Lu Wenjian, a 50-year-old blind man, has been teaching history to students at a middle school in Zhanji town, Yucheng county, central China’s Henan Province, for 27 years.
By listening to his wife and students reading aloud, he has memorized most of the textbooks’ contents. To make his teaching fun and get the students more engaged, he has also developed a unique teaching method that involves integrating historical facts into folk rhymes.
When Lu became a teacher at the middle school, he would often work deep into the night, resulting in eye strain and fatigue. He lost nearly all his sight in 1994 due to a high fever that aggravated his vision fatigue. As a result, he had minimal sight in his left eye and could no longer read, let alone give lessons.
When he considered quitting his job, his girlfriend Zhang Jiuying, who later became his wife, suggested that she could read aloud to him to help him memorize textbooks and prepare for lessons.
Some students also encouraged Lu to continue his teaching and volunteered to read aloud to him during lesson preparation.
Over the past years, more than 4,000 students have read books to Lu, becoming the “eyes” that guide him on his teaching journey.
But his journey has not been without hurdles. “My memory gets worse as I age, and I spend more time than other teachers preparing for classes,” Lu said.
However, with his passion for teaching, Lu is always well-prepared and very responsible, and is a real hit with his students.
The history teacher has inspired his students. “He has taught me to never give up despite the difficulties I may face in life,” said Yin Xiaoxiao, a ninth-grade student.
To encourage his students to study hard, Lu has used his savings to establish a “scholarship” to honor those who have made progress in their studies, offering them up to several hundred yuan after every exam.