A Probe into the Cultivation Path of National Defense Education in Colleges and Universities
—Taking the Department of Film and Television Art of Shanghai Publishing and Printing College as an Example ()
1. Concept Definition of Present National Defense Education of Colleges and Universities
“The extensive meaning of national defense education of colleges and universities means to carry out all kinds of national defense activities for all faculties and students. In a narrow sense, national defense education means the national defense course set for the students in campus” (Wu, 2007). The paper takes the national defense education of the department of film and television art of Shanghai Publishing and Printing College as an example. Hence, the national defense education of colleges and universities mentioned in the paper with the main education object of campus students aims at enhancing their concept of national defense, improving the awareness and promoting their full development. There is educational practice with the basic form of military training and military theory courses and daily activities of national defense education.
2. Necessity Analysis of Carrying Out National Defense Education in Colleges and Universities
1) Inner Requirement of Guiding Ideology of Marxism
Marxism is the essence of the building of socialist culture, and it is the guiding ideology for Chinese communists to know about world and modify the world. And it is the basic essence to push the innovation creation of national defense culture. “A class is a material power in a leading position of the society and a spiritual power in a dominant position in the society” (Compilation Bureau of the Works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin of the CPC Central Committee, 1995). Guiding ideology of Marxism determines the nature and direction of national defense education of colleges and universities, so the guiding position in the ideological field must be consolidated since the culture building of national defense of colleges and universities must be far away from the direction of mainstream culture once it deviates from the main melody position.
Hence, during the process of education teaching, we must always insist the basic principle of Marxism and persist to arm our minds with philosophical viewpoints of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Students shall be cultivated to analyze and solve problems with the standpoint and viewpoint of Marxism, so that they could cultivate scientific world outlook, outlook on life and values.
2) Inheritance and Development of Red Revolutionary Culture
Excellent traditional culture of China has been consolidated in the culture of five-thousand years history. The red culture is a display of high revolutionary spirit and the pursuit of ideal value. The national spirit of arduous struggle and courageous progress are condensed into a profound ideological connotation to provide fresh culture supply for the national defense education of colleges and universities.
After the establishment of new China, the development trace of national defense culture in colleges and universities is mingled with the shadow of red culture in the inner core sprite and the outward manifestation. “In any era, the production and development of its social culture must be based on predecessors’ ideological and cultural achievements” (He, 2011). The connotative features included in the national defense culture of colleges and universities and the historic materials encouraging the young students to work hard could be found from red culture. Therefore, promoting the building of national defense education of colleges and universities should be developed and innovated with the basis of inheritance of red cultural resource, no matter in the top mechanism design or the specific practice form.
3) Important Part of Ideological and Political Work of Colleges and Universities
National defense education is not only related to the national security but also related to the quality of talent cultivation, which is especially reflected in the “cultivation function” of national defense education. General Secretary Xi points it out in the national conference on ideological and political work in colleges and universities that the foundation of colleges and universities is to strengthen moral education and cultivate people; morality shall go ahead the cultivation of human being; morality is the core and soul of education and it is the first place of all educational activities. Among these, patriotism should be the most basic requirement of quality education as the most important moral standard of citizens.
While the content of national defense education concerns the security of country and the profits of the people. And it is related to the rise and fall of the national honor and humiliation. It could greatly enrich and replenish the content of ideological and political education for college students, so as to further improve the ideological and political education region that course and social practice could not radiate to and it could arouse the psychological resonance of young students. They could be stimulated with the passion of patriotism to help them build up morality and ambition, which is not only the effective path to cultivate the ideological and moral quality but also the outstanding performance of Xi’s Thought on socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the nineteen spirit of the party in Ideological and political education in colleges and universities.
3. Path Exploration Example to Innovate National Defense Education in Colleges and Universities
1) Relying on professional skill to facilitate the diversification of national defense activities
Military skill training is the most direct method of national defense education, and it is the “first compulsory course” when the freshmen enter the campus. Besides, it is also the fundamental engineering to enhance construction of military reserve forces and realize the dream of building a strong country and a strong military. In the military work of 2019, Shanghai Publishing and Printing College invites officers and soldiers of the second detachment of Shanghai Armed Police Corps and veterans coming back to the campus to form training team. The military temperament and professionalism of instructors would be the fresh materials for college students to accept national defense education and to feel the culture. Through the military training, the strict organization disciplines and good style of hard work in army would enhance students’ bodies; meanwhile, they internalize and root soldiers’ great feelings of “responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai and honor is higher than life”. Concurrently, our college invites Professor Xu Huasong, Political College of National Defense University, Li Jinpeng, political commissar of Navy Shuozhou warship, to have special lectures respectively in the training, which are called as “Patriotism and National Defense Situation Education” and “Cherish the Motherland’s Coastal Defense and Build a Dream of Ocean”. These facilitate college students to link their future, destiny and dream with the country consciously, and they would be a new youth of era “with awareness of responsibility and shouldering sprite”, which lays a consolidated foundation for serving the motherland, serving the people and contributing to national defense.
