cIn the BC program, we not only value the academic ability of students, but also attach importance to guiding students to pay attention to social problems, and develop students’ communication skills and problem solving skills. Let’s follow the steps of two girls Jia’ning Wan and Yishan Jiang in G11 and go deep into their winter vacation volunteer teaching trip.
The volunteer teaching trip in Hope Primary School of Hainan Province was set half a year ago. We arrived in Hainan by plane with high expectations. After a three-hour drive, we arrived in Dongfang City.
The next morning, not to the Jiangbian primary school, we saw the students on the playground from a distance, about three or four grades, they are thin and small, wearing blue and white school uniforms. Jiangbian Primary School has a large school site, but the interior decoration condition is poor, the tables and chairs are very old. We held a flag-raising ceremony with them and cleaned the classroom.
The first time we prepared lessons, we found that the textbooks were very simple, but it was also difficult for the local children, whose foundation was very weak, so we needed to be more patient and careful. The first time to lecture, we and the students are a little cramped, the atmosphere is not active, our voice is not loud enough. After class, we reflected on the problems we encountered and thought about solutions. On the second day of the class, we added many interesting games, interspersed with English learning content, and the students were happy to participate. Later, we found that the teaching task was not as easy as we thought. Even the most basic English letters and words, it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare the lesson and plan all the content.
In addition to teaching, we also visited a little girl in the village of Buwen. This is a Li village, the girl’s family has a total of five children, they all wear traditional Li costumes, very distinctive. We walked about two kilometers, the sun is very hot, eyes can hardly open. It leaves me a mixed feeling once I thought about these children have to walk to school like this every day.
We were impressed and touched by some of the moments we got along with the local children. In a class, a girl wrote down that her favorite season was winter. I leaned down to ask why, and she looked up with a bright smile and said, because you can play with snow in winter, but they can’t see snow here. When the sports meeting was held, the girls took off the blooming China rose on the side of the runway and helped us put them on our heads with extra care.
At the beginning of this volunteer teaching, I took part in the idea of enriching my resume and increasing volunteer time. When we really walked into this hope primary school, the bright and clear eyes of the children on the black faces, the instant shock in our hearts was that no documentary could bring. At the farewell party, we exchanged gifts with the local children. We sent out a set of notebooks and pens, we wrote blessings on the greeting cards. We also received heartfelt cards with simple portraits of us and the words, “Will you come again?”
Seven days of volunteer teaching is short, but the experience is precious, we become more patient and meticulous, but also more cherish our hard-won good life. I hope our voluntary action can bring some help to the students.
The cultivation of social responsibility has always been an important part of the core literacy of the BC program. Each student is required to complete 30 hours of community volunteer service before graduation. BC program, with practical actions to practice “Holistis education”.
撰稿：Evelyn Sherrie