Shanghai Daily News

As the president of a special middle school in Changning District, Xia Feng is such a powerful man that he can "speak" fluently with his 240 mentally-retarded students in various forms of communication.

Over the past 17 years, the Shanghai native has devoted himself to a career in special education. He admits that the difficulties he faced at the beginning almost made him give up.

In 1990, he graduated from Shanghai Normal University with an arts degree. He then went to work for the Changning Handicapped School as an arts teacher.

Initially, he said he found it difficult to communicate with the deaf-mute students because he couldn't "speak" in sign language.

"I thought of giving up many times at that time. Some of my friends persuaded me to find a decent job in normal schools," the 35-year old said.

"However, I gradually found the students here were very kind-hearted and diligent. They are the most lovely students I have ever seen. Fortunately, my wife and child support me very much, so I decided to stay with them."

Four years later, Xia was promoted to assistant vice president of the school because of his hard work. In 1998, the school changed into a vocational school for the mentally-retarded.

"Maybe most people cannot understand me," Xia said. "However, I soon realized the significance of the special education for those retarded people. It's an interesting job especially when I talk with them and play games with them. But you know, it's not so easy because they often can't understand what I say."

Most of the students have a low intelligence quotient of below 100. Some can not physically take care of themselves in daily life. Despite their handicap, Xia said he liked them and treated them just as if they were his own children.

"It's a pity that they were born handicapped. That's not their fault. They are much more diligent than normal children. We should take the responsibility to help them improve and encourage them to raise their confidence."

The school offers several kinds of classes, including cooking, gardening and service-industry training. The school tries to provide them with the skills they will need to survive in society.

Xia said the teachers paid great attention and care for their students. They usually have to repeat some of the lessons with simple words to make sure that they can understand, despite having already explained it many times previously.

"The most important thing is patience," he said. "The teachers have to get used to repeating themselves. Sometimes, they have to use body language as well."

Xia is most proud that all of the teachers have kept a good relationship with the students, past and present. They are not only teachers and friends, but also like their siblings and even parents.

He made reference to another teacher, Sun Zhongping, whom all the students considered as their mother and lovingly referred to her as "mom" while at school.

Xia said the teachers and students worked together in the same classroom so that they can keep communication channels fluent to keep in close contact.

"Although it's difficult, all the teachers stand by my side. Most of them work more than eight hours a day but still hold a great passion for their job. I appreciate their support very much."

As a sign of the school's success, many of the students have won prizes in global competitions. One student even placed third in a global art competition held in America.

Armed with useful skills for the working world, some of the school's graduates are now employed in hotels, supermarkets, restaurants and stores. Their kind nature and diligence has made them well liked among their colleagues.

In 1998, the school received recognition for its excellent work when British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the school. He encouraged the students to make great efforts in their education and for the teachers to help them.

Xia agreed with Blair's sentiment in that the teachers really can make a difference in the future of these students.

"We want to light their future. Their lives can be better and they can achieve much in their field. That's really what we want to see."