Chapter 46 Education Reform
Xie Yun said: "It's not exactly the same. The village is a 'natural village'. Previously, several natural villages were merged into one brigade."
Zhang Ruifeng said, "Xujiamiao Brigade is the result of the merger of two natural villages. Originally divided into Qianxujiamiao Village and Houxujiamiao Village, they were later merged into Xujiamiao Brigade. Doesn't that mean Xujiamiao Brigade will have to build two primary schools?"
Xie Yun smiled and said, "They shouldn't be so rigid and inflexible. Xujiamiao is such a small place with so many people. Why build so many primary schools? One will do. Let's build a junior high school together with Yangjia Village. Should the school be built in our brigade or in Yangjia Village?"
Zhang Ruifeng smiled and said, "It's built between the two brigades. It takes up half of our brigade and half of Yangjia Village."
Xie Yun: "...That's fair."
Zhang Ruifeng laughed again and said, "I heard that at the beginning, our team leader and the team leader of Yangjia Village had a fierce argument. They both wanted to build the school in their own team so that the children could go to school more conveniently. Besides, if they built the school, the higher-ups would allocate funds, and they would also approve bricks, glass, and other things. Even if there were any changes in the future, the built house and yard would be fixed and would belong to whichever team it was built in. In the end, neither of them could win, so they compromised and built it right in the middle."
"Have you started building it yet?"
"Not yet. The land has been fenced off, and it seems the bricks have been approved, but building a house in winter wouldn't be sturdy enough, so we haven't started yet. We'll wait until spring. The key is that there are no students yet. Many students went home during the middle and high school strikes. Now that classes have resumed, most people don't seem to have returned. So there aren't many students in middle and high school. So there's no rush to build."
She asked Xie Yun: "Are you still going back to high school?"
Xie Yun shook his head. "No. I want to be a teacher in our newly built junior high school."
Zhang Ruifeng's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea. A newly built middle school will definitely be short of teachers. So what are you going to do?"
"I'll go talk to the brigade leader about this. 'No junior high school students leave the brigade,' does that mean every brigade has to build a junior high school?"
"It seems like they're asking every brigade to build a junior high school, but since that's not possible, they're allowing two brigades to jointly run one. But they're also asking that every brigade at least have a primary school. Some brigades that didn't have one before are now planning to build one."
"Now that the brigade has built a middle school, is there still a need for the commune middle school?"
"The commune is going to build a high school. They're probably converting the existing junior high school into a high school."
"If we build so many schools at once, where will the teachers come from? Will the teaching quality be good?"
Zhang Ruifeng thought about it. Previously, there was only one high school in Qushui County, the county seat. Now, every commune is required to build a high school. Where will the high school teachers come from? Previously, each commune had only one junior high school. Now, if possible, each brigade should have one junior high school. If that's not possible, two or more brigades should combine to run a junior high school. Then there won't be enough junior high school teachers. There won't even be enough elementary school teachers.
Thinking of this, she was full of confidence in Xie Yun becoming a teacher in junior high school.
Some of the teachers in first and second grades now have only graduated from primary school.
What's wrong with her daughter teaching middle school with a high school level? No problem!
She smiled and said, "Let's put that aside. There are benefits too. Starting from next semester, there's no tuition required for schooling; it's free. They say they want to achieve equitable access to educational resources so every child can go to school. The county even sent a propaganda team to investigate the enrollment situation of children and to mobilize those who shouldn't be in school to return to school. After they left, the team leader went door to door, urging all the children to enroll immediately."
In the afternoon, Xie Shen went to school and Zhang Ruifeng went to work. She asked Xie Yun to rest at home for half a day and not go to work for the time being.
Xie Yun had nothing better to do, so she took a quick look around the house. During the few days she'd been away, quite a bit had happened. The potatoes, cabbages, and radishes she'd planted had been harvested and piled in the cellar. The yard was tidy and clean. Her mother and brother hadn't been idle at all during her absence.
At that time, it was very difficult to keep a small rural courtyard clean and tidy. Rural people were reluctant to throw anything away and would pick up everything to bring home. Even a leaf was good. Everything was useful. The piles of things were so miscellaneous and numerous that it looked dirty and messy. Behind the Xie family's seemingly clean and tidy appearance, every family member was diligent and hardworking. Anyone who was even a little lazy would not be able to do this.
After walking around the house, Xie Yun saw that there was nothing to do, so he got up and went to the brigade headquarters, found the brigade leader, and recommended himself to be a teacher in a middle school.
"I heard from my mother that we're cooperating with Yangjia Village to run a middle school. I figured a school would definitely need teachers, so I'm signing up with you. I'd like to be a teacher there. I had good grades in school. Although I didn't finish high school, I've never given up on self-study and I think my level is still decent. The Chairman said, 'Confident in life for two hundred years, you can travel three thousand miles with the strength of water.' I have confidence. Even if I still have shortcomings, I will work hard to overcome them, and they will definitely not affect my teaching work."
After listening to her, the team leader Zhang Guangzong smiled and said, "Even if you didn't come to me, I would have come to you. You published two articles in the newspaper before, and your quality is beyond doubt. The county has issued a directive to have poor and lower-middle peasants manage schools. Your status is suitable—a poor peasant, and you've attended high school. When our middle school is built, you can become a teacher and also serve as a representative of the poor and lower-middle peasants."
Xie Yun smiled and said, "Thank you for thinking of me, leader. I will do my best. Captain, I have a small favor to ask of you."
"you say."
"Look, I dropped out of high school before I finished, so I don't have a high school diploma. But if I were to go back to school now, I'm afraid it would affect my production and my upcoming teaching work. So, I was wondering if you could write a letter to the high school and ask them to give me a temporary graduation exam. If I pass, you could give me my high school diploma."
"You only went to high school for one year, can you do it?"
"Okay! Although I left school later, I've been studying at home. Let me try. If I don't pass, I'll work part-time while studying as a teacher and continue my studies. I'm sure I can teach students well. Besides, I enrolled in 1965, and based on past experience, I should have graduated this summer. So, this is just a make-up exam to get my high school diploma."
Regardless, Xie Yun wanted to demonstrate her serious work ethic. Although she didn't finish high school, she possessed the skills expected of a high school graduate.
In addition, one of Xie Yun’s basic principles in doing things is to get all the certificates that can be obtained, as you never know when they may be needed.
In her previous life, she had a thick stack of various certificates!
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