Stories from Zhejiang Fellows’ Social Service Project. Episode 1:Hi Baiji!

Melton Fellows from Zhejiang University have been working on "Social Service Projects", specifically teaching school students in rural areas on an ongoing basis for several years now. Recently, nine Fellows did a two-day trip to a school in the Baiji Mountains. Starting with this blog, we'll be showcasing their experiences over these two days in a "serial" format called "Baiji Dreams". Read on!

Episode 1: Hi Baiji!

We were in the bus to Baiji, and thinking about what kind of experience we would have in the coming days. We were thinking about the children’s reactions; worrying about how attractive our courses would be; discussing what the Baiji countryside would look like, for most of us had never lived in a place so high above the horizon and so close to the clouds.

Friday, 18 October, 12.30pm: After five hours on the bus and a quick lunch at Baiji, we started our classes. There were nine Junior Fellows and two members of the ZU Red Cross Association, divided into three groups, each responsible for teaching one group of students.

The project theme this time was Dream. We wanted to know what dreams these school kids have and what their parents or grandparents’ expectations are. We wanted to give a new perspective about the world and about themselves. We also wanted to create an online profile online for each kid in order to tell the outside world about their dreams and their stories.

Speech Class: Grades 5 and 6

Jialing, Haonan and Yinzhen prepared a speech class for students from grade 5 and 6. They started by letting the kids introduce their classmates. The Junior Fellows listened to the kids’ introduction very carefully and told them that it was essential to communicate directly with their classmates, especially when there was a misunderstanding. They stressed on the importance of communication and respect for people to settle conflicts.

Then they played a video, which was mainly about several primary school kids from the southeastern countryside sharing their dreams about the future. After the video they introduced speech skills to the kids and demonstrated how a good speech is given. They invited all the kids to describe their free-time activities in detail. They ended by giving them an assignment to prepare a speech about their dreams during the weekend.

What else happened? Read more in the next episode of Baiji Dreams.