In early 2024, the CKPC Voluntary Teaching Team recruited new members. After more than three months of preparation, from 20 to 24 May, 18 members of the group went to Guizhou Province to teach at Gongtuan Mei’e Primary School in Congjiang County.
This was the seventh time that the Volunteer Teaching Team had served the children of Gongtuan Mei’e Primary School. The Team gave classes on English, sports, arts, morning and afternoon reading. On the last day, they organized game booths for all the children in the school.
In recent years, the school has seen an increase in the number of students. Most are new immigrants from the western part of Congjiang County. It now has nearly 750 students in 16 classes. The Team forms three groups to concentrate on teaching the third and fourth grades.
There were 29 classes in the five-day volunteer teaching, including many innovative and distinctive contents, such as using waste paper to make storage boxes, making balloon animals, frog choir, and book covers in the art class. Physical education classes included Frisbee, paper airplanes, track and field competitions, etc. In English classes, relevant words were introduced through festival and birthday themes, and classroom games helped boost students’ learning motivation.
The biggest challenge was the large number of students in each class. In order to effectively control the classroom order, the Voluntary Teaching Team deployed 4-6 members in each class, and the classroom activities were divided into small groups. There were also other team members helping out.
The entire Team cooperated fully and the creative activity design allowed all children to participate. The children in Guizhou were as enthusiastic and actively participated as ever. In addition to writing letters to the big brothers and sisters, some children also spontaneously made small handicrafts for them.
On the last day at school, Master Lau and the Voluntary Teaching Team leaders had a meeting with the school principal. The team leader reported on the achievements of the volunteer teaching, and the principal fully acknowledged the value of the volunteer teaching. For the next visit, science topics will be added to the current English, physical education, and art classes.
The team conducted summary discussion every afternoon and adjusted teaching arrangements as needed. On the last day, one of the deputy team leaders was elected as the 8th team leader and a new deputy team leader was also elected. The Team looked forward to continuing to serve the children in Guizhou’s mountainous areas. Keep on teaching, and keep on making changes!