Teacher dedicated to kids at 'micro-school'

Meng Rongda watches a student playing basketball during a physical education class at Zhongzhai Teaching Point in Xishan town of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province, on Sept 6. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)

After a quiet summer break, the school campus springs to life as Meng Rongda rehearses the drum dance of the Yao ethnic group for the children.

In Xishan town of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province, Zhongzhai Teaching Point is a "micro-school".

This semester it accommodates 23 kindergarten children and 17 first and second-grade students, with 59-year-old Meng as the only regular teacher.

In 1985, Meng graduated from Qiandongnan Minzu Normal School and was assigned to teach at various primary schools in Xishan.

In 2015, when the original teachers at Zhongzhai Teaching Point were reassigned to other schools, local education authorities appointed Meng, who had rich experience teaching in rural schools, to work at Zhongzhai.

The school is nestled in a remote mountainous village of the Yao ethnic group.

It posed a unique challenge as the newly enrolled children did not speak Mandarin. Undeterred, Meng tirelessly conducted bilingual lessons using his self-taught Yao language, guiding the children in learning Chinese characters and Mandarin.

For 39 years, he has silently stood at the forefront of rural education.

At Zhongzhai, he is not just a teacher but also a caretaker for the children, overseeing the academic curriculum, sports, and music, as well as introducing ethnic culture into the school.

He also manages the school's nutrition program and ensures student safety, quietly dedicating himself to rural education and watching over the children's dreams of venturing beyond the mountains.

He will retire next year, and his greatest wish is to see young teachers take up his work, ensuring that the school continues to operate so that the children can receive education closer to home.

Xinhua - China Daily

Meng teaches his students at the school on Sept 6. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)

Meng instructs the students to play a traditional instrument of the Yao ethnic group on Sept 6. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)

Meng helped several of his students move a drum to the square for the rehearsal of the drum dance on Feb 16 last year. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)

Two students eat their lunch at the school's canteen on Sept 6. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)

Meng walks three of his students, who live far from the school, home on Sept 5. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)

Students leave their classroom after a class on Sept 6. (YANG WENBIN/XINHUA)