SHT Chapter 35

Principal's Office

Thomas sat on the leather soft chair, reviewing and processing documents on the OA platform.

[OA (Open Access) platforms are online platforms that provide free and open access to various resources, including:

1. Academic journals and papers
2. Research articles and datasets
3. Educational materials and courses
4. Creative works and cultural heritage resources

The main goal of OA platforms is to make knowledge and information freely available to everyone, without any financial or access barriers. This promotes equitable access to knowledge, collaboration, and progress in various fields.

Some examples of OA platforms include:

1. DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)
2. arXiv (physics, mathematics, computer science, and related disciplines)
3. Open Access Library (OAL)
4. Sci-Hub (research articles and papers)
5. Coursera (online courses and educational resources)
6. Wikimedia Commons (images, media, and cultural heritage resources)

OA platforms have transformed the way we access and share knowledge, fostering a culture of openness and collaboration.]


As the principal of Horizon High School, his daily work is not easy. Various large and small meetings alone take up a lot of his time.

Meetings include those from the Education Bureau, the Secondary School Alliance, Principal's Office Meetings, Administrative Meetings, Class Teacher Meetings, Teaching Research Group Meetings, Grade Group Meetings, Party Building Meetings, Safety Meetings...

Meetings vary in length and size, with a wide range of types. Some meetings even need to be held several times in one day. Some require him to assign tasks, while others are merely formalities.

Just after attending the Education Bureau meeting, many documents were sent down from above, requiring his attention. Contrary to what outsiders may think, he doesn't have a lot of free time as a principal.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Thomas said without looking from the documents.

The door opened, and Edward walked into the office.

Thomas raised his head, temporarily setting aside his work, and waved to Edward with a smile.

"Edward, come and have a seat."

Not long ago, Katherine came to see him, reporting on the new semester plan of the mathematics teaching group.

The mathematics teaching group at Horizon High School can be considered one of the best in the entire Central City.

Even if compared to the entire province, it can definitely be considered top-notch.

There are many experienced math teachers inside, with extremely high teaching standards and outstanding class results.

Moreover, Logan, who has participated in the college entrance examination question setting team multiple times, is in charge. Although Katherine is his daughter and has excellent teaching skills herself.

But in the highly competitive math teaching group at Horizon High School, she hasn't been able to hold any important position yet.

After all, she is still too young, and currently doesn't have any remarkable achievements to show.

For example, leading a class to rank first in math scores in the entire school, or guiding students to win first or second prizes in math competitions. These achievements are still beyond Katherine's reach for now.

As the head of the teaching group, after finalizing the plan for the new semester, Logan had her come to report to Thomas. Firstly, to give Katherine a chance to showcase her abilities.

Secondly, to show his stance that Katherine is a key trainee in the math teaching group.

Thirdly, the teacher team also values interpersonal relationships.

After Katherine finished her report, she casually praised Edward a few times, telling her father Thomas that they found a good homeroom teacher for Class 9 of Grade 11.

From Katherine's words, Thomas learned about the situation with Keith and Mike.

The same incident can elicit different thoughts and perspectives from different people.

In Katherine's view, the situation with Mike and Keith is a classic case of tailored teaching to students' abilities. She greatly admires Edward's keen insight and bold decision-making.

That's why, after finishing the report, she praised Edward in front of her father, Thomas.

But Thomas is different. He is the head of a school. He is the principal.

Upon learning about this matter, he immediately keenly perceived the opportunities within.

Yes, it's an opportunity for him.

As a key provincial high school, Horizon High School's academic achievements naturally do not require much of his attention.

After all, all teaching work, teacher team development, and talent pipeline construction have long been running on the right track.

The college enrollment rate has also been consistently high every year.

The only difference is how many students entered top universities like Oxford and Cambridge University last year compared to this year.

However, as the principal of Horizon High School, his own rank is already close to that of a deputy bureau level.

If he wants a smooth career advancement to climb higher? It's very difficult. To climb higher, there are two ways.

First, having connections.

Second, through hard work and more results.

The academic education at Horizon High School is indeed outstanding, reaching a very high level.

But to achieve further results? It's extremely challenging.

Therefore, in recent years, while maintaining the academic achievements at Horizon High School, Thomas has started to increase investment in other areas.

For example, in math, physics, and chemistry competitions, as well as in recruiting students with special talents in sports, arts, and other fields.

However, the results in these areas have not met Thomas's expectations.

If they can win the international math competitions for several consecutive years?

If there are several national-level athletes among the students recruited for sports?

Then his path to promotion will be much smoother.

Unfortunately, no. Neither they had won Maths competition nor did his school have national level athletes.

But after hearing Katherine's words, his eyes lit up. Two students with special talents?

Could they contribute to Horizon High School in certain competitions? So, he called Edward to get a detailed understanding of the situation of these two students.

"Principal, is there something you need from me?" After sitting down, Edward asked with a smile.

"Edward sir, you are impressive.

Thomas said with a smile, "In just one day, you managed to get the students of Class 9 in Grade 11 to attend classes seriously. If only I had appointed you as the homeroom teacher for Class 9 earlier."

He praised Edward's work first, then asked, "I heard that you allowed two students in the class to skip classes, is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Edward felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

'The principal wouldn't be here to hold me accountable, would he? You did tell me to handle things freely yesterday. He wouldn't turn against me so quickly, would he?'

Edward nodded and replied, "Yes, Principal. These two children don't like studying, but they both have special talents different from others. After understanding them, I developed a special training plan for them."

Thomas nodded and said, "Mmm. Edward sir, I called you here not to blame you. I'm aware of the situation in Class 9 of Grade 11. I want to know specifically what your special training plan entails."

He took a sip of water and continued, "After all, as the school authorities, we are responsible for the students."

Edward nodded and took a breath of relief.

'So that's it.'

He naturally couldn't know Thomas's true thoughts. There was no need to conceal anything about Keith and Mike. So, he detailed the situations of the two to Thomas.

Including how talented Keith is in gaming and how popular Mike's novels are online.

After all, Thomas is a middle-aged man, a generation older than Edward and Katherine. To help him understand, Edward made many analogies.

"Keith's talent in the gaming field is rarer than the academic talent of top students who can get into Oxford University. With proper training, he can compete for national or even world championships."

When it came to gaming, Thomas didn't quite understand. But Edward saying that he could compete for national or even world championships was impressive enough.

As the principal, he needed champions. Champions of various competitions. The more championship titles, the more promising his path to promotion.

He smiled at Edward and said, "Edward sir, feel free to ask for any support the school can provide to nurture Keith and Mike. If you need any initial financial investment, just tell me directly. I'll approve it."