Quake shakes up our sense of social responsibility

An old wise man once told me that every event in life, even if it is tragic, offers a learning experience.

At that time, I was in my early teens and took his words as the delusion of an old man. However, as I grew older, I began to see the merits of his words.

As I read the news about the earthquake in Qinghai, those words started ringing in my ears, prompting me to think about means to transform the event into a learning experience.

Upon contemplation, I thought that donating money and cloth items is commendable. Nevertheless, I felt that it is motivated by a selfish reason, which is acquiring a good feeling for being a socially responsible individual.

Then I remembered the devastating earthquake in Sichuan in 2008. At that time, I was teaching at another school in China, and I discussed the tragedy with my students.

I emphasized that we are an integrated part of our universe. Whatever happens anywhere will have an impact upon all of us. We could be the victims of a natural disaster in the future, and we will need others' help as the earthquake victims were then in need of ours.

I will never forget the generosity of my students as they joined me to collect money, clothes and other necessities to send to Sichuan. Upon accomplishing the task, I was full of pride that my students fulfilled their social responsibilities toward the quake victims.

The same thing should be done with my current students, I decided. We discussed possible means to help the victims of the earthquake in Qinghai, emphasizing that social responsibilities should be an essential part of one's learning experience.

A student in each class is assigned to collect whatever the students can afford. The earthquake took away everything - homes, food, clothes, fortunes and loved ones. I encouraged them to donate money, blankets and even blood for the injured.

I stood in the classroom with tremendous pride as my students opened their pockets to generously contribute. Some gave 100 yuan. Others contributed 50 yuan. I asked them to go home, talk to their parents, friends and neighbors to look for anything they could possibly do to help the people of Qinghai deal with their losses.

After collecting the funds, I accompanied student representatives to the principal's office, and we presented him with the money. I asked the students to explain to him that they had learned about social responsibilities in a special class.

The principal and his deputies were very proud of our students and thanked us whole-heartedly. He said the school has collected money from all teachers and administrative staffers to send to the victims.

Back in the classroom, I told my students that I was very proud of them and hoped the sad event had taught them a valuable lesson, echoing the words of the old wise man from my childhood.