Voices from a Rural Classroom

Asking curious students if their parents have a mobile phone

Most of us in our youth have had pressing questions about ourselves and the world around us. In this day and age, we are able turn to the internet for answers. It might seem typical, researching information online, or posting on social platforms to get opinions from the crowd. Yet there are still places where this simple yet powerful act of seeking answers seem impossible.

This September, I had the privilege of visiting one of those places. A village of 4,000 people in Yunnan, China. I came here as part of The Compassion Project, an initiative I started to expand educational opportunity in rural areas.

“Why did you travel so far to help us?”

Working with children between the ages of 11 to 15, I found that most of their parents had left their villages to pursue better opportunities in urban areas. Some will move out of the villages with their parents and some had not seen their parents for years. Under China’s household registration (hukou) system, migrant workers without a local hukou and needed relationship (guanxi) in cities, find it difficult for their child accessing high quality schools for their children. Often, they have no choice but to leave their child to be educated in villages. Such children lack parental guidance during their formative years, and teachers are often left to fill this important role.

Unfortunately, there is a severe shortage of teachers in rural China. Due to poor incentives and a monthly salary of only 2,000 RMB ($300 USD), talented teachers are compelled to look for better opportunities elsewhere. Teachers who stay on have a middle school or high school education and often close to the retirement age. These teachers still employ the old practice of teaching — memorization and teaching from the books.sev

What happens to these children under such circumstances?

“Us children of the mountains — we have dreams of the future — but they remain to be wishful thinking.”

Some of them drop out of school and take menial jobs in the city. They lack the knowledge to ensure their own safety and are not aware of their rights as an employee. Failure to follow safety procedures has resulted in injuries, or worse, permanent disability.

It troubles me to see these children, who have so much potential, go down a troubled path. One of the principals I spoke with expressed his belief that providing students with the right guidance is the best route to helping solve this vicious cycle. I wholeheartedly agree.

So I decided to do something.

Shaojie middle schoolers listening to my talk

When a teacher at Shaojie School invited me to give a speech in her grade eight classes, I took this opportunity to get to know what students are actually thinking.

I asked them to write down questions anonymously on a piece of paper. I told them they could ask me anything. Their ability to astonish me was something I couldn’t be prepared for. They were complex, nuanced, and mostly beyond my own level of expertise.

Is it true that persistence will lead to results? If a disabled person can persist
through difficulties, why others cannot do the same?

These students may not have the access to knowledge that we have, but their curiosity for life touched me. They reminded me that young people around the world are not so different from each other. I would love to give them the access to knowledge and wisdom that you and I posse

Through the power of the internet, yes we can.

I’m sharing with you some of their questions, which we’ve personally translated, and assembled below. I would like to ask you to take a moment to respond to a couple of them.

Please highlight the question(s) and write your response to them here.

I. Learning

1. 学习的话我们就一定成功吗?
   Does schooling guarantee our success?
2. 努力学习到底是为了什么? 怎么才能学进去?
   What is the point of studying relentlessly? How can I become interested in my learning?
3. 异国语言难学吗? 怎么学好?
   Is it difficult to learn another language? How can we master a language?
4. 如果在学校又想学习又想玩, 组织团队的时候发生了分歧怎么办?
   How can we handle group conflict, when some people like to learn and some people like to play?
5. 如果现在不好好学习、不听任何人的话, 以后能找到一份适合自己的职业吗?还是不可能找到适合⾃己的工作?
   If I do not enjoy school, nor listen to anyone, can I still find a suitable career in the future?

II. Life

1. 世界上真的有帮助就有回报吗?
   Is it true that kindness will be reciprocated?
2. 我们要乐观对待生活, 但是当你发现你做什么都不对怎么办?
   I understand that we should take on an optimistic approach with life, but what do you do when you find out that you’ve done the wrong things?
3. 坚持真的会有回报吗?残疾⼈都知道坚持,为什么世人却不知道呢?
   Is it true that persistence will lead to results? If a disabled person can persist
   through difficulties, why others cannot do the same?
4. 有没有什么办法让一个“坏人”变成一个好人?
   Is there any way to transform a bad person to a good person?

III. Family

1. 怎样才能孝敬父母?
   How can I possess filial piety / How do I respect my parents?
2. 如果⽗亲和我在言语上不和, 我该怎么办?
   If I have disagreement with my father, how should I manage it?
3. 家人对您无缘无故发脾⽓您会怎么做?
   What do you do when your parents are angry at you for no reason?

IV. Friendship

1. 利益与友情哪个更重要?
   Which one is more important? Personal interests or friendship?
2. 您觉得友谊失去了还会回来吗?
   Can lost friendship ever be recovered?

V. Cultural Curiosities

1. 留学好不好?
   What are the benefits of studying overseas?
2. 外国的医疗和科技很发达吗?
   Are western medicine and technology well developed?
3. 外国人可以吃很辣的食物吗? 外国人吃什么主食?
   Can foreigners eat spicy food? What do they eat?
4. 外国的咖啡是什么味道?
   What does coffee taste like overseas?
5. 外国有没有流氓?
   Are there any bribery, theft, or prostitution overseas?

VI. Personal

1. 我们真的可以穿越到过去吗?
   Can we travel back in time?

Share your response to the students at here.

Feel free to share these questions with anyone whom you think may be interested.

We will share your answers in the form of a book so that children like the ones at Shaojie School can access to the knowledge they would not otherwise have.

P.S. I hope to share this book with the children by this Christmas. Send us your answers soon so we can get the translation started :)

Thank you for your help!