Student Group Honored for 32-Year Reading Relay for Visually Impaired Teacher

A student volunteer group at a rural middle school in central China has drawn national praise for maintaining a 32-year relay to read and prepare lessons for a nearly blind history teacher.

The group, known as the “Guangming Relay Youth Group,” is based at Zhanji No. 3 Junior High School in Yucheng County, Henan Province. Over more than three decades, more than 4,000 students have taken part in the relay, providing more than 40,000 reading sessions for teacher Lu Wenjian, Shangqiu Daily has reported.

Lu, born in 1971, graduated from Shangqiu Teachers College in 1992 and returned to his hometown to teach history. In the autumn of 1994, a high fever led to retinal detachment, leaving him blind in his right eye and with only 0.01 vision in his left.

After doctors said he could no longer teach, Lu considered leaving the classroom. Several students then offered to read textbooks and teaching materials to him. What began with a few children gradually became a student-led tradition passed from one class to the next.

Students read textbooks, reference books and newspapers to Lu during breaks, lunch hours, weekends and holidays. They also help him check facts, organize materials and prepare lesson plans. Some students assist in class by helping him manage teaching activities and interact with classmates.

With that support, Lu developed several teaching methods suited to his limited vision. He used student reading assistance, clappers, cards and other simple tools to teach history. His classes have won multiple teaching awards.

The relay has continued through winter, summer and school breaks. Some former members return during holidays after moving on to high school. One student, Lu Siying, said she had joined the group for more than two years and continued coming back during the summer to read history materials for Lu.

Teachers at the school said the group has become more than a reading team. Cai Shasha, the school’s dean of academic affairs, said students learn responsibility and persistence through the process of helping Lu.

Lu said the students’ support has allowed him to remain on the teaching platform for three decades.

“Although I cannot see the world clearly,” he said, “my heart is especially bright because of these children.”