On 24 February 2020, Jing Degang, secretary of the Party Committee and president of the Open University of China (OUC), gave the “First Lecture of the New Term” with the theme of "Patriotism and Growth.” The lecture received good feedback from teachers and students in the school system. Teachers and students wrote down their impressions, saying that the First Lesson created a sense of cordiality and benefited them a lot.

At this critical juncture in epidemic prevention and control, a total of 250,000 people watched the live broadcast online at the same time but in different places.

After watching the live lesson, teachers from the Faculty of Economics and Management the OUC said that it was both an ideological and political lesson and a course on life planning. The next step is to give full play to the advantages of the “internet plus university” model in accordance with the unified arrangement of the OUC to actively promote the resumption of work and study. On one hand, they promise to continue to do a detailed job of implementing prevention and control, and on the other hand, they will strive to grow into members of the OUC who "stress politics, consider things from an overall point of view, obey rules, have the ability to fight, and are willing to dedicate themselves.” They will learn the skills to turn crises into opportunities and consider teaching practice when reforming teaching methods and innovating teaching models, so as to effectively minimise the impact of the epidemic and make every effort to promote assigned teaching work in 2020.

Zheng Shumin, a student of the OUC’s Tianjin Branch, said that the purpose of studying at the OUC is to continuously improve one's knowledge, experience, and abilities, and work for the benefit of the OUC family, the people, and the country in a down-to-earth and steadfast manner. Another student, Feng Jinmeng, said that “As students, we can't choose to stay within our comfort zone when it is time to work hard. We should work practically and study calmly, uniting as one to get through this difficult time of national crisis.”

The teachers and students of Shanxi Changzhi Radio and TV University (Changye RTVU) thought that the "First Lesson of the New Term,” by citing specific patriotic stories from Chinese history and describing actual cases from the OUC's epidemic prevention and control campaign, encourages OUC teachers and students to cultivate patriotism, cherish an ambition of serving the country, start from their own work, and practice their original mission. They said that improving one's personal quality is the pursuit of every OUC student, and that they should learn to deal with the relationship between ideals and reality and ability and opportunity, and study in a down-to-earth way in the midst of an impetuous society.

Qi Yanjun, a student of the “One College Student Per Village Programme” of the OUC’s Dalian Branch Jinzhou branch school, said that he would make great efforts to learn and make achievements by using the OUC learning network.

Yu Guoxi, secretary of the Party Committee of the OUC’s Dalian Branch, said in a summary of their discussion that the "First Lesson of the New Term" is both heartwarming and inspiring. We must resolutely implement the requirements of the OUC and work together and unite as one from the top level to the grass roots. Party members and cadres should take the overall situation into consideration, set a good example, be enterprising, and attach equal attention and importance to prevention and control of the epidemic and education and teaching. Each branch, school running unit, and teaching department should, in accordance with the requirements of the University, organise for teachers and students to use the learning network of the OUC to carry out learning, homework, and discussions, while guaranteeing the quality of teaching.

Guo Lianjun, a teacher of the Ideological and Political course at Zhejiang Haiyan RTVU, said that “we should make full use of the advantages of information technology in modern open distance education, provide students with high-quality learning resources, encourage students to continue with learning during this special time, guide students to combine their sense of patriotism with personal growth, and make greater contributions to fighting the epidemic and resuming production.”
Han Xiaoe, a junior college student majoring in Accounting at Zhejiang Haiyan RTVU in the 2019 autumn term, watched the first lesson while waiting at the airport. The first lesson taught her that patriotism doesn't necessarily mean heroic behaviour. For ordinary people, doing a good job in their normal post and continuing with lifelong learning can also be considered acts of patriotism.

Wu Wenming, a teacher from the School of Marxism of the Anhui Branch, said that during the period of epidemic prevention and control, as a teacher, he should practice his online teaching skills, be willing to pave the road for the growth of his students and guide their mental development and ensure their psychological health, and transform patriotism and responsibility into practical and detailed work.

Ni Na, a 2018 autumn term Accounting undergraduate from the OUC Anhui Branch Tongling branch school, said that “as a student of the OUC, we should always maintain positive energy, practice socialist core values, and do our best to contribute to the country.”

The students from the Jiangxi Branch were very impressed by Jing Degang's proposal that “in the face of the current epidemic situation, we need to continue with learning when schools are closed. We should try to remain calm and composed and enrich our minds when our other commitments are reduced.” They are full of expectation for the new semester, new classes, and new knowledge of Open Education even during epidemic prevention and control, and said that they should devote themselves to learning with full enthusiasm, and become members of the OUC who make gains from methodology.

Xie Minghao, vice president of OUC’s Shandong Branch, believes that the First Lesson has given a direction for the OUC school system to strengthen cohesion and overcome difficulties. He asked all of the teachers and students of the Shandong branch to study and learn from the spirit of the First Lesson, improve their political position, seriously think about what kind of talents to cultivate and how to cultivate them, and combine work with the actual situation and do a practical and detailed job in order to serve the people.

Zhang Yixin, a junior college student majoring in Chinese Language at the Shandong Branch in the 2019 autumn term, said that without a country, there would be no family. Everyone should contribute to the country and the nation. We, the people, should use our own strength to do our part for the motherland. We should apply the skills we have learned at university and in society whenever and wherever our motherland needs us and shoulder the responsibility of national rejuvenation and prosperity, which is a way to realise our patriotism and grow as people.

Huang Luyuan, a student majoring in Primary-school Education at Shandong Liaocheng RTVU in the 2019 spring term, said that “in order to help build a strong country, our current task is to study hard and accumulate more knowledge. In this way, we will be able to better adapt to the any job requirements and contribute to the construction of our motherland. Learning is a lifelong thing, since society is constantly improving and knowledge is always being updated. Only through continuous learning can we keep up with the pace of the times and build a better society."

A group of students from Guangdong Panyu RTVU actively discussed and summarised their favourite sentences from the lesson in a WeChat group.They quoted more than a dozen sentences, including, "The purpose of learning is to grow and achieve so that you have the right to choose and you can choose what you love, what you are good at, what you need, and what is beneficial to you.”

Teachers and students from the Chengdu branch not only took notes in class, but also called on family members to attend the class together. After the live broadcast, the teachers and students had a discussion in theirs classes QQ and WeChat groups. They all said that they gained a lot from the lesson.

Jin Zengcuo, a student from Tibet studying in the 2019 Pre-school Education junior college programme at the School of Humanities at the OUC’s Qinghai Branch, said that she learned a lot through the First Lesson. Although school is closed, education continues and students can learn courses of all subjects online. She is grateful to the OUC for providing such a good learning platform.

According to Fan Shumin, a student of Xinjiang Changji RTVU, “In the lesson, secretary Jing mentioned that students cultivated by the OUC are people who have ideals and dreams, who are full of positive energy, and who adhere to and make contributions. These words have woken me up. I want to become someone like that. I will make good use of my time to find out a direction worthy of my efforts as soon as possible, work hard, and always keep learning."

By OUC News Network