By YANG CHENG in Tianjin

Retirees aim to boost teaching in western region

Four retired professors from the prestigious Nankai University in Tianjin were honored as the "most beautiful team" during the recently concluded 2022 "Most Beautiful Teachers" event.

The award, sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Education, honors the country's most dedicated teachers each year on Sept 10, which is Teachers' Day.

The four are members of the Yinling teaching team, founded by the university to help improve teaching in China's western region.

Yinling, which means "the age of silver hair", refers to senior citizens age 60 or older.

They started teaching at Kashi University in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, last year.

"In joining the team, I have realized a dream I've had since I became a teacher 50 years ago, to teach in western China and share my vision with students from different ethnic groups," said Zhao Tiesuo, a 71-year-old professor and former dean of the School of Marxism at Nankai, and oldest of the four members.

Zhao has donated 10 U disks (a hard drive in USB form) containing teaching materials as well as 200 books he has collected over his career to Kashi University since last year.

He said the students were at a critical age in which their outlook on the world and life is being shaped, so he worked to bridge the age gap between them.

Zhao also integrated elements of Xinjiang history into his classes.

For example, he highlighted the life story of the five Uygur martyrs, including Ehmetjan Qasimi, who dedicated themselves to boosting unity among ethnic groups and founding New China.

The students seem to have appreciated his efforts.

"He is passionate about illustrating history using vivid pictures and facts ... and he has a great sense of humor," said Horigul Abdukadir, a student at the university's School of Marxism. "We are very much impressed."

Challenges

For all their efforts and their students' appreciation, the professors admitted they have had challenges.

Fu Peishan, another retired professor from Nankai's School of Marxism, said that he found the students were "quite attentive at listening, but less at communicating".

As a result, he worried whether they truly understood the lectures and worked to improve the situation.

Since he is good at calligraphy, Fu collected 2,000 ginkgo leaves and wrote messages like "Beautiful Kashgar" on them to give to the students.

"I told them I would give one to everyone who raised their hands to ask a question or comment, and to my delight, I have gifted 800 to date," he said.

Han Changli, an art professor at the School of Literature, had the same headache at the beginning.

He said that some students were unable to understand him because of the language barrier, so he decided to tutor them individually in painting. He also introduced Nankai's system of thesis evaluation and assessment in a bid to help improve teaching.

Han's wife, Li Chunxia, another retired professor from Nankai, joined him in Kashgar last year.

At first, she came just to cook for her husband, but when she learned the university was short of teachers, she volunteered to help tutor students on thesis writing.

This year, she officially registered as a member of the second Yinling team.

Retired chemistry professor Jiang Ping said that she has adopted new teaching methods since she came to Xinjiang, including using new class modules and repetition and stopping to allow students to have enough time to record the highlights.

"My aim is to get them to love the class," said Jiang, 65.

In June, the four professors were recognized as role models by Kashgar city, and they have decided to continue teaching, with Li Chunxia and another professor from the School of Mathematics joining their team.

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编辑：乔仁铭