three generations of an education family have passed on love to the silent world for more than 70 years
2024-09-10
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chao news client reporter sun jingyi gao ya
at eight o'clock in the morning on september 10, zhang qincong, a teacher at wenzhou special education school, arrived at the classroom early. as a class teacher, her busy day always starts with the rising sun.
in contrast, zhang qincong sleeps late every day. the mother of a two-year-old can only squeeze out time to prepare lessons after her child falls asleep, but she is always happy to do it. "although it is hard, it is solid and gives me a sense of accomplishment. ever since i can remember, the adults in my family have been busy like this."
zhang qincong was born into a family of educators. a total of 11 people from three generations of his family are or have been engaged in the education industry, and six of them are engaged in special education. today is the 40th teachers' day, and we would like to tell the story of zhang qincong's family.
the lower left is zhang qincong's grandmother huang canxia, the upper left is zhang qincong's uncle zhang jianhao, the lower right is zhang qincong's mother chen huhu, and the upper right is zhang qincong. photo provided by the interviewee
the choice of a group of deaf-mute people
when talking about the zhang family's story, there is one person who must be mentioned: zhang qincong's grandfather, zhang zhongming, was the first person in zhang qincong's family to enter the special education industry.
zhang zhongming became deaf due to a high fever when he was a child. fortunately, his family was well off at the time, so they sent him to shanghai fudu school to learn sign language. he studied there for more than four years. it was not until the outbreak of the anti-japanese war that the school was closed and zhang zhongming returned to wenzhou. at the fudu school, zhang zhongming met his fellow villager chen xicong, who had enrolled two years earlier than him.
in those days, the life of the deaf-mute was difficult. as described in the founding story of wenzhou special school, "the greatest suffering in the world is deaf-muteness. two of the five senses are damaged, and one is trapped in the realm of pain and ignorance for the rest of his life..." what should we do?
after years of studying, zhang zhongming realized that although it is not easy for the deaf to learn, they can still be used by the country and society after they have learned something. so after returning to wenzhou, zhang zhongming, together with chen xicong and cai runxiang who had the same dream, started to plan to set up a school for the deaf, and received support from all walks of life.
deaf-mute propaganda team. photo provided by the interviewee
in 1946, the first school for the deaf in southern zhejiang, wenzhou school for the deaf, the predecessor of wenzhou special school, was officially established. the school was very difficult at the beginning, with no special school building, and only 10 tables, a bed, a clock, a ball and a few skipping ropes.
the poor conditions were not a problem, but the difficulty was that there were no healthy people to be teachers. all the teachers in the school were deaf and dumb, and it was extremely inconvenient for them to communicate with the outside world. under the mobilization of zhang zhongming, his wife huang canxia became the "ears" of the whole school, volunteering to run around departments and raise funds for the school. the story of an educational family also began from then on.
zhang qincong often heard from his parents that his grandparents were very frugal at that time, but they would take whatever the school needed from home and never save anything. almost all the family living expenses were spent by his grandfather on running the school. despite this, the limited funds were only enough to buy paper. "the teaching materials for the school were all copied by my grandfather using wax plates. due to long-term wax plate carving, my grandfather's finger bones were severely deformed."
zhang qincong's mother chen huhu believes that her parents-in-law treat their students as their own children. "when students are sick, my parents-in-law take them home to take care of them. in the cold winter, it is very common for them to give their own children's clothes to students."
under such teaching and care, class after class of students graduate and apply the knowledge they have learned to work and life.
three generations of inheritance
huang canxia retired in 1976, and zhang zhongming retired in 1979. but the zhang family's education journey continued. the year zhang zhongming retired, chen huhu officially became a special education teacher.
chen huhu chose the special education industry because of her parents-in-law's words and deeds. "we teach them cultural knowledge and let them go out into the society and be self-reliant. we have seen the dedication of the older generation to special education, including their love, patience and care for students. i have learned a lot from them."
chen huhu and students. photo provided by the interviewee
initially, chen huhu had no teaching experience. she taught herself sign language while studying at wenzhou normal school, and held herself to high standards. out of her love for deaf education and her personal understanding of the importance of deaf-mute children learning knowledge, she took to the podium with perseverance.
