Chapter 143 Manual

The notice from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps' Education Department caused a stir within the Education Bureau. Shu Ran clearly sensed a change in how people around her were looking at her.

When Li Weiguo faced Shu Ran again, his subtle sense of superiority was much less pronounced, and his tone became more cautious.

“Comrade Shu Ran, revising the manual is a major undertaking. If you need any support, you can let us know. As for the work of the guidance group…” He thought for a moment, “Wang Juan can take on more of the basic summarization work first, and you can focus your main efforts on the manual.”

"Thank you, Team Leader Li." Shu Ran's attitude remained calm. "The revision of the manual cannot be separated from the grasp of the situation on the front line. The work of the guidance team allows me to stay sensitive to the overall dynamics. The two are not contradictory. I can complete some basic verification and communication in the evenings and weekends, which will not affect the team's progress."

She did not fully accept Li Weiguo's special treatment, partly because she did not want to give others a handle against her, and partly because it reflected her true feelings.

Li Weiguo seemed somewhat surprised. He glanced at her and didn't insist further: "Then you should know your limits."

In the days that followed, Shu Ran spent her days handling the daily documents of the guidance group. When communicating with various regions, she paid more attention to specific cases and practices that could corroborate or supplement the viewpoints in the manual.

Instead of focusing on the data, she would guide the other party by asking, "The literacy retention rate has increased rapidly. What specific measures were taken? Were there any difficulties encountered? How were they resolved?" This communication-oriented approach is clearly more readily accepted than simple questioning.

In the evenings and on weekends, her small dormitory became a makeshift studio. Her desk and bed were covered with materials collected from all over the country, as well as her constantly updated and revised notes. She reorganized the framework, expanding her experience, which originally focused on livestock companies and surrounding pastoral areas, to a wider range of agricultural regiments, border companies, and town primary schools.

She knew that for the manual to be successfully implemented, it had to answer the most pressing questions from frontline teachers: What to do when there are no teaching resources? How to teach children with large age differences? How to persuade parents who are unwilling to send their children? How to overcome the language barrier for ethnic minorities?

She abandoned abstract theories and presented numerous practical solutions from the grassroots level in a straightforward manner. She also added a special chapter on handling special circumstances, including how to deal with misunderstandings, how to respond to sudden crises, and how to utilize natural and discarded resources when resources are extremely scarce.

She strives for authenticity in every description, ensuring that there are replicable paths. She meticulously refines her wording, avoiding any expressions that could be misinterpreted as unconventional or negating the mainstream, always placing grassroots wisdom within the framework of policies and theories, emphasizing that this is "a flexible application of general principles under specific conditions."

During the revision process, she took the initiative to approach Zhang Yaqin.

"Sister Yaqin, I'd like to ask you for a favor." Shu Ran said sincerely, "The revision of the manual needs to refer to the literacy and basic education experiences of more brother provinces, especially other border areas. I wonder if the archives have any relevant internal communication materials or briefings?"

Zhang Yaqin had a good impression of this young cadre and readily agreed: "I'll try to find some for you, but there aren't many of these materials, and some of them are classified."

"It's alright. I'll borrow and study what I can read, and I'll strictly abide by the rules for what I can't read." Shu Ran handed over a slip of paper. "These are some key issues I've sorted out so far. If you see any related materials, please keep an eye out for them for me."

This attitude made Zhang Yaqin more willing to help.

She also didn't forget another new connection she made here.

After working overtime one day, Shu Ran took out a bag of milk candy she had brought from the Production and Construction Corps and gave it to Wang Juan in the office.

"Comrade Wang Juan, thank you for your hard work these past few days. You've helped me with a lot of the workload."

Wang Juan was a little embarrassed: "It's nothing, it's what I should do. You really worked hard on that manual, I saw you staying up all night every day."

"These are all experiences gained through everyone's joint efforts; I'm just recording them." Shu Ran sat down casually and asked as if it were a casual conversation, "By the way, you've received many reports from various places. Besides resources and teachers, what do you think is the biggest challenge in the current literacy campaign?"

Wang Juan thought for a moment and said, "I think... it's about preventing what we've learned from being forgotten. Many places report that they've become literate, but after a while, they forget it again if they don't use it. Also, some older family members feel they can't learn it and are unwilling to come."

Shu Ran carefully wrote it down: "Consolidation and mobilization are indeed key. The manual should emphasize regular review and practical application, and also provide teachers with specific phrases to encourage adult learners. Thank you, Wang Juan, you reminded me."

Wang Juan was surprised that her casual remark was taken so seriously, and her eyes lit up.

