Volunteer's effort is music to village kids' ears

School band helps rural students become more confident in life

During a recent journey from Hengyang city, Hunan province, to a village primary school in Hengyang county, Wen Jin persevered despite the engine in his more than 10-year-old car quitting several times as he drove it along a zigzagging mountainous road.

Heavy rainfall added to the difficulty of the trip. Nevertheless, Wen was determined to reach his destination.

Every Tuesday, he travels to Miaoxi Primary School to teach students music and help them practice for the school band, which he started in September to offer the students an even richer experience. The school only has 32 students, and eight of them have joined the band.

Most of the students are left-behind children whose parents have migrated to larger areas to find jobs and have left their kids in the care of their grandparents or other relatives.

Wen has been volunteering as a music teacher at Miaoxi since 2022, and as long as the road is accessible, he travels to the school every Tuesday to teach two classes.

"Many people have asked me why I have persisted or how long I plan to keep coming to the school, but I do not think it has much to do with persistence," Wen said. "The students need me, and I need them. It's natural. I have gained a sense of achievement from them."

Teaching the students has been relaxing for him, and students are enjoying a more authentic musical experience, Wen said. They are genuinely interested in music, and because he's not being paid for his work, he can conduct his lessons more freely, he said.

The idea of offering students music lessons came from Ning Dan, who has been principal at Miaoxi for six years.

The school has seven teachers, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s. They gained employment at the school by participating in a government-led teaching hiring program while studying at university.

By joining the program, the teachers' university tuition is covered, and they receive subsidies to teach at rural schools. After they finish teaching for a fixed term, they can apply to work at schools in urban areas.

The arrival of young teachers has broadened the students' horizons, as the teachers hail from various areas of China, but none of them could teach enrichment. So Ning decided to hire volunteer teachers in 2022 for such classes.

Besides Wen, Miaoxi also has volunteer art and reading teachers.