Current location:Stellar Standpoint news portal > sport
With Bedtime Stories, Teacher Entertains, Comforts and Educates
Stellar Standpoint news portal2024-05-21 17:53:54【sport】5People have gathered around
IntroductionContact Us HomeNewsHighlightACWF NewsSocietyWom
- Home
- News
- People
- In-depth
- ACWF
With Bedtime Stories, Teacher Entertains, Comforts and Educates
ByFeng Zhiwei and Ye Zizhen March 1, 2022School nights for boarders at Caijiagang Middle School are never boring, because they get to listen to stories from the comfort of their dormitory.
For over 1,000 nights since 2015, Ma Xiaojuan, a teacher at the school, has been telling stories to her students, who are aged between 10 and 15.
Although a keen traveler, Ma spends her summer and winter breaks finding interesting stories to tell the students.
"The world is large enough to be explored at a later date, but the time I have to spend with each child is limited, so I want to spend as much of it as possible with them," she said.
Born in 1993 in Caijiagang Town in Changde, Hunan Province, Ma attended the Hunan First Normal University, graduating from the College of Music and Dance in 2015.
As a teacher at a rural school, she teaches a range of different subjects, including music and English, and is also a head teacher.
She knows all too well that school nights at rural boarding schools can sometimes be lonely.
"It reminded me of my own childhood. My parents worked away in big cities, so I know the students feel lonely sometimes. So I want to spend time with them and keep them company," Ma said.
That was how she started telling her students bedtime stories.
The stories aren't randomly chosen, and in some cases, she writes ones based on her own experiences and things that have happened around her.
"My sister is Teacher Ma's student, and she told me about her. I hope that one day, I can be her student so I can hear her stories, too," said Zhou Xiangyan, an 11-year-old sixth grader. "The stories are full of details — not just plotlines, but things of value and significance."
One day, Ma noticed that some of her students were wearing their red school scarves the wrong way. That evening, she told them a story called The Color of the Red Scarf, so that they would better understand why they all wore them.
Occasionally, Ma tells stories about famous historical figures, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai. To tell better stories, Ma spends her free time searching book stores for inspiration, and now she has written 168 stories.
Thanks to their teacher's influence, Ma's students don't just enjoy listening, they also enjoy telling stories themselves.
"I am the fourth student in my class to tell a story in public. To do a good job, I carefully observe the way Teacher Ma tells a story when she is with us in the dorm," said the student, surnamed Zhou. "My friend suggests to me where I can slow my pace and make my voice more emotional. Story-telling has changed me. I'm more communicative with my teachers and feel closer to my parents. They praised me after watching a video of me telling my story."
Through her daily interactions, Ma gets to know each student closely. She also helps them with their daily lives and eats meals with them.
Her devotion to teaching and to her students is encouraging other teachers in Hunan.
"The nights she spends with the children shine like stars enlightening their thoughts," said Deng Yan, a professor at Hunan Normal University. "I still remember the first time I went to one of their story nights last October. Ma Xiaojuan's voice was gentle, and the light was warm," said Tian Fanghui, a peer, friend and colleague. "That night, I realized that storytelling is one way of teaching."
To record the scenes that left the deepest impressions, Tian made an oil-painting, which she has titled Story-telling. "Xiaojuan's passion for rural education and her major have greatly encouraged me," Tian continued.
For the gentle-voiced educator in Caijiagang, storytelling is something she is sure to continue to do for as long as she continues to teach.
(Source: China Daily)
32.3KPlease understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: [email protected]. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.
Comments
Magazines
Projects
- 2023 Women Science and Technology Innovation Pioneer...
Photos
- People Enjoy Blooming Tulips in Jinan, East...
- Flowers Bloom Across China in Spring
Special Coverage
Address of this article:http://latvia.brianlynch.org/content-96b299845.html
Very good!(33555)
Related articles
- Children are evacuated from school 'during an exam' after threat made via email
- Missouri Senate filibuster ends with vote on multibillion
- Marlins slip past Rockies 5
- Burg Chinese Chorus celebrates 10th anniversary with concert in Germany
- Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maryland ban on rifles known as assault weapons
- M23 rebels seize key smartphone mineral mining town in eastern Congo
- Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer take their wives on the local election trail
- Ohio launches effort to clean up voter rolls ahead of November's presidential election
- 'Constantly learning' Imanaga off to impressive start with the Chicago Cubs
- A $5,000 check won by Billie Jean King 50 years ago helped create Women's Sports Foundation
Popular articles
Recommended
Travis Kelce downs whiskey shot on slice of bread at Kelce Jam without Taylor Swift
I was the least favourite grandchild
Mexican cops find tents, question people in the case of 2 Australians, 1 American missing in Baja
Britney Spears reaches divorce settlement with estranged husband Sam Asghari
Revealed: Brit tourist, 19, subjected to sex attack in Majorca 'was gang
2 horses fall and unseat their jockeys in 2nd race at Churchill Downs
Middle school focuses on recovery as authorities investigate shooting of armed student
Chongqing Youth Film Project unites global youth
Links
- A rabbi serving 30 years to life in his wife's contract killing has died, prison officials say
- Director Romeo Castellucci drops out of Brussels Ring Cycle halfway through because of money, time
- Longtime AP journalist, newspaper publisher John Brewer dies at age 76
- Karen rebel forces attack stranded Myanmar junta troops on Thai border — Radio Free Asia
- Real Madrid hosts Barcelona eyeing decisive blow in Spanish league title race
- Kitty set out to have casual sex for a year to see if women really can have no
- Shocking moment machete
- Police to review claims Tory MP Mark Menzies allegedly misused £14,000 of party funds
- Conjoined twin's husband learns paternity test results after ex
- House votes for possible TikTok ban. Will the app go away?