At around 5:20 in the morning, Zhang Guimei came to the front of the teaching building, opened the door and turned on the lights. ( Xinhuanet Photo by Li Ning)
Xinhuanet Kunming, November 29th (Nian Xinhong, Zhao Pufan, Ding Ning, Li Ning) Along the Jinsha River, the moon and stars are sparse, and everything is quiet. At 5:20 in the morning, at Lijiang Huaping Girls' Senior High School, a thin figure with a flashlight appeared on the campus, patrolling, opening doors, and turning on the lights. The huge campus was "awakened" one by one, waiting for the sound of books.
It is this thin figure who founded the country's only free high school for girls from poor families, and with 11 years of persistence, it has trained 1,645 college students! At the age of 62, she is alone, has no car, no house, and is suffering from ailments. However, she has planted a garden full of peaches and plums deep in the mountains with an obsession that is like "a wax torch turns to ashes before tears dry up." She is a "miracle." Principal" Zhang Guimei.
Students at Lijiang Huaping Girls' Senior High School waved happily to the camera. (Photo by Zhao Pufan, Xinhuanet)
Founded a women’s high school, making the “impossible dream” come true
“The teaching building turned out to be a big deep ditch, the student dormitories and teachers’ dormitories were two hills, and the playground was planted with mangoes. Yes, the small flower bed is a garbage dump..." During the students' lunch break, Zhang Guimei took reporters around the campus and reviewed the scenes before the school was founded. As the principal, she couldn't help but lament the difficulty of establishing the school.
However, compared with "hardware", the school system that only recruits girls from poor families and exempts students from tuition and miscellaneous fees faces greater difficulties and more complexities. "Many people said at that time that this school of yours would absolutely, 100% not be able to run!"
In 1996, Zhang Guimei was transferred from Dali University to Lijiang Huaping University and served as a teacher at the Central Middle School and the National Middle School. During the teaching process, girls drop out of school and drop out from school, and the number is much higher than that of boys. "What makes me most angry is the girl's mother! Even if her father doesn't support the girl's education, the mother herself, as a woman, doesn't fight for the girl and blindly favors boys over girls!"
After a few years, Zhang Guimei made up her mind. We must cut off the intergenerational transmission between "low-quality mothers and low-quality daughters"! Since 2002, she has been running around advocating for the "impossible dream" of setting up a free high school for poor girls in mountainous areas.
html For more than 15 years, in order to establish a women's high school, Zhang Guimei suffered unbearable pain and sadness. Once, she went to a company in Kunming to raise funds for running a school. Before she could finish her words, the boss asked the security guard to drive people away. "When he didn't leave me, he actually let the dog bite me!" She looked at her torn trouser legs and bleeding feet. , thinking of her grievances, Zhang Guimei sat on the ground and burst into tears...Some people didn't understand, "Is she crazy about honor?" Others tried to dissuade her, "Stop tormenting yourself, just live a good life!" But the stubborn Zhang Guimei Never thought of giving up for a moment.
"I want to run a free girls' high school and recruit all girls from the mountains to study. This is my dream." In 2007, as a representative of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Zhang Guimei gave a simple and affectionate expression to the media. , touched countless people, and also attracted the attention of party committees and governments at all levels and the attention of all walks of life.
Finally, in September 2008, Huaping Girls' Senior High School officially opened. The first class enrolled nearly 100 poor students from Huaping, Yongsheng , Ninglang and other areas. Recalling the day of the opening ceremony, Zhang Guimei still couldn't hide her excitement. "I was so excited that I was so excited! A miracle happened and my dream came true!"
Principal Zhang Guimei inspected and recorded the arrival of students. (Photo by Ding Ning, Xinhuanet)
Strict management and generous care have made the "unsustainable" school gradually improve.
Huaping Girls' Senior High School has finally been opened after many years of hard work by Zhang Guimei. However, new problems have arisen one after another. exposed.
At the beginning of 2009, less than half a year after the school was founded, 9 of the 17 teachers resigned. What's even more unexpected is that 6 students are also about to drop out of school. "There are government subsidies, teachers to teach, dormitories to live in, and no money from the family. Why should I drop out of school?" Zhang Guimei was very puzzled.Questioning voices from the society also appeared again, "It's no wonder that Zhang Guimei can keep the school running!"