A month later, the revised manual was taking shape. Shu Ran did not rush to report it; instead, she approached Li Weiguo and the bureau chief and made a request.

"Director, Team Leader Li, the first draft of the manual is basically complete. But I feel that we can't work behind closed doors. I'd like to request a short-term grassroots survey. We don't need to go far, just to a few farms and county schools around V City, to see for ourselves whether the methods in the manual are really effective and to hear the opinions of front-line teachers. A maximum of one week."

Li Weiguo's first reaction was to object: "Run down? Time is tight, and..."

The director pondered for a moment, then, seeing the determination in Shu Ran's eyes, waved his hand and said, "Alright, whether the manual is good or not, ultimately it's up to the frontline staff to decide. Go ahead, be careful, and keep track of the time."

Shu Ran's research focused on three representative locations: a farm-affiliated school primarily focused on agriculture, a multi-ethnic teaching site, and a literacy class for employees' families in the suburbs of V City.

Before dawn, Shu Ran hitched a ride on a grain tractor heading to the production and construction corps. Since the driver's cab was too cramped, she sat on a pile of sacks in the back.

The old man in the same vehicle glanced at her a few times and asked in a deep voice, "Young lady, what are you going to the farm for?"

“Let’s go check out the school,” Shu Ran answered loudly, her voice carried away by the wind.

"Oh, the kids from school..." The old hand didn't ask any more questions.

When we arrived at the farm and found the school for the children of factory workers, it was during the first break. The school consisted of several rows of adobe houses, with old newspapers pasted on the windows. On the playground, children were chasing and playing. The principal was a dark-skinned middle-aged man who, upon hearing that she was from higher authorities, shook hands with her somewhat awkwardly.

"Comrade Shu, welcome, welcome! Our conditions here are poor..."

"Principal, please don't be so polite. I'm here to learn." Shu Ran interrupted his pleasantries, her gaze already fixed on the classroom. "Can I sit in on a class?"

"Okay, okay, feel free to look around."

Shu Ran didn't attend the scheduled demonstration lesson; instead, she randomly walked into a lower-grade classroom. The children were reading the text aloud with the teacher, their voices varying in pitch. She noticed a little boy in the back row, holding a short pencil stub, laboriously scribbling on his notebook, his handwriting crooked and messy. The desks were made of long wooden planks, covered with scratches.

During break, she walked over to the little boy, squatted down, and softly asked, "Did you like the class just now?"

The little boy looked at her timidly and tucked his hands into his sleeves.

Shu Ran took out a few hard candies from her pocket, stuffed them into his hand, and smiled at the children who had gathered around: "Share them." She didn't immediately ask about his studies, but instead pointed to a small clay horse on the windowsill: "This is really well made, who made it?"

A little girl proudly raised her hand: "Me!"

"It's so similar! Can you teach me?" Shu Ran's tone was full of admiration.

The children immediately became lively, chattering away.

After the children had left, she started chatting with them like a typical homeroom teacher.

What time do the children arrive at school in the morning? How do you arrange meals for those who live far away?

Do we have enough pencils and notebooks? What do we do when we don't?

"Do parents support their children going to school? Do any of them feel it interferes with their work?"

"Of the lessons, which part did the children find the most difficult? Which part was the most interesting?"

She asked detailed questions and listened even more attentively. The teacher was a little nervous at first, but seeing that she was only taking notes, she gradually relaxed and began to complain: "...That's right, some families think that earning a few work points is enough, so they don't let their children come during the busy farming season... They use up all the pencil stubs they can't hold, and they write on both sides of their notebooks... When we talk about things that haven't been mentioned in the textbook, the children have never seen them before and can't even imagine them..."

As Shu Ran took notes, she shared her experiences from the livestock company: "We used burnt tree branches as pens to write on the sand. We also encouraged older children to teach younger children, starting with recognizing names. Whoever recognized all the names in the class first would receive a small reward, like a piece of candy or a small red paper flower. The children were eager to learn..."

She suggested practical, down-to-earth methods, and the homeroom teacher pondered for a moment: "That's a good idea! We can try it too!"

As she left, Shu Ran left a large stack of old report papers with writing on the back with her teacher. The principal saw her to the door, rubbing his hands together, his tone much more sincere than when he arrived: "Comrade Shu, you're quite different from the others..."

The second stop was a teaching site inhabited by multiple ethnic groups.

The roads there were even more difficult to travel, and the company's patrol vehicle gave her a ride. The teaching point was right next to the company's barracks, an even more dilapidated mud-brick house, where seven or eight children of different ages were mixed together, including children of employees and children of nearby herders. The teacher was a young veteran named Xiao Zhao, whose Mandarin had a heavy accent.

