Understanding education

Fu Ling, deputy principal of Fucheng primary school, Puge county, has set the goal for her remaining five years before retirement－cultivating teachers who are capable of positive psychological guidance.

More than half of the school's 4,200 students are children that have been left behind by their migrant worker parents, whose absence tends to result in the children lacking a sense of security and acting out in an aggressive way, she says.

She tells of a tall boy in sixth grade who was a bit of a bully. Instead of criticizing the behavior directly, she instead asked about his family. It turned out that his father had died when the boy was just 6 years old.

Attacking others first was both a way of seeking attention and ironically, self-defense, Fu inferred. However, she also found that the boy was more sensitive and observant than others. He's good at identifying others' needs and willing to help. With proper guidance, the boy has become much more considerate and the bullying behavior has stopped.

Fu mentions that some students, who appeared to be vulnerable and feeling inferior without their parents at their side, seemed uninterested on June 1, Children's Day, when celebrations were held and social organizations came to distribute goody bags and fruits as gifts.

"Children are all cute and smart. Their differences are caused by family, society and historical and cultural backgrounds," Fu says, adding that what Yi children lack most is family education, or more precisely, company.

To help Yi students keep up with the class and fit into multiethnic campus life, the autonomous prefecture has set up more than 3,000 village kindergartens that teach Mandarin.

Just one year of learning the language has enabled Muchu Erzi, 6, to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in Mandarin in front of a large group of strangers, many of whom were taking photographs. Before, she spoke only in the Yi language and barely knew any Mandarin phrases.

Wang Jian, Erzi's kindergarten teacher at the Gaduo village, Yuexi county, keeps encouraging the girl to raise her voice and be confident.

"She's not our best Mandarin speaker, but she has made the most progress," Wang says.

Frequently when school was over, she asked Erzi a lot of idle questions on purpose to help the girl practice more.

According to Wang, all 56 children aged between 3 and 6 have been enrolled in the village kindergarten. At first, the children were too shy to even talk with her.

She hopes that one day they will be bold enough to greet people, start a conversation and confidently express what they think and need.

Zhang Qiquan recalls that, initially, he was pained to see boys and girls barely wash their hands and faces and lack a proper sense of personal hygiene.

Through external funding, Puge county was able to equip its schools with 14 water dispensers, build up seven campus shower rooms and improve canteen meals to guarantee clean drinking water, hot showers and balanced diets for students.

Teachers also play a crucial role outside the classroom. Personal hygiene is an issue that the teachers and students work on together, according to Hu Zhenghua, principal of the Wudaojing township school. It is a priority, he says, for this area to be fully covered, especially because there are students who are entering a sensitive time in their lives as they approach puberty.