With Zhang Guimei's efforts, two students returned to school to continue studying, but the other four were unable to be persuaded to come back. Regrettably, Zhang Guimei also recognized the difficulties that she had not foreseen before. "Students generally have poor basic skills and poor self-control. If they cannot be managed and taught effectively, they will not be able to learn!"
"Keep the school going. "Sending students to college", this heavy responsibility has turned Zhang Guimei into a "perpetual motion machine".
Zhang Guimei's "home" is a bed in the lower bunk of the female high school dormitory. There are four things beside the pillow - a flashlight, a small speaker, a mobile phone, and painkillers. At 5:15 in the morning, as soon as the alarm on her mobile phone rings, Zhang Guimei will immediately get up, walk around the campus with a flashlight, then turn on the lights on each floor of the teaching building one by one, then pick up the small speaker and say, "Hurry up! Girls! Morning reading is about to begin! "
With the hoarse and stern voice from the small speaker, the students rushed in, and the drum-like footsteps echoed in the teaching building, but it quickly returned to calm - Scenes like this happen several times in school every day. Rushing from the classroom to the cafeteria within 3 minutes, cleaning up within 5 minutes... At the girls' high school, Zhang Guimei hopes that students can abide by discipline and cherish time, and she herself will pick up the trumpet at any time to urge students. The students of
Girls' High School have long been accustomed to Principal Zhang's "ubiquity". In addition to the familiar "Hurry up" from the loudspeaker, her figure may also appear behind you if you are absent from class, and head towards you suddenly. One shot. What's even more amazing is that she even knows your family situation clearly. When she needs help, she will travel across mountains and rivers to visit your home...
Zhang Guimei got up at 5:15 in the morning and was busy until 12:30 in the evening, confirming all students After everyone falls asleep, they will return to their "home" and lie down gently.
11 years of persistence, Zhang Guimei made a school that was "unsustainable" move forward steadily. Years of overwork have left her already weak with illnesses. More than 10 diseases such as tumors, pulmonary fibrosis, and cerebellar atrophy are becoming increasingly serious. The doctor even said that her life may not exceed two years...
"Yes Sometimes I really want to take a day and have a good sleep, but I can't bear to do it. I'm afraid that if I relax, the children will also relax." Zhang Guimei said.
When she is with students, Zhang Guimei, who looks stern on the outside, will also show her warm side. (Photo by Zhao Pufan, Xinhuanet)
html After 611 years of perseverance, 1,645 village girls realized their dream of going to college.
It is a miracle that a school that was “unable to run” was built and operated smoothly. This is already a miracle in the eyes of many people. But the story of "The Miracle Principal" doesn't stop there.
Since the establishment of the school, Huaping Girls' Senior High School has insisted on recruiting girls from poor families in District 1 and 4 counties of Lijiang. Objectively speaking, the quality of the students in each class is generally not high, so much so that when the school was first opened, some colleagues asserted, "How many students can be produced?" A junior college is good!”
However, Huaping Girls’ Senior High School has always been able to “enter at a lower level and go higher” and create impressive results – in the past 11 years, a total of 1,645 students have successfully entered college, and their overall score in the college entrance examination has been 9 consecutive years. It occupies the first place in Lijiang city every year! Among the 118 students who graduated in 2019, 109 went to the undergraduate level, and the remaining 9 students also went to the junior college level. “There are some who have been admitted to famous schools such as Zhejiang University, Xiamen University, and Sichuan University, but the ones from Peking University and Tsinghua University are missing!” Zhang Guimei is not only proud of the students' achievements, but also has some regrets and expectations.
Zhang Guimei, 62 years old this year, has a very rough fate. She is widowed in middle age and has no children. It can be said that apart from the children in the orphanage, the students at the Girls' High School are the people closest to her. However, when the reporter asked if she hoped they would come back to see you more often and stay with you after graduation, Zhang Guimei shook her head frequently. She told reporters that there is a rule in the female high school: after returning to school after the college entrance examination and completing the formalities, you are not allowed to come back again! Over the years, some students who were on vacation from college and found jobs couldn't help but break the rules and went back to the Women's High School to see her, but she basically avoided seeing her.
"I don't want them to always think about what the female high school has done for you, what Teacher Zhang has done for you. I don't want them to carry such a burden! I just want them to study in peace and go far." Far away, flying high..."
At 12:30 in the evening, after completing a tour of the dormitory, Zhang Guimei returned to her bed, set the alarm, and lay down gently. Tomorrow at 5:20 am, she will be the first to appear on campus and start a new day of work. (End)
Editor: Wenwen
