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September 11, 2020

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Teacher cooks up a new future for kids

Dong Zhuwen, a 63-year-old rural teacher, starts his day early by shopping at a grocery store to prepare lunches for his students, and on the way to school, he usually picks up several students in his class.

Dong has been teaching and taking care of his students for 43 years.

Unlike his primary school peers in urban areas, Dong only teaches pupils in the first and second grades as village schools in the deep mountains of central China鈥檚 Hunan Provinces are usually built to meet the basic educational needs of neighborhoods that are sparsely populated. After completing their time at village schools, students will continue their studies at schools in town.

This year, Dong is in charge of all the courses of 15 students in a primary school in the village of Chagan in Chaling County.

Dong said most of the students enrolled each year in the school are children left behind by their parents who work in big cities seeking better-paid jobs.

鈥淚 firmly believe that no matter how poor a family is, they must invest in their children鈥檚 education.

鈥淕oing to school is their best path out of the mountains,鈥 he said.

Dong has taught thousands of students, and whenever a student shares with him good news such as being admitted by a high school or university, he feels great.

鈥淭here is nothing happier for a teacher,鈥 Dong said.

In 1977, he graduated from high school and started his career as a Chinese teacher.

The academic performance of his students is usually the best in the town.

However, for students living in the mountainous areas that lack access to transportation, it is not easy.

鈥淚n the late 1980s when students had to pay tuition, the dropout rate in the villages was high because students and their parents could hardly afford the costs,鈥 Dong said.

He would offer the dropouts financial support.

Dong has always been concerned about left-behind children in the villages. When he reached the age of retirement in 2018, he chose to stay on.


 

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