The Strict Teacher and the “Warm Man”

Xu Xianglin

Xu Xianglin is a member of the China Writers Association， committee member of The Writers Association of Jiangsu Province （WAJS）， vice chairman and secretary-general of the Yancheng City Writers Association， and currently serving as the director of the Literature and Art Creation Department of the Yancheng City Yanfu Mass Press Group. Xu Xianglin has won multiple literary awards.

Taijiang， situated in the Miao Ling mountain range， is renowned as “the top Miao county globally.” The majority of its over 100，000 permanent residents are Miao people who have lived in the deep mountains for generations.

Encircled by mountains， remote， and inconvenient transportation， Taijiang was a national-level impoverished county supported by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the city of Hangzhou， Zhejiang. In 2016， Taijiang County had over 12，000 registered impoverished people， accounting for 7.5% of the total population. Taijiang County Ethnic Middle School has over 3，000 students， with more than 1，300 from registered impoverished families， accounting for 43% of the student body.

Before deciding to teach in Taijiang， Chen Liqun thoroughly researched the county， and upon grasping its economic situation， he became deeply concerned about the impoverished population， solidifying his commitment to promoting educational assistance. Therefore， he repeatedly emphasized that he would not accept any payment for teaching in Taijiang.

In August 2016， Chen Liqun， dressed in a suit and tie and carrying a backpack， impressed the entire school with his dashing and well-groomed appearance upon his arrival at Taijiang County Ethnic Middle School.

On his first day， Chen Liqun inspected the school cafeteria at noon and found a long queue with some impatient students knocking on their bowls while waiting. The cafeteria was noisy and full of flies， with poor hygiene conditions.

“Why are the students in a long queue？” Chen Liqun asked the school logistics director.

“There is only one cooking pot in the cafeteria.”

“Why is the hygiene so poor？”

“Weve tried to manage it， but to no avail，” the logistics head said guiltily.

“As long as we manage it diligently， theres no reason why we cant manage it well.” Chen Liqun firmly believed， and his first act in office was to improve the cafeteria environment. In less than two months， under Chens initiative， each grade dined in separate cafeterias， and a separate cafeteria for staff was established， solving the issue of long queues. Teachers also preferred dining at school， increasing their interaction time with students. Meanwhile， Chen Liqun personally oversaw and managed cafeteria hygiene. Under his leadership and example， a clean and orderly cafeteria was presented to the entire school.

After managing the cafeteria， Chen Liqun focused on another weak link -- the student dormitories. Previously， dormitories crammed dozens of students into one large room with smelly communal bathrooms. Chen Liqun secured funding for poverty alleviation， leading to the renovation of the dormitories. Large rooms were transformed into 6-to-8-person rooms， and each equipped with a private bathroom. Additionally， a dual management system comprising dorm heads and life teachers was introduced， fundamentally improving the once “dirty， chaotic， and substandard” dormitory conditions.

Having improved the cafeteria and dorm conditions， Chen Liqun implemented strict measures， introducing a boarding system and complete enclosure management for the school， with all students residing on campus and surrendering their mobile phones， only to be returned for use on Saturdays. The school also launched “Quiet Study Month” and “Independent Study Month” activities， prohibiting classroom discussions during self-study time， with daily inspections and comparisons in each class and routine inspections in classrooms morning， noon， and night.

Chen Liqun made these decisions after careful consideration. He discovered that most students parents worked away from home， leading to a lack of family education and students easily drifting into society， with some even developing bad habits like smoking and drinking. “Without tranquility， theres no long journey. How can one focus on study without calmness？” Chen Liqun argued when his strict school management was questioned.

Facts proved that Chen Liquns approach to school management was correct. Before long， the noisy classrooms of over 3，000 students became orderly， and the schools disorganized learning atmosphere gradually changed.

Gentle Breezes and Spring Rains in the Miao Village

Before 2016， Taijiang County Ethnic Middle Schools dropout rate was persistently high， with over 100 students dropping out each year， equating to one dropout per 30 students.

The reasons for dropping out varied： Some had parents with severe illnesses， others had divorced parents; some were from financially struggling families， and others were hospitalized. Each dropout was like a thorn in Chen Liquns heart， causing him immense pain.

