Wang Yuanyuan

    DONALD HOLDER, teacher and administrator at Shenzhen Middle School (SMS), praised the curriculum reforms that he had witnessed during his seven years at SMS.

    “What the curriculum reforms in SMS have given us is a unique opportunity to rethink what we are doing as a school and what is the best way to shape and deliver our curriculum,” said Holder.

    “When I first came to SMS, the students were excellent — very bright, but still asking me for answers rather than seeking the answers themselves. There was little patience in class if I told them to think about the possible answers,” he added.

    “Now I’m happy to say, when students come to me they are not asking for answers from me, they are confirming the answers that they themselves have formulated. Outside of class, they are bringing me their proposals for activities and only asking for assistance in solving problems beyond their control. They are more efficient than our own staff,” said Holder.

    Holder left Beijing, where he had lived for four years, for Shenzhen in 2000 and started teaching at SMS in 2002.

    “People often ask me why I have stayed so long in schools here. The answer is easy — I’m an educator. Students are students, and the goals are the same. I’m an educator; this is what I do. Nothing is more important to me than the education of a child and helping a child realize his or her full potential,” he said.

    Holder used to write a column called “English with Holder” for the Shenzhen Daily from 2002 to 2003.

    He also taught at Beijing University’s Affiliated High School, where he worked as assistant principal for a year. He was a guest lecturer at the Beijing Institute of Education and the Central Conservatory of Music apart from teaching at the Shenzhen campus of Beijing University’s Law School.

    He has also hosted more than 100 educational programs on CCTV-4 and CCTV-9, as well as more than 400 cultural and educational television programs on Beijing TV.