Over her 30 years in primary school education, Shen Dexi has listened carefully to children and carried out their suggestions — from planting a vegetable garden to urging aloof teachers to be friendlier and say hello.

“The most important foundation for reform of primary education is respect and equality for children,” said Shen, vice principal and Party secretary of the Dahushan Road No. 1 Primary School in Yangpu District, where she has worked for 16 years. Around 900 students are enrolled.

Traditional Chinese education is known for being strict and regimented, with teachers as unquestioned authority figures. Within a class, a selected student monitor wearing a badge with rank typically supervises other students, telling them to stand up, sit down, study hard, stop talking and keep the classroom neat. Other student leaders have other responsibilities.

But Shen and others are trying for a kinder, gentler approach in which students are more involved in their own schooling, and genuinely elected class leaders serve and help their fellows, instead of ordering them around.

In 1983, Shen graduated from Yangpu District Normal College when China faced a great shortage of teachers after the “cultural revolution” (1966-76), in which teachers, professors and intellectuals were criticized and often persecuted.

At that time, young teachers like Shen would take any assignment, go anywhere and teach any subject.

“I was an English teacher, music teacher, drawing teacher, ideology and morality teacher, and counselor of the young pioneers team at Changbai No. 2 Community Primary School,” Shen said.

“Because of these experiences I have been able to observe children from many different angles,” Shen said.

Today classes have various leadership roles for which children can compete. Elected children wear shoulder patches marked with bars or chevrons to show their rank and status. Some students are so obsessed with status that they buy identical badges on the street and wear them outside the school to impress people.

“Children should not be thinking about rank. It’s not the purpose of selecting class leaders,” Shen said. “Every candidate should remember that they should serve other students, not manage them.”

In Shen’s school (and others citywide), every student has a vote. The voting process is recorded and broadcast on the school’s television system.

“Children have a strong ability to tell right from wrong and are very serious about electing their leaders,” Shen said. “This is a real campaign and teachers need to respect them at each step.”

Shen is also responsible for the delegate meetings of young pioneers at her school where students make suggestions.

“I read every proposal carefully and I also tell our teachers to read them and reply to every child. Children have sharp eyes when it comes to their environment. They are also sensitive and fragile, which is reflected in their words,” she said.

One student wrote that some teachers never greeted students, even though students first said hello.

“From his words, I could tell he felt disrespected. He is a good boy who knows he should greet teachers when he meets them, but after this experience, he may become frustrated and not greet teachers in the future,” Shen said.

She told teachers they needed to be responsive and friendly.

In another proposal, a boy suggested that the school plant a garden so students could plant vegetables and learn how plants grow.

“City kids have no experience on farms. But we cannot always use textbooks and Powerpoint to teach children what a seedling is and how it grows into a tree. Seeing is believing, nothing beats first-hand experience,” Shen said.

She asked teachers to help pull weeds and clear a nearby vacant lot where children planted soy beans, lentils, wax gourd and other seasonal vegetables. The garden is named the Cradle Farm.

With various activities catering to students’ needs, Dahushan Road No. 1 Primary School has become very desirable, designated a “key” primary school in Yangpu District. Many parents wanted to send their children.

In 2009, the district merged the school with two other public schools to make better use of resources.

The decision sparked outrage among parents since the children of migrant workers in the two other schools were admitted to Dahushan Road No. 1 Primary School. They criticized migrants and said poor students would lower the quality of the school. They also complained that because of restrictions in the household registration system, their children could not attend the school, but migrants’ children could.

“The reaction of the parents surprised us, but at the time migrants’ children had not been permitted to enroll in local schools. As for teachers, we treat every child equally, no matter where they are from,” Shen said.

When the three schools merged, Shen issued a public notice telling parents and students not to bring teachers any kind of gifts, such as flowers, toys or greeting cards, on Teacher’s Day in September.

“We are still enforcing this measure because some children from poor, migrant workers’ families might be embarrassed seeing other children take gifts to teachers,” Shen said.

“Children are vulnerable. We don’t want them pleading with their parents to buy teachers gifts they cannot afford.”

Last month, Shen received two certificates that meant a lot to her. One recognized her 30 years of teaching and administration in primary education. The other is the highest honor for principals in the city’s education system. The Special Grade title is awarded every three years.

Now Shen is embarking on a new stage of her career as a principal — she is heading to a rural primary school in Jinshan District for two years. Her mission is to upgrade the quality of education and teaching that lags behind that in urban areas.

But the school in Shanghai’s southwest corner is 80 kilometers from her home and public transport can take several hours.

“I made my decision and I’m not afraid. I’ll rent an apartment,” Shen said.

She has already tapped her network to invite “elite” teachers and educators to give speeches to rural teachers, inspiring them to design interesting courses and activities.

“I don’t know what I can accomplish in two years. One person alone cannot change a school,” Shen said, “but I will talk to teachers and student to see what kind of help they need. I’ll do my best to help children get an education as good as the one that downtown kids get.”