To prevent dropouts， Chen Liqun visited families in his spare time， going from village to village and house to house. In Taijiang County， with its towering mountains and continuous ridges and cliffs right beside the roads， Chen Liqun was undeterred and unafraid. To ensure not a single student was left behind， he was willing to traverse any distance， no matter how far or perilous.

Some asked him， “Even locals tread these mountain paths with fear; arent you afraid as an outsider？”

Chen Liqun honestly replied， “How could I not be afraid？ When I feel scared， I just think of the students faces. As long as I think of the students， the fear in my heart diminishes significantly.”

His farthest home visit involved driving for an hour and a half， followed by a 45-minute ride on a diesel boat， and then half an hours walk through the mountains to reach a students home. The students parent， moved by the sight of the travel-weary Chen Liqun， assured him， “Principal Chen， for your dedication alone， I promise my child will not drop out of school no matter how difficult things get at home.”

During home visits， Chen Liqun set an unbreakable rule for himself： never eat at a students home， but instead rely on his own packed dry food. Before leaving， he would give all the money he had on him to the students family， ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand yuan. During his teaching period， Chen Liqun visited over 150 impoverished student families across Taijiang County， donating over 100，000 yuan from his own pocket.

Was Chen Liqun wealthy？ To be realistic， his pension wasnt low， but he didnt accept a penny for his teaching in Taijiang， and he had to cover his living expenses， set up teaching awards， and support impoverished families financially. His pension was barely sufficient for his needs， with his wife bearing the brunt of their household expenses. He felt guilty about this， but his wife comforted him， “Money is meant to be spent， and as long as you find meaning in how you spend it， I fully support you.” These words deeply moved Chen Liqun and reinforced the importance of his educational mission.

“Awakening the heart” and “spiritual education” were key educational insights Chen Liqun had gleaned and principles he practiced. In his weekly Monday speeches under the national flag and other public events， Chen Liqun always actively encouraged students to aim high. He also created a “Grove of Ambition” in front of the teaching building and established a unique “Aspiration Festival” at the school. Every December 9th， during the “Aspiration Festival，” senior students and teachers plant an “Ambition Tree” for each class on the school campus. Beneath each tree， a bottle containing the college entrance examination ambitions and life dreams of all the teachers and students in the class is buried.

Through class meetings， coming-of-age ceremonies， flag-raising speeches， recitation competitions， educational trips， club activities， and reading events， Chen Liqun used advanced educational concepts to inspire and reinforce the teachers and students understanding and contemplation of ambition， encouraging them to set lofty goals， maintain high spirits， and cultivate refined interests.

How can we revive and establish a culture of respecting teachers and valuing education in underdeveloped areas？ Chen Liqun urged teachers to enter Miao villages， form educational support pairs with the locals， and help them fully appreciate the crucial role of education in changing the face of poverty and backwardness. In addition， under the coordination of the assistance group for Taijiang from the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， he also actively trained the first secretary stationed in the village， covering topics such as education and poverty alleviation， respecting teachers and value education， and family education.

Each year after the college entrance examination， Chen Liqun organized teachers into groups to visit Miao villages， delivering congratulatory messages to families whose children passed the exam. They publicized stories demonstrating the idea that “one childs success in exams lifts a family out of poverty and inspires the entire village，” encouraging locals to valuing education.

Like gentle rain nourishing plants silently， Chen Liquns efforts were subtly transformative. His hard work paid off as the local communitys emphasis on education increasingly strengthened. In recent years， the phenomenon of students dropping out due to family difficulties has almost been eradicated in Taijiang County. Chen Liquns “report card” is impressive： In 2017， his first year as principal， nearly 300 students at Taijiang County Ethnic Middle School passed the college entrance exam， three times the number in previous years. In 2018， out of 901 students who took the exam， 450 were admitted to universities， marking the highest increase in the region and catapulting the school from the lowest rank to the highest.

Since 2017， every year when college entrance exam results are announced， the streets and villages of Taijiang County resonate with the sound of firecrackers. Those are times of happiness， moments of celebration.

Strive to Be a Great Educator in the New Era

Xu Xianglin

Jiangxi Universities and Colleges Press

November 2022

28.00 （CNY）