Teacher Shi Saifei: Amazed by her student’s progress!

Teacher Shi Saifei is a volunteer teacher in China’s Support a Volunteer Teacher program. She shares one of her memorable moments with one of her students:

“This is a story about a student named Jibu Keluo and me. During the first class of the school year, I noticed that some students were shy and hesitant to speak. Jibu is one of them. She was particularly timid, and her classmates would interact with the teacher after class while she sat quietly in the background. I tried to initiate conversations with her, but her shyness kept her from speaking up. However, I noticed that she was very diligent in class and had excellent handwriting when it came to assignments.

As the school year progressed, I observed that Jibu had significant difficulties in her studies. She struggled with reading basic Pinyin and the Chinese alphabet, which meant that she couldn’t decode syllables and had little knowledge of the characters she was supposed to learn at the elementary school level. I wanted to help her and other students who faced similar challenges. I decided to start with Pinyin and selected a group of students to relearn Pinyin together.

Rebuilding the students’ Pinyin knowledge was an excellent first step, as it forms the basis for learning Chinese. The first time they started learning, their performance exceeded my expectations entirely. I managed to ignite their interest, and each student could confidently read aloud, demonstrating their dedication and enthusiasm for learning. The same goes for Jibu’s progress in school.

I continued to encourage and guide Jibu persistently, and eventually, she caught up with the other students and surged ahead. She even initiated a conversation with me and gave me flowers, which was truly touching. Since then, I’ve consistently received little notes and drawings from her, each moment being heartwarming and moving. In the classroom, Jibu started raising her hand to answer questions and could answer confidently after my encouragement. Today, she is still working on her Pinyin flashcards, and just today, she managed to memorize all the vowel sounds. I’m truly amazed by her progress!”