1月24日，新年首场校园体验日
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For this week, they were not mere observers attending classes, but instead entered the children's daily lessons armed with paintbrushes, sheet music, experimental materials, sports equipment, and brimming with curiosity and enthusiasm, becoming their temporary yet sincere ‘substitute teachers’.
At these