Principal uses savings to build a school

Teacher Zhang Pengcheng, 39 years old, spent 140,000 yuan (more than 500 million dong) of savings and borrowed from relatives to upgrade Erlangmiao Primary School, Henan Province.

Born in Erlangmiao village in 1982, Mr. Zhang worked as a worker in many places, before returning to Henan as a teacher in 2012. By 2018, he volunteered to be the principal of Erlangmiao, an elementary school with only 20 students and is about to be merged with another school. Most school-age children in Erlangmiao live with their grandparents, because their parents have moved to big cities to make a living.

“My first thought was how to keep this school. The facilities were very poor so my main task was to renovate everything, then find more teachers,” said the principal. “I still remember every time it rained, the school leaked so badly that we had to close. The school didn’t have a playground and the classroom equipment was broken.”

To upgrade the school, Mr. Zhang spent 140,000 yuan. This was his savings over many years of working and borrowing more from relatives, before the education authorities could help.

In order to reduce repair costs, the teacher, staff and some parents repainted the walls and rearranged the premises. As physical conditions improve, he shifts focus to the academic and psychological needs of his students. 2-3 days a week, the principal will get up at 3am to buy fresh vegetables and meat for the children. To make sure the food is nutritious, he adds his own money to the budget.

During the lesson, Mr. Zhang noticed a female student because she did not like to play with other children. I don’t talk much and show little interest in studying. I realized that she came from a single family, because the only person she mentioned was her mother.

“Children tend to avoid direct discussion of problems, so I asked some other friends to actively play with her, to help her get along better. After that, she not only enjoyed going to school, but also enjoyed going to school. I can play with my friends easily,” he said.

Over the years, his ideas about education have changed. At first, I thought grades and admission to top schools were important. But now Mr. Zhang believes that “inner education is the foundation”. “I hope when these children become part of society, they will be able to work, communicate and manage their emotions,” he said.

The principal expressed that education in rural areas is not easy, but teachers and students also receive a lot of support from the government and the people. Through social networks, many people know Mr. Zhang and Erlangmiao School, and then send donations.

Since 2019, Mr. Zhang has been posting videos about the lives of Erlangmiao students on TikTok, where he has 1.79 million followers. “I want to record everything so that parents who are working in the city can also see what their children are doing,” he said.

Last September, a video of an Erlangmiao Elementary School student keeping shrimp in his lunch to bring back to his mother received widespread attention online. “My aim is to give love to these students and teach them how to love,” he said.