were seen, people burst into more cheers and surprises. Shi Jintang shook his head and moved his sore neck.

While moving, I muttered that I should stop working so hard to avoid getting cervical spondylosis in the future. I suffered a lot from cervical spondylosis in my previous life.

I have always reminded myself to pay attention throughout my life, but during this period I was so busy that I forgot.

"Master, do you need me to press your shoulder?"

Shi Jintang was stunned for a moment, then looked back and found that it was Ye Rong. The girl had a shy face, and her thin body was shivering in the cold wind of the Atlantic Ocean.

"No, you should wear more clothes. It will be difficult to deal with the cold."

The blush on Ye Rong's face became more obvious, and she gritted her teeth, "I'm not cold, I'm just a little, a little nervous..."

Her words became more and more inaudible as she went on. Shi Jintang had a good impression of this girl, but she was too young to be such a beast.

“Our Walvis Bay is ahead, and when we get there, I will put you girls in a separate campus.

Your main task now is to study hard. I have high hopes for you, so don't do unnecessary things. When you finish your studies, we will talk about other things. Do you understand? "

When Ye Rong heard this, she felt excited: Mr. Shi understood what I was thinking and gave me a promise!

Thinking of this, Ye Rong felt that her whole body was full of strength. She looked at Master Shi and nodded solemnly, "I understand."

……

At some point, people on the boat started cheering. They finally reached their destination and it was time to disembark.

(End of this chapter)