Visit to Rural Women and Girl’s School

This afternoon, 7/7/15, we visit the Rural Women’s and Girls School started by the daughter of the famed Chinese author, Bing Xin. Wu Qing is 78 years old and a powerhouse! She greets us: “Good afternoon brothers and sisters! I say this because we are all global citizens and we must treat each other as brothers and sisters. And friends! We must all be friends!” She tells her life story of Japanese bombing, her hatred of the Japanese, the humiliation and suffering of her parents, her radicalization and describing herself as a verb. She wants to makes changes. And her life is devoted to that work. She quotes her mother, “with love you have everything.” Not just the romantic love, but love of all people, all things. She talks about the 5 L’s. Love, is the first. With love you must Listen. Listen to stories, to the truth, to your heart. Learn. Study, read. Lead. Be courageous. And finally, Laugh. She is very fierce.

We are teachers and she tells us that there are 6 criteria for educating the whole person:

1. Every student should know his or her rights.
2. Financial independence. Don’t rely on your parents, make your own money.
3. Environmental responsibility. Back to that theme of global citizenship and care for each other and our planet.
4. Health and Sanitation. She talks about eating, exercise, a healthy mind and body.
5. Know your students. They will trust you if you take the time to get to know them. If they trust, they will tell you things that will help them to grow past the things holding them back. Build relationships with your students. Be a good teacher. Be a verb. Verbs are the soul of the English language. Be creative. Don’t have pets. Raise gender awareness.
6. Fight against domestic and school violence. With love you have everything. Rosa Parks is one of her role models.

She tells us that every person needs a goal in life. And if you stick to your principles, you will have to take the consequences. She is an elected delegate to the People’s Congress.  But she is not a Party member.  She is a Constitutionalist.  They call her the lady with the Constitution because she carries it everywhere with her.  She reads passages to us about ethics.

The school is spotless! Clean, clean, clean. Organized. The students all do the cleaning and care of the dormitories and classrooms. Green beans, cucumbers and rose bushes grow all along the spaces between the dormitories. Bamboo poles support an arbor of squash vines running the length of the living quarters. We visit a classroom for girls learning to be kindergarten teachers. We see the students in a computer class, writing in a word document. Later they come outside and share drawings as gifts. We buy painted gourds to support the school. Everyone waves goodbye as we leave in our airconditioned bus. We chatter back in the bus about our visit, excited, inspired to go back and act for change, teach and connect to our students.