Memories of Mr. Guowei Wang’s teaching

Source: AAAB yearbook (2022). Original author: Kewei Gan

And through his extraordinary talent and hard work, he has won the favor of colleagues and seniors. Recalling his teaching career, he said: "...I have the love and trust of teachers, students and parents in the school, which supports me in carrying out various educational activities and makes me hone in my work and growth. Thank them for believing and nurturing me.” From 1957 to 1960, Wang Guowei began to be in charge of the teaching work of the 57 school for government officials. At that time, there were six classes in the whole grade, and each class was under the responsibility of a fixed teacher and head teacher from the first grade to the third grade. In the past three years, they have withstood the most severe test of that turbulent era: outside school, they have to participate in various social activities and voluntary labor; when they return to school, they have to work overtime in classes and teaching to make up for the lost time. Even under such circumstances, the admission rate of the Class of 57 still reached 82%, the highest in the school for several years. It is precisely because of this that Wang Guowei was named as the 1960 model worker, five-good teacher, and excellent class teacher. In this regard, he is still grateful to his students and all-level colleagues, who accompanied him through the trials. "Thank them for being with me, it shows me growing up. Be grateful for them."

In 1968, under the influence of the "Cultural Revolution", the university was closed, and the school system and teaching materials were reformed, and the "five-year consistency system" was implemented. After graduating from high school, students must return to the production team in their hometown to farm; urban students have to go to the countryside to join the farm. In September 1968, Wang Guowei was sent to the countryside and assigned to Duanfen Middle School in Duanfen Commune, where he opened a high school under the management of the peasant association camp. Here, he is still in charge of the three departments of physics, chemistry and biology. At the suggestion of the local peasant association and the farmers of the production team, they set up "five types of learning classes" in addition to the regular teaching classes, namely - agricultural machinery class, agronomy class, red medicine class, agricultural machinery maintenance class and art class. Cultivate muchneeded talent workers for the local area, And established agricultural machinery repair shop and motor repair shop in the school. The school purchased its own electrical equipment and divided classrooms, dormitories, kitchens, offices, and medical rooms to help these students complete their studies. Until June 1978, with the efforts of Wang Guowei and his colleagues, Duanfen Middle School provided a large number of cadres, technicians, grass-roots doctors, accountants and entertainment workers for the large and small production teams of the commune. These students also became the mainstay of agricultural production in Duanfen Commune at that time.

Time quickly came to September 1978. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, mainland China began to implement the "reform and opening up" policy this year, and universities began to resume enrollment. Taishan No. 1 Middle School has also been re-designated as a provincial key middle school. Wang Guowei was transferred to Taishan No. 1 Middle School, and was still appointed as the head of the physics and chemistry department (later the division was changed to the head of the physics group). During the Cultural Revolution, Taishan No. 1 Middle School's school building, especially the laboratory, suffered serious damage, the experimental equipment was incomplete, and a large number of teachers from the subject group were lost to other counties. This series of thorny issues was placed in front of Wang Guowei. In the following two years, thanks to the donations from overseas Chinese and chambers of commerce, as well as the attention of local leaders, Wang Guowei and his colleagues were able to purchase a large number of advanced electrical equipment from abroad, as well as experiments for middle school physics teaching. equipment. In just two years, Taishan No. 1 Middle School has become a demonstration unit for the implementation of electronic teaching, and even attracted many brother schools in the surrounding areas to visit and study; the teaching quality in the school has also been greatly improved. The average score is in the forefront of the province. On April 1, 1983, Wang Guowei received a meritorious service certificate issued by the Guangdong Provincial People's Government, and received the comment of "remarkable achievements in educational work". At the same time, he also received three months of paid leave for his return to Hong Kong and Macau to visit relatives. In July 1987, at the suggestion of his wife and relatives, Mr. Wang Guowei, who was in his sixtieth year, decided to resign from the teaching position and came to the United States to settle down with his family. A month after he went to the United States, he received a piece of news that he will never forget in his life. With the approval of the Ministry of Education in mainland China, he was awarded the title of the first senior level teacher since the founding of People’s republic of China. To this day, recalling the good news of the year, Mr. Wang Guowei still can't hide his relief: "It has been 35 years since I resigned to the United States. But I still haven't forgotten my colleagues in Taishan, my parents, my fellow students, and my students. Dear friends, for the nurturing and clarification of my teaching work in various schools in Taishan. I am grateful to have them!”

A history that has been covered in dust for 35 years, a heroic teacher who has been writing for 31 years, it is difficult to describe every piece of his career in a short essay. This is just a microcosm of the many talented teachers in the Asian American community in Boston. We may never be able to count how many talents they have cultivated for the society and how many talents they have contributed to the Chinese people.