Besides the military skill training, traditional military theory course teaching is also a necessary approach to forward national defense culture. Through the main channel of class, the most basic knowledge of military theory would be shared with students and there would be analysis on the cutting-edged scientific technology of military to interpret the strategic environment at home and abroad. All of these would greatly activate students’ patriotic enthusiasm and they would think of the danger when staying in the safe environment. What’s more, it should be focused on the combination of “instilling” and “speculation”. During the military training of freshmen in 2019, our college has presented Military Training Daily to report the latest situation of the work, which provides space and platform for the idea and thinking of institutors and students.
At the same time, powerful material protection is provided to improve the teaching quality. The Department of Film and Television Art of our college positively implement the teaching, office funding, facilitating teaching equipment, improving teaching devices and optimizing teaching condition. A multi-media and multi-functional teaching center is established, which plays online courses regularly, such as The Art of War, Military Geography, American Military History, and Tokyo Trial, Wolf Warriors, Operation Mekong and other patriotic films. It aims at strengthening students’ awareness of national defense, so as to improve the teaching quality of military theory course steadily with professional modernized technical method.
2) Enhance Online Instruction and Expand the Radiation of National Defense Education
In the era of mobile Internet era, the emergency and population of new media would not only change the way of people to gain information but also brings a new challenge and opportunity for the education publicity of national defense education in colleges and universities. The universality of new media communication content would timely delivery the latest and the most completed national defense consultancy, so there is positive role in expanding the teaching resource of national defense education to further enhance the attraction of the education in universities and colleges. The flexibility of new media communication would meet various demand of different audiences. It could improve the attention depression of students under the environment of “picture, text, sound and image” to prompt the completion of national defense education mission and the achievement of the teaching target. The interaction of new media communication could transfer the teaching method from “being traditional” to “being open”. Educators could update teaching idea and adjust teaching scheme from the feedback of platform, so as to create a new teaching mode suitable for the development of students and to improve the cultivation effect of national defense education. It turns from “teaching-based” to be “learning-based” to inspire students’ autonomous learning, so that they could actively participate in the discussion of the topics of national defense, which would further enhance the effectiveness of national defense education.
However, there is “barrier-free” in time and space of new media (Li, 2015), which forms an “open, inclusive and sharing” education space. On the other hand, there would be a chance for western countries. They would have information invasion with Internet technology to achieve the target of cultural attack, and they would boost freedom and equality and agitate the national secession, which must be a huge challenge for the young students in the important stage of “consolidating awareness of national defense”, and it would also add some difficulty for the cultivation work of national defense education in colleges and universities. Hence, our department of film and television art insists the principle of “high standard and strict control” to form a level-by-level review mode from “student cadres, secretary of the general youth league branch, deputy secretary of the general party branch”. Through the WeChat subscription account of “Banfu Film and Television”, we insist delivering the correct opinion direction. With the full help of picture, GIF animation, background music and videos, it is introduced with national defense education to college students. Such education idea penetrating in new media could bring a powerful communication effect and radiation for the national defense education.
Firstly, there would be correspondent posts in some major activities of party and government and commemorative days, such as Party Branch of Student Affairs of Department of Film and Television art Organizing to Watch the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening up, Heat Discussion Among Students of Department of Film and Television Art on the General Secretary Xi’s Important Speech at Commemorating the 54 Sports 100th Anniversary Conference, Department of Film and Television Art Carrying Out Party Day Activity with the Theme of “Learning Thinking and Practicing New Ideas, Rebeginning with Reforming and Opening Up”, Keeping Mission of Original Mind and Making Time Trend—Happy Birthday to the 98-year-old Party!, etc. With the form of gathering study and exchange and walking to memorial hall and museum, the environment building of public opinion in new media is enhanced to be the new land for leading the thinking of youth. Secondly, a correct beginning point of publicity. There is suitable guidance to have a full play of leading role of good model, so it would gather their minds to contribute the biggest power for our college to land in the basic mission to build morality and cultivate people. For example, Showing Uniform Youth and Achieving Wonderful Life—Holding A Conscription Mobilization Meeting in Department of Film and Television Art, is a specific practice to respond to the building calling of national army. We encourage students to turn the love of patriotism to be the action to return our country and to cherish the chance to play their talents and train themselves in the army with the uniform. They should strive to be a good soldier of country and outstanding person for our people, so as to write an unforgettable uniform youth. The Brilliant Mission—Six Recruits of Department of Film and Television Art Are about to Enter the Barracks encourages the greenhand to strive to be a young people in the new era with “blood, sweat and no tear”, and it also summon other students to learn from these recruits to keep struggling with original mind. Thirdly, the theme activities are made as carrier to add a new dimension for national defense education and to fully display the great harvests of cultural cultivation in the department. The department held “I and My Country” and the fourth session of college student film festival of “Beginning Movie” to carry out the Chinese sprite and communicate the cultural connotation. We collect micro-movies and documentaries and MV from the entire society. There is a good feedback in a series of introduction to further expand the impact of national defense education.
