Selia Wang
How did it get started
Finding out ways to break the cycle of poverty
No matter what big cities you are in and what conveniences you have in life, you always have something that is attracting you somewhere in your heart which is home. Not being able to return home to visit my parents during Chinese New Year time because of health issues, I decided to take a week off in early April when the weather is getting warmer and went back to my hometown and visit my parents and family. It has been about 8 months since last time I saw my parents, it just felt wonderful to be with mom and dad. I listen to my mom’s talks, positive or negative, even those pushing words on me getting married; I just want to be with them. Then I hear about what has been going on in the village, who got married, who just had a baby, and who had quit school. It is just unbelievable for me to know that my 18 year old nephew who just became a father three months ago. I also had a chance to attend a friend’s wedding, one of my best friends when I was little, Wang Yu Feng. I have shared about his story before. Yu Feng first got married when he was 18, while I was a senior high school student. At the same year, his son Si En was born. When Si En turned two, Yu Feng cheated on his wife and start dating another girl Zhang Jie who was 17 years old then. After a while, Yu Feng sent his wife home and got “divorced”. Then he started living with Zhang Jie since then.
Three years passed by, Zhang Jie has experienced an abortion and is now pregnant again, so they decided to have their wedding. To be honest, I was not happy at the wedding because I still remember everything at his first wedding. And watching his five years old son Si En, I felt sad. This poor baby whose mother was driven away and had to live with another 19 years old “mom” who is going to have her own child soon. What was more surprising to me is that at the wedding, I had several beautiful young ladies who said hello to me who I could not recognize. Then they reminded that they attended my English Summer Camp eight years ago when I was 16. They look so grown up now! I remember they were only 6 or 7 years old then. I asked them why they were not at school on a Tuesday. They said: oh, I have been out of school for a couple years. They said that as if it was not a big deal! I could not believe it! “Why did you quit school then?” I asked. “Oh, I did not do well at school so I see no point staying”. I was speechless; I did not know how to respond to them. All of them were telling me they quit school because they could not do well!
A local Primary School
How did it start?
This made me upset. I knew what is going to happen to them in a couple years: migrant workers, illegal marriage, left-behind children... I could not let it go; I need to know why this is still happening or even getting worse than my times. I contacted one of my college friends who are now teaching at a local middle school and ask if I could come to her school and give some speeches to the students. Luckily, she was happy to welcome me. The first speech with Grade 8 went really well. We talked about school life, their friends and family. We discussed about why many of their friends quit school. We talked about two different paths: quit school and continue, where the two paths would lead them. We talked about what life is like outside of the little town. We talked about their dreams. It was interesting to find out that when we discussed about the benefit of continuing school and avoiding illegal marriages, there were quite a few students who just did not agree that putting the investment into school is worth it. After the first speech, I had to leave and catch the train back to Shanghai in two hours. My friend asked me if I could do another speech with her Grade 7 class because she had heard a lot of students saying that they are not going to return to school after the summer
Decrease Dropout rate and Combat Illegal Marriage Campaign
This speech is going to be the most remarkable one that I would always remember. Another two Grade 7 class joined us when the teacher heard about the event. We had in total about 80 students in the class. I followed the same routine as I did in Grade 8 class and made a little change since the student body is a bit younger and less mature. When we reached the topic of the benefits of staying at school and quitting school, a few students back in the classroom said that quitting school and working as a migrant worker is much more attractive to them. I smiled and asked one of them to share with us his opinions. He explained that working in a factory would give him more freedom even though it is hard labor work and it is great that they would get paid while going school cost them money. (I think it is worth pointing out here that this is a private school, while public schools are free for Grade 1-9 students. Most parents sent their children to this school because they are mostly migrant workers and they believe private school teachers are more responsible and would keep a closer eye on their children. It is also important to know that all of the middle schools in rural China are boarding school and school time is 5:30 am to 8: 30 pm.)
I then shared about my experience working as a worker in the shrimp factory for two summers and what kind of “freedom” I had as a factory worker. The discussion then turned into a debate on staying at school is beneficial or not. I would never have imagined that there would be this many students who did not believe that being able to get education is a privilege.
I noted a girl who was quiet all the time but she was obviously listening to me and the whole conversation going on in the class. In the end, I asked her what she has learned in the past 50 minutes, she said in a very low voice that I could hardly hear: I would stay in school.
I nearly cried in front of the 80 students. I believe she meant what she said. Like what we always say, if we can make a difference on even one person, it is all worth the efforts.
I have always strongly believed that being a teacher is the most amazing job in this world. And I have always wanted to know when those lovely teenagers told me they quit school because they could not do well in school, how the teachers would respond to it. My dear friend, who has given up the opportunity to work in big cities and decided to come back to the rural area and be a middle school teacher, I have seen her dedicated herself to her students and I can feel her big hearts and love to them. She expressed the concern with those students who are willing to learn and with no desire to continue school not even to say going to college. The sad thing is that she does not know how to help them. Regretfully, I am not an educationist, I don’t know what advice or support I could give her professionally.
There is still a long way to go, maybe with more research being done to help with coming out a plan that works more efficiently to make a difference on these children. Decreasing the dropout rate is very keen and urgent. Otherwise, what is going to happen next is the increase of illegal marriages and left behind children.
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