WCC's women in charge: a talk with three principals

Personally, I think women have two advantages. First, as principals, we are often more approachable. But we are also strong and resilient.

I constantly switch between these roles internally. Women must bring a professional attitude to the workplace. In the home, we should make our parents feel proud. Our relationships with our spouses and children should be characterised by mutual trust and respect. I treat my 15-year-old son as a friend. We respect each other's space while supporting one another.

As an educator with a child who is of schooling age, I have a great deal of empathy for the parents at our school. I like to share with them how I get along with my child. This, I think, constitutes a nice work-life balance. Moreover, any woman who wants to devote herself to her work needs the full support of her family. I certainly feel that I have that, so I am grateful.

A. Firstly, Wellington College Tianjin is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. So I have been trying to continue the brilliant achievements of years past by standing on the shoulders of my predecessors. Secondly, this is the first time that WCC has appointed Chinese educator as the principal of one of its international schools. I have been working hard, trying to build a multicultural community that celebrates its diversity as much as it celebrates what it has in common. Diversity really is our biggest asset, and I want to harness our team members' complementary advantages as we work together to achieve our common goals.

I want our school to keep learning new things as we improve ourselves. I also want to grow personally along with the school. At the same time, I hope to work together with everybody so that WCC becomes a place where our pupils make lifelong memories. This is my biggest wish.

I believe women are resilient and have keen insight. In education, women have great empathy and effectively resolve conflicts peaceably and professionally. 

I have learned so much from the Wellington Values of Courage, Respect, Integrity, Kindness and Responsibility, as well as the Hiba mission of being dedicated to cultivating outstanding pupils with excellent bilingual competency, multicultural comprehension, international vision, patriotism, cultural awareness and national confidence. This is a lofty mission and it deserves all my energy and attention as an educator.

Currently, the greatest challenge is building a bridge of communications between our Chinese and foreign employees to understand the pupils and their parents better; partake of one another's cultures and backgrounds; support the growth of our pupils and our school; and contribute to our broader local community.

Teachers have a unique role to play in society. Morals and knowledge are essential to what we do. In my view, these are vocational standards and requirements. 'Daughter' and 'mother' are familial roles. I will choose to listen to and respect my family members. I will be with them, support them and love them. The relationships between teachers and their pupils and parents and their children are unique. These roles require love, patience and understanding.

8 March is a working day, so I will celebrate with my colleagues. More than half of our employees are women. So I want like to extend my warmest wishes to them and all of my fellow women.

Men and women have their respective qualities. Women are born with maternal instincts. In most cases, we want to protect children and are keenly attuned to the subtle changes they undergo as they grow and develop. Men, on the other hand, are more inclined towards helping children make big breakthroughs. If we realise this balance in our schools, it will benefit our children immensely. 

I believe that as an educator, I must always respect our pupils. Being a mother, on the other hand, is a constant learning process. My role as an educator gives me a unique perspective on how children grow and develop. It has given me the wisdom to be more cool-headed and objective when faced with the challenges our children face as they grow up.  

I see more opportunities. I spent my first three years at The Bridge | China, where worked in the realm of theory with abstract ideas. Now I am working in a WCC school, where I have the opportunity to put these theories into practice. Thanks to the strong theoretical foundations I was able to build at The Bridge | China, I am now more confident that I can make Hiba Academy Nantong great.