8 February 2015
It was evening. I got his email with CV. I checked websites but couldn't locate his performance or record. Then I called him. He answered and told me that he came to Dongguang in 2007 and stayed here for 2.5 years. Then he went to Guiyang and worked as VP there.Later he went to Beijing and studied music. He asked me how much salary we offered. I said, "three thousand dollars a month, because we are a charity school for migrant workers' children; and we charge very low tuition fees/"
He burst out laughing, heartily.
"I know you should be earning at least 30,000 a month. But this school is very special. I am from Hong Kong. The school is run by HK businessmen. We have connections with HK. I have been working as a volunteer for a year. At first, I just want to teach English for fun, for understanding the people and the place . Then I fell in love with the school. It has a deep meaning. The children and teachers have peasant background and came from different provinces. Their learning experience here will be brought back to their home towns. It has a great influence. My vision is to develop something related to using ICT to teach English. I think this is particularly meaningful for schools in remote areas, where English teachers hesitate to go. As the school is in great difficulty, my challenge is to turn it around."
"HoHoHo...! He laughed heartily and then said, "Are you in charge?"
"Yes, I am School Supervisor".
"Then I shall come to your school. Now I am going to buy the tickets."
He gave me his word.
22 February 2015
It was 1.10 when I arrived at school. He was already in and had inspected the school.
We had a chat and then we went to the music room. He played the piano, sang a few songs, and played the Di Zi. He got such a lovely tenor voice. Rare. No wonder he won so many prizes. "I started to learn to play the piano only when I was eighteen. My family couldn't afford the tuition fees."
I shook hands with him. "You should come with me to HK. And we make good this school. It is commonplace if you serve in a high end school, with children from rich families, and you make a good choir there. But here, in Yu Tim, with basically no one playing music and learning singing, creating an outstanding choir and orchestra is a miracle. This will make history. This is the model we want for our country. You will become a globally renowned music educator."
"I was disappointed when I found the school so small," he said.
"Oh, our school is not small compared with many schools in Chang Ping. Some schools are smaller than ours, and some have a bigger campus but many more students. Compared with HK, our campus is very big and very spacious."
"I did feel disappointed, but after meeting you and talking to you, I feel no regret."
Then we went to the staff quarters. He found the room okay. "We don't have hot water supply," I said.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. You see I am sweating. I don't need hot water."
How lucky we are! Here's one who doesn't mind our primitive and harsh living environment!
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