□ reporter Xie Tingting
"I used to talk about my dreams all day long, and I opened my mouth to talk about dreams, thinking that it was a cool thing. It wasn't until half a year ago that I put away my thoughts, rolled up my sleeves, and embarked on a journey to the west, that I realized that it was better to say it a thousand times than to do it again, to practice, to experience, and only by setting off can I get one step closer to my dream."
On August 16 last year, She Shengran, a 2023 undergraduate graduate of the School of Liberal Arts and Law of Hefei University of Technology and the leader of the school's 25th graduate teaching team, walked into Changqing No. 2 Primary School in Danzhai County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province for the first time to start a year of volunteer teaching life. When he saw the warm and lovely teachers and students, he was very sure in his heart: this is where he wants to practice and dedicate.
Vivid and interesting volunteer teaching life
In the early morning of September, Changqing No. 2 Primary School ushered in the day of school. She Shengran was woken up by the alarm clock, pushed open the dormitory door, and found that the campus was already crowded with first-year students and their parents who had come to register for the board. At first, he tried to meet the audience in Mandarin, but the language barrier had to bring in local teachers to help translate. Colleagues told him that the school has a wide enrollment area, and boarding can better ensure the safety of students.
At the beginning of the new semester, the campus is always full of laughter during the day, and the test has just begun at night. Before going to bed, the sound of crying in the dormitory of first-year freshmen often made She Shengran feel distressed but at a loss. He knew that the students were homesick and homesick, but all he could do was squat down, or give them a big hug, or gently stroke their little heads, and then coax them to bed one by one. "It's 11:40 p.m., and I'm still tossing and turning, spending the night with the students on a hot night without air conditioning. Looking back on my childhood, looking at them as young and naïve, I only hope that I can do more for them in the future......" She Shengran wrote in the volunteer teaching diary.
Walking into the classroom for the first time, She Shengran silently repeated in her heart the advice of the senior sister of the previous research group, "Be strict in class and try to maintain majesty." When I saw the playful and smiling faces under the podium, "somehow, my heart softened all of a sudden." The rain in Guizhou comes and goes quickly. When the bell rang for the end of class, and before the words of reiterating classroom discipline and homework requirements fell, the students rushed out of the classroom, some running in the rain, some stepping on puddles, and before She Shengran shouted, the "ducklings" who were soaked were pulled back to the dormitory by the head teacher.
At Changqing No. 2 Primary School, She Shengran mainly teaches mathematics and music classes for multiple grades, with 31 class hours per week. Before class, he always has to polish the lecture script over and over again, trying to teach mathematics in a way that students can understand and stimulate their interest in music. A temporary math quiz arranged for evening self-study made him realize that the students' mathematical foundation is very weak and needs to be strengthened urgently. However, that night, he did not give a lecture or conduct pressure, but took out his guitar and played a song "Take You to Throw a Handkerchief Together", and used music to accompany everyone into a sweet dreamland. He came here to teach his students knowledge and, more importantly, to have the ability to stay happy.
Convey love and hope in the depths of the mountains
"The most impressive thing must be the home visit. There are winding mountain roads circling on the rolling green hills of Guizhou, but the winding mountain roads are not only mountain roads, but the road for children in the mountains to study is also full of ups and downs."
Xiaofeng (pseudonym) is a fifth-grade student at Changqing No. 2 Primary School and lives in Wuxi Village, Changqing Township, 5,000 kilometers away from the school. The 5,000-meter mountain road is not easy to walk, the mountains are steep and the roads are rugged. In October last year, when She Shengran and the members of the research team came to Xiaofeng's house for the first time, the room was dimly lit, and there was not even a decent desk that could be used to write homework. During the exchange, Xiaofeng's positive sunshine, as well as her love for learning and vision for the future, touched She Shengran. A few days after the home visit, the members of the research team sent Xiaofeng brand-new desks and lamps.
"There are many similar students in Changqing No. 2 Primary School, rugged mountain roads, dim houses, some students insist on finishing their homework at school, in order to go home to help their parents share the housework, and some left-behind children are independent from an early age, and they shoulder the burden of the family early......" She Shengran breathed a sigh of relief and added, "In addition to these, what touched me more was their sensibility and self-discipline." The thumbs up of the old people in the family and the certificate posted on the wall are the best proof of this. ”
She Shengran told reporters that as early as October 2017, the school research branch launched the "1V1" student assistance project, in addition to the innovative "pen pal plan", "warm winter plan", "love donation", "left-behind children's birthday party" and other series of activities, one after another research group in the name of youth love relay, in the depths of the mountains to convey love and hope.
Giving is a happy thing
As a sports student, She Shengran served as the coach of the men's football team in the Changqing area in the Danzhai County Primary and Secondary School Football Match last year. Faced with three schools in Changqing Township that didn't even have a football field and a group of students who had never played football seriously, She Shengran did not give up easily. He led the students to borrow the football fields of the surrounding schools for training, although they failed to qualify for the group stage, but when they played against Chengguan School, everyone tried their best to score a goal, which won applause and made up for regrets.
After precipitation, the Changqing District men's football team successfully qualified in the group stage of the primary and secondary school football tournament in March this year and finally finished eighth. For this achievement, She Shengran and the students feel very happy and satisfied. Not long ago, he also used his sports expertise to assist Changqing No. 2 Primary School to hold the largest sports meeting since the establishment of the school, with the strongest sense of ceremony and the largest number of people, hoping to create a healthy, happy and positive sports atmosphere, so that students can understand the spirit of sportsmanship in sports, and move forward bravely in the future.
"We were born in a great country and grew up in the best of times. In the west, there are beautiful landscapes, rising hopes, and like-minded friends, where you can experience different lives and realize your own value. In more than eight months of volunteer teaching life, She Shengran found that dedication is a happy thing, helping students in the mountains to learn knowledge, understand the truth and firm their dreams, and get the recognition and love of teachers, students and parents here, making him sincerely satisfied and happy. A year is not a long time, but it is not a short time, She Shengran said that there are still many things he wants to do and want to do, and he will continue to move towards the dream in his heart in a down-to-earth manner.
She Shengran (middle) instructs students in reading