3) Develop the Combination of Military and People and Build up New Mode of National Defense Education Cultivation
It is pointed in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that “confirming to implement the combination development strategy of military and people”, “forming the profound development pattern of the integration of military and people”. Actually, in the age of war and the beginning period of construction, the combination of military and people is the important method of Chinese revolution to conquer the enemy. Currently, the “integration of military and people” has been promoted to be national strategy to be a must-path for the wealthy country and powerful army. General Secretary Xi emphasizes in the plenary session of the 19th Central Committee on civil military integration and development that the promoting of dual cultivation and exchange of talents in military and ordinary area needs to build a “mutual-communication” platform between colleges and universities and the troops, which is very important, so as to build up a new mode of “complementary resources and collaborative education”, aiming to mark an important direction for accelerating the depth development of integration of military and people.
2019 is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of new China, and it is also the 70th anniversary of navy. In late April, the department of film and television art is entrusted by Political Work Department of Navy Shanghai Base to participate in a series of souvenir design and production of “Celebration to the 70th anniversary of Chinese Navy”. The project is so tight and heavy with high requirement. The professional teachers and navy officers of navy have repeated ideological collision, scheme design, docking production, proofing and modification. After two months, the mission is completed with quantity and quality. During the period, with the active proceeding of leaders in the campus, all participating teachers join the activity with full mind and student teams have good cooperation. Finally, the completed design is adopted in the photo exhibition to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the setup of navy, “Ocean, Sea, Navy” Special Literary and Artistic Evening Performance, second session of semi-marathon of “Hand-in-hand Between Military and People to March to the Blue Sea”, vessel open day and the site of series activities. All of these are praised by leaders of the navy, the school and the citizens.
This is the specific implementation of department of film and television art to positively implement the strategic requirements for the development of deep integration of military and people. The two parties help each other to have collaborative innovation. It could meet the actual demand of military building of military and it also shows the tough professional qualification and action ability of teachers and students in the department. Hence, they could have self-promotion and they would make contribution to serve the national defense and motherland. In the practice, the participants have a deep understanding on the navy culture: with the 70 years of hard work, the navy begins from zero, little and weak to be everything, big and powerful. The troop has grown up to be the “iron great wall on the sea” to safeguard national sovereignty and to maintain the domestic maritime rights and interests, and it makes contribution for the dream of powerful country on the sea. All of these have been rooted in the mind of each member of the department.
Meanwhile, to feel the warmth of barracks and to realize the great significance of ocean, sea power and navy to our country and nation, department of film and television art specially organizes excellent students to go to the naval base in Shanghai for observation, so they could feel the new look of powerful and new navy closely. This is the vivid performance of cultivation of all members, all directions and entire process, and it must realize the ideological value leading role of national defense education.
National defense education is the important composition of the military building and national education, and it is a powerful guarantee to safeguard national sovereignty and national dignity. The colleges and universities are an important carrier of national development, social progress and education revitalization; and it shoulders the important mission of popularizing national defense knowledge, promoting the construction of national defense reserve forces, and stimulating the patriotic enthusiasm of young students. General Secretary Xi points out in the report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that we should enhance the national defense education of the mass and consolidate the unity between the army and the government and between the army and the people to achieve the Chinese dream and powerful dream to gather strong power. To practically improve the quality of national defense education, Shanghai Publishing and Printing College enable students to firm goal and faith and sublimate ideal value under the influence of national defense culture through diversified cultivation path. So that, the patriotism would be consciously internalized to serve the country, so that colleges and universities become the main position for training the backbone of national defense construction.