Dream becomes reality for young rural teacher

Together with 16 students and seven fellow teachers, Wang Bo attended the first national flag-raising ceremony of the new semester on Sept 1.

The 22-year-old became the youngest teacher at Xingmu Primary School in September 2021 after graduating from Jilin Normal University in Siping. When he arrived at the school, which is located in a mountainous part of Jilin's Yitong Manchu autonomous county, it was far smaller than he had imagined.

"Although I had prepared to be a teacher in the remote rural school, I was surprised when I found out that I would become a head teacher to just three students," he said. "It was very different from what I had learned at university."

Having dreamed of being a teacher since he was a child, Wang decided to stay.

Born to a rural family in Siping, Wang had to spend primary school as a boarder in downtown Siping around 50 kilometers from his home because there was no primary school in his village.

"As a little boy, being away from home meant I always missed my parents," he said. "It made me hope that one day, all the village children, me included, could study nearer home."

After passing his college entrance examination, or gaokao, in 2017, Wang was admitted to the elementary education department at Jilin Normal University.

Before graduating, he was offered the opportunity to become a rural teacher.

"My parents thought that I should live outside the mountains, as I had been to college," he said.

"They felt there would be better opportunities in a big city."

But Wang felt that he could fulfill his childhood dream to help rural children get better access to education, and his parents eventually changed their minds.

He started with three students in second grade, teaching them Chinese, math, physical education and home economics.

He tried to understand their individual needs.

"Even though there were only three students in my class, they each had different levels of academic ability," he said. "So, I tried to use different teaching methods and assigned them homework according to their level."

As there were so few students, Wang couldn't teach through group discussions.

"I had to develop new methods, which had to be more flexible in their use of a variety of educational skills," he said. "I usually have 20 classes a week and during my spare time, I sit in on the classes of the other teachers to develop more experience."

Over the past year, it isn't just his teaching ability, but also his classroom management that has improved.

"I know more about the students' progress now, so I can improve my teaching efficiency, which may help their academic performance," he said. "In addition, my colleagues have been very caring and helpful, both at work and in life, which has made me feel welcomed."

As its youngest teacher, Wang has brought greater vitality to the school.

During breaks and after school, he plays basketball or football with the students, or engages in other activities.

"I've shot a lot of short videos about the daily lives of my students," he said. "I hope to keep these good memories and record their development, and I want to do everything I can to make my students more interested in studying, and encourage them to work hard for better results.

"Every day when I leave school, my students say goodbye," he said. "It's really touching and motivates me more to be a good rural teacher.

"I am proud that I have been able to follow my dream career and I hope more people will get to know about the lives of rural children and teachers," he said. "I also hope my students will learn more about the outside world and find their futures in the wider world when they grow up."

You Minxing contributed to this story.