When Shu Ran arrived, Xiao Zhao was teaching "big, small, more, less." He took out the few pieces of chalk he had and started writing on the blackboard. The children looked somewhat bewildered, especially the few herder children.

Shu Ran didn't disturb them, sitting quietly in the back. During break, she walked over to the herder children and asked, using simple words and gestures in their local language, "What's your name?"

A little girl named Bahargul shyly said her name.

Shu Ran took out her notebook, drew a simple snow lotus flower with a pencil, wrote the word "flower" next to it, then pointed to the headscarf on Bahargul's head, drew a wavy line, and wrote "headscarf". The little girl watched curiously and traced the word "flower" with her finger.

When she spoke with Teacher Zhao, she first acknowledged his hard work: "It must be so tough for one person to take care of so many children of different ages and with different language levels."

Xiao Zhao scratched his head and smiled sheepishly: "It's nothing, it's just that sometimes I don't know how to teach them properly, and they don't understand."

Shu Ran then took out the sections on "multilingual environment teaching" and "visualization" from the draft manual and said in a consultative tone, "Teacher Zhao, what do you think about us trying to combine words and pictures? We can also train a few children who are good at Chinese to help with translation. Do you think it's feasible?"

Looking at the simple diagrams and methods, Xiao Zhao nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, this is so intuitive! How come I didn't think of that!"

Shu Ran also noticed some discarded wooden crates and planks piled up in the corner of the classroom. Together with Xiao Zhao, she nailed the planks to the crates and made a few more stable stools and a small shelf for storing odds and ends.

The third stop was a literacy class for employees and their families in the suburbs of V city.

The literacy class was set up in an old warehouse in the factory area, and the students were all women in their thirties and forties. The class started at nine o'clock in the evening, and when Shu Ran arrived, the room was already full.

The teacher in charge of the lesson was a female cadre surnamed Liu. She was teaching about "gender equality" and reading the text aloud. Some of the women below were yawning, while others were sewing shoe soles.

Shu Ran sat at the back and listened for a while. After Officer Liu finished speaking, she got permission and walked to the front, smiling as she asked everyone, "Sisters, you've been busy all day, and you're still here to learn in the evening, aren't you tired?"

A few embarrassed laughs came from below.

"I know what everyone wants to learn most." Shu Ran's gaze swept over everyone. "Can you understand how many feet and how many kilograms are on the cloth coupons and grain coupons we were given? Can you understand whether it's good or bad on the children's report cards? Can you write letters to your parents without asking for help?"

These words struck a chord with the women, who nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere became lively.

"Then let's learn this first today!" Shu Ran picked up the chalk and drew a simple cloth ticket on the blackboard, writing "cloth ticket," "five feet," and "name." She also drew a report card, writing "Chinese," "100 points," and "improvement."

She taught slowly, breaking down each word one by one, and explaining it in the context of daily life. She had them imitate the characters in their own notebooks and look at each other's work.

"Yes, that's it. The character for 'cloth' looks like a frame with a piece of cloth hanging on it..."

“The ‘step’ in ‘progress’ looks like walking, doesn’t it?”

She interjected encouragement from time to time: "Sister Zhang, your handwriting is so neat!" "Sister Wang, you can even write your own name now! That's amazing!"

After the class, the women were still very interested and surrounded Shu Ran with questions. One of the older women pulled her aside and said, "Teacher Shu, you explained it so clearly! I just feel that these characters are connected to our daily lives!"

At the end of her week-long research trip, Shu Ran returned with not only a wealth of notes, but also the most genuine feedback from frontline teachers on the draft manual. Based on this feedback, she meticulously revised and polished the manual once again, making the language more concise, the examples more vivid, and the manual more practical.

When she submitted the final revised "Practical Handbook for Basic Literacy and Enlightenment Education in Border Areas (Trial Version)" to her superiors.

With approval still a while away, she could only continue to dedicate herself to the work of the guidance group, while also starting to organize the new cases collected during the research, and thinking about how to transform these experiences into analyses and suggestions that would be instructive for a wider range of work.

Soon, the handbook was quietly distributed to various border regions by mimeographing, and even grassroots educators in other provinces heard about it.

Gradually, letters began to be sent to the V City Education Bureau, addressed to "Comrade Shu Ran" or "Handbook Compilation Team." The letters came from remote pasture teaching points, border primary schools, and so on. The contents of the letters all expressed the same message: this handbook is very useful.