Chen Shifa and Ban Yinzheng: The Educational Value of the Great Achievements in Poverty Alleviation for Ideological and Political Courses
Since the 18th Party Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, people of all ethnic groups across the country have worked together with one heart and fought courageously to achieve a complete victory in the battle against poverty. This fulfilled a promise made to history and the people, forging great achievements in poverty alleviation that have been recorded in the annals of history. Within specific contexts, these great achievements can be transformed into teaching resources with significant ideological and political education functions. It is necessary to excavate, fully interpret, and systematically apply them, focusing on giving full play to their value in nurturing students within ideological and political theory courses ("si-zheng" courses [1]) by enhancing political identity, strengthening the sense of responsibility, and establishing a macro-view of history.
Enhancing the Political Identity of University Students
The great achievements China has secured in the field of poverty alleviation fully demonstrate the political advantages of the Party's leadership and the socialist system. Teaching resources transformed from the great practice and achievements of poverty alleviation precisely align with the new situation, tasks, and requirements of ideological and political teaching in the New Era, effectively enhancing the relevance and appeal of these courses. This will guide university students to deeply perceive the world-renowned achievements and far-reaching historical impact of the poverty alleviation cause led by the Party under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Furthermore, it will allow university students to clearly recognize that the precious experience accumulated and the powerful forces condensed during poverty alleviation are injecting inexhaustible momentum into the great undertaking of building a powerful country and national rejuvenation through the comprehensive promotion of Chinese-path modernization.
Fully utilizing the great achievements of poverty alleviation is conducive to guiding university students to enhance their political identity through the ideological power inherent in those achievements. Political identity is the conscious sense of belonging to a political stance gradually constructed by a subject during political practice; specifically, it manifests as a clear cognition of one's own political identity and a conscious adherence to political norms. In the practice of teaching ideological and political courses, the core of deepening political identity is to enhance students' identification with the Party’s leadership and the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
On the one hand, political identity can be enhanced by highlighting the political advantages of the Party's leadership. The great achievements of poverty alleviation prove that the Party's leadership provided a strong political and organizational guarantee for the struggle. Specifically, the Party's leadership provided comprehensive, systematic, scientific, and rational top-level design, political leadership, and organizational safeguards. On the other hand, political identity can be enhanced by highlighting the institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Concentrating resources to accomplish large undertakings [2] is a prominent political advantage of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an important guarantee for uniting the people of the whole country to overcome difficulties, an important "magic weapon" [3] for advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the fundamental support for the great achievements in poverty alleviation. These achievements demonstrate the advantages of the socialist system and effectively enhance students' political identity.
Strengthening the Sense of Responsibility Among University Students
Using the practice of poverty alleviation to strengthen students' sense of responsibility and forge their skills and abilities. By taking the great achievements of poverty alleviation as an important resource for ideological and political courses, we can ingeniously integrate theoretical teaching with the improvement of practical abilities. In "ideological and political classrooms on the move," vivid cases can be used to present the arduous process of these achievements, extending the classroom to the vast battlefield of poverty alleviation. By organizing students to visit poverty alleviation practice bases and rural fields to carry out various forms of practical teaching, and through immersive teaching methods, we can reinforce their commitment to their mission in this era.
To achieve the strategic goals of poverty alleviation, a series of high-level policies were launched, creating an interlocking system ranging from industrial and educational poverty alleviation to healthcare-based Alleviation. For instance, the "targeted poverty alleviation" strategy [4] accurately identified the poor and formulated household-specific assistance plans, allowing poverty alleviation resources to provide "precision drip irrigation" [5] to every impoverished family. Behind this lies deep investigation and scientific analysis of the nation's poverty situation, reflecting the responsibility of top-level designers to face the reality of poverty and shoulder heavy historical burdens. Providing what assistance it can to help developing countries reduce poverty has contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the global cause of poverty reduction, winning universal recognition from all sectors of society and broad praise from the international community, demonstrating the responsibility and actions of a responsible major power.
On the front lines of poverty alleviation, millions of grassroots cadres served as the main force of responsibility. They took root in remote mountainous areas, eating, living, and working alongside the impoverished masses. Many cadres stayed away from their families and faced harsh working environments without complaint. Examples include Huang Wenxiu, Huang Dafa, and Qiu Jun [6]. It is precisely the countless poverty alleviation cadres like them—who dared to shoulder heavy burdens, "gnaw on hard bones," and "handle hot sweet potatoes" [7]—who consciously integrated their "small selves" into the "big picture," overcame numerous difficulties, and used practical actions to interpret the will to tackle key problems until the goal is reached, ensuring that poverty alleviation policies took root.
Poverty alleviation was not a "solo fight" by the government; it required mobilizing the strength of all sectors of society to form a powerful synergy. Enterprises utilized their advantages in capital, technology, and markets to carry out industrial cooperation with impoverished areas; social organizations went deep into these areas to provide education and medical aid; and volunteers traveled thousands of miles to deliver knowledge and services. The people's desire for a better life became stronger, and many impoverished people gradually shed the mentality of "waiting, leaning on, and asking" [8], transforming from "I am being asked to escape poverty" to "I want to escape poverty." Through the joint efforts of all aspects and industries of society, different subjects worked as one to overcome the difficulties of poverty.
Establishing a Correct View of History
The achievements of poverty alleviation are high-minded and profound, systematically imbued with the Materialist Macro-view of History [9] through which Chinese Communists view problems. This points the way and provides an epistemological framework for students to correctly view and understand the significance of these achievements. Therefore, using the achievements of poverty alleviation to teach ideological and political courses helps students systematically master the macro-view of historical materialism, profoundly grasp the present while summarizing experience, and learn to look toward the future. At the same time, it helps students stand at the depths of historical laws and the heights of civilizational evolution to conduct research on the history of poverty alleviation and summarize its lessons, systematically drawing wisdom and strength to better transform, replicate, and disseminate this great experience.
First, it helps students profoundly grasp that the achievements constructed a historical monument of the Chinese nation bidding farewell to absolute poverty, creating a new paradigm for the human cause of poverty reduction. From the concept of "The World Belongs to All" (tianxia weigong) [10] in the pre-Qin period to the spirit of exploration of modern patriots, eliminating poverty has always been a dream of the Chinese nation. Starting from the program of the 2nd Party Congress [11] as a theoretical point of departure, relying on the institutional framework of New China, through systematic poverty relief during Reform and Opening-up, and finally moving toward the goal in the New Era through the "Six Targets" and "Five Batches" [12] strategies, the goal was reached. Second, it helps students grasp the New Era connotations injected into the theory of the essence of socialism. These achievements are inseparable from a scientific grasp of the socialist essence, which has always adhered to the requirements of eliminating poverty, improving people's well-being, and achieving common prosperity. Successfully lifting all rural poor under the current standard out of poverty has further deepened the understanding of the essence of socialism. Third, it helps students grasp the spiritual power contained within the struggle. The poverty alleviation spirit—characterized by "acting with one heart, deploying the best forces, being targeted and pragmatic, pioneering and innovating, tackling tough problems, and living up to the people"—takes "the people first" as its core value and has become a brilliant chapter in the spiritual pedigree of Chinese Communists.