Farewell blessings to every upcoming Shanghai Young Baker

Following the arrival of the sizzling summer weather, it is once again near the time of graduation. This also marks the end of the life skills course led by Professor Li Xiaowen.

Professor Li still remembers the first day she met her students. Their enthusiasm and thoughtfulness were infectious. Whenever they noticed that the teachers were having a tiring day, they offered them tea and generously shared their fresh breads and cakes they had just learnt how to bake. However, these students were extremely shy by nature and sometimes struggled to express themselves. To help them, Professor Li meticulous designed a series of team exercises catered to their needs. The exercises covered the following subjects: literature, art and sciences. Thanks to these exercises, the students’ improved their ability to express themselves, their ability to work in teams and their sense of responsibility. The exercises also cultivated their interest in active learning.

During the sharing and reading session, students who feared speaking up in public became more comfortable in being vocal. Thanks to the training, students could form clearer thoughts. Some even learnt how to express themselves using poems. No longer nervous about public speaking, they became more confident and humorous. Some of their quirky remarks even made the rest of the class laugh. Interactions between the students and their teachers outside of class increased by leaps and bounds. Students also made the effort to write every teacher a ‘Thank You’ letter. Students talked about leaving the dormitory in the wee hours of the morning to catch the first public transport to attend the course, interesting happenings during the course, the sense of accomplishment they felt when they finally succeeded in making a new product after countless failures and many more. Reading between the lines, the letters reflected the hard work and commitment the students have put into the course. It was extremely moving.

The batch of students acted as a large family. Within this ‘new family’, the teachers also formed smaller interest groups. Every time there was a collective group activity, a few students were in charge of its organization. Given the activities were knowledge contests and recitation performances, the students started learning how to better allocate their manpower, how to work in teams and how to design a program flow. To make things more interesting, the group in charge of dictation took the initiative to search for classic poetry and songs to use. The group in charge of rhythm also conscientiously practiced familiar actions. It was heartwarming to see the students who used to stand passively on the sideline become actively involved in the activities. Not only did this train them to work in teams and enhance their sense of responsibility, students also developed problem-solving skills. Even the shyest student in class performed well thanks to the other students’ encouragement.

To help students better understand baking techniques, we came up with a series of interesting ‘baking science’ lessons focusing on the key points which students found hardest to understand. The lessons got students thinking for themselves rather than passively absorbing information. They started garnering interest in understanding specific science processes related to baking, asking questions and speaking up in group discussions. Students managed to draw connections between the array of things happening around them. Gaining knowledge about the key principles behind the baking technology helped students better comprehend and retain information. For example, after learning about the impact of the fermentation process on the softness of the bread, students applied this knowledge to control the texture of the bread they were baking. Not long ago, one of the students came up to us to share the new product that he has designed.

“Feels like we’ve made progress,” everyone smiled as they told us.

For nearly a year, we got along not only as teachers and students but as a close knitted family. Students affectionately call two of our senior professors ‘Grandma Li’ and ‘Grandma Wu’. Once, when Professor Wu fell sick, the students made a video, wishing ‘Grandma Wu’ a speedy recovery. After she was discharged, Professor Wu went down to the school immediately to pay her beloved students a visit. She even personally drew more than 30 ink paintings for her students, wishing them all the best in their future endeavors.

I have no doubt the students will leave the classroom soaring to greater heights in other places. We have faith in them, and believe they will continue to shine wherever they go as confident and lively Shanghai Young Bakers.

East China Normal University

The School of Psychology and Cognitive Science

Zhang Piao