An 'American Dream': Teacher Yu goes from rags to riches
(Xinhua)Updated: 2006-10-30 09:58
"A career must always develop and so must a man. You can never call a living
man a success, it is only when he goes to his eternal rest that a judgment can
be made," Yu says.
"My next aim is to build New Oriental into a model
for China's private education," says Yu, who sports a crew cut and casual wear
in his office in northwestern downtown Beijing.
Private education is not new
in China. Confucius is said to have started the tradition of private education
in the 6th century B.C.. Chinese entrepreneurs are building private schools to
cash in on a national obsession with learning.
Today private schools
come in all shapes and sizes, from small primary schools run by idealistic
retired teachers to fully-fledged accredited vocational colleges with thousands
of students.
But many went bankrupt after failing to deliver both profit
and good education.
Yu, however, is not afraid of failure. "Ups and
downs are part and parcel of a career.
Falling over is not a problem.
What you learn in the process is invaluable, it can help you start over," Yu
says.
"The private education industry in China is still poorly
organized," Yu says.
Yu attributes his school's success to its quality
teachers and unique enterprise culture.
"We recruit talented teachers and
grow them in various ways including funding them to study abroad."
"Besides academic qualifications, all teachers must be passionate,
inspiring and humorous when they interact with students."
"Any
successful enterprise has a unique formula. New Oriental's formula includes its
tenet of inspiring the students, a humorous teaching style, emphasis on the
culture behind the language and prolonged study of exam techniques," says Xu
Xiaoping, a popular teacher in New Oriental.
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