The RCEF Blog 博客

Winter in rural China is beautiful but very, very cold. Nevertheless, in a recent trip Sara, Jiang Peng, and I took to the Fuxin Middle School, one of RCEF’s partner schools, we found warmth and heated discussion in the company of some pretty amazing teachers. Education idealists from around China are drawn to this one-of-a-kind village school to try out student-centered ways of teaching. RCEF partners with them to document their teaching and learning strategies. We hope that these case studies and first-hand experiences will inspire and help other rural teachers who face similar educational challenges. As we huddled around the coal fire chatting about how the past semester went, the teachers told us stories of students’ progress, but also difficulties in school management and communication between teachers. Many said they felt lonely and that during the cold winter days, they venture out of their dorms less and less for the casual interaction that builds and sustains a team. So it was a welcome relief the second night of our visit when all the teachers gathered for an impromptu BBQ. We made kebobs together, laughed, and ate lots of meat (still a rarity in daily diets in rural China). This emphasized to everyone the importance of creating frequent events for socializing amongst colleagues, both to drive away the winter chills and to share the triumphs and problems of life and work with friends who can understand.

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