her efforts were rewarded. chen huhu recalled that as she grew older, many students came to help her as soon as they saw her going up and down the stairs. "the children's respect and care were very pure. i still find it very heartwarming."
in 2002, mr. zhang zhongming passed away. he had a last wish, hoping that at least one of his grandchildren would continue his career as a deaf teacher. because his brothers and sisters had already chosen their majors, this task fell on zhang qincong. as his grandfather wished, zhang qincong applied for nanjing special education college after the college entrance examination and became a college student majoring in special education for the hearing impaired. after graduation, zhang qincong entered the wenzhou school for the deaf and dumb.
initially, the school asked zhang qincong to be the first-grade teacher. chen huhu told her daughter that the first grade was the best time to grasp behavioral habits and classroom routines. but it was easier said than done. children often learned today and forgot tomorrow, which made young zhang qincong very frustrated.
until one morning, zhang qincong was late due to severe traffic congestion. when she rushed to the classroom, she found that the children were sitting in their seats for morning reading and put a cup of hot water for her on the podium. her heart melted at once. "what good children are there? if i don't teach them well, how can i live up to these lovely smiling faces?" she made up her mind to continue the infinite love of the elders in her family for education.
zhang qincong in class. photo provided by the interviewee
in 1972, zhang qincong's uncle zhang jianhao entered wenzhou deaf school and became a physical education teacher; zhang qincong's two aunts, together with retired zhang zhongming and huang canxia, founded a deaf school in hutou, yueqing, which later became the predecessor of yueqing deaf school; zhang qincong's cousins jiang fan and zhao xiangtong are active in the medical education front and are both teachers at medical universities; zhang qincong's husband chen zhenghao was originally an electronic engineer, but influenced by his wife's family, he also became a people's teacher...
zhang qincong is a little proud of the fact that there are 11 people in three generations who have been engaged in education for more than 70 years. "i have a wooden box, which is square, not well made, and a little worn. but it accompanied my grandparents from being students to being teachers, and accompanied my mother through her 30-year teaching career. it has stored stationery and chalk, and now it is in my hands again." zhang qincong thought, this is a kind of inheritance.
the educational spirit of an educational family
chen huhu has been engaged in education for more than 30 years, and zhang qincong for more than 10 years. they have a similar understanding of the spirit of educators.
as a special education practitioner of the older generation, chen huhu believes that teaching diligently and educating, guiding and caring for children with special needs with patience, love and care is the best interpretation of the spirit of an educator.
chen huhu recalled that most children with special needs had never left their parents before entering special schools. because they are sensitive, their emotions are easily broken, and sometimes they burst into tears during class. as a special education teacher, you need to be patient to find the reasons, communicate more with the children, and help them build confidence in studying in school and entering society, which takes much more energy than ordinary education. but seeing the children successfully enter society, all the difficulties and hardships disappear.
zhang qincong has a deep understanding of this. "i remember when i was in the third grade and taking a life adaptation class, an autistic child named xiao feng (pseudonym) suddenly left his seat and started jumping around, crying loudly, and biting his hands. even though the life teacher and i stopped him and calmed him down, his hands were still bloody. why? we thought about it for a long time, and it turned out that xiao feng couldn't stick to the teaching aids and didn't know how to express himself." zhang qincong believes that as a special education teacher, it is necessary to discover the needs of children in subtle ways in a timely manner and slowly teach them how to express their needs. after more than half a year of careful guidance, xiao feng can basically express what he needs in daily life, and the number of times he loses his temper has gradually decreased...
"the map of 'educator spirit' in each generation of teachers has a powerful spiritual guidance and exemplary role. they are not only learning mentors who can preach, teach and answer questions for students, but also spiritual mentors for young educators." zhang qincong learned about the understanding of educator spirit by some outstanding teachers and resonated with them.
"educational family", these four heavy characters motivate her every day to continue to pass on the educational spirit of her ancestors. "teach every class well and teach every student well." zhang qincong's journey continues.
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