Wuhan teacher nurtures confidence via exploration

In her music class, she encouraged students to choose three-minute songs and dances to perform. In her Chinese class, she organized textbook drama performances, book-sharing salons and contests for handwriting and poetry.

"I often bought certificates of merit and prizes for the children, which fueled their motivation to learn," she said.

Her efforts yielded results.

Three months after returning to Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, Huang received a message from the mother of Zeng Ruiyi, one of her Xinjiang students, saying that the girl had won an award for playing piano.

"Thank you for guiding her to learn music, and allowing her to use your piano during and after class. With classmates around her while playing, she developed a strong passion for piano, saying it was her happiest time," the mother wrote.

Another Xinjiang student of Huang, Nafina Turgunjan, once wrote in her homework that she likes traditional Chinese medicine and wants to be a TCM doctor.

Huang gave her an elementary version of Compendium of Materia Medica, an encyclopedia of medicine and natural history, encouraging her to pursue her dream.

"I felt nervous when Ms Huang told me to visit her office. I didn't expect the book as a gift. I felt surprised and very happy, because the teacher remembered a small thing of mine," the girl said.

According to Huang, TCM is part of Chinese culture. So if students want to inherit it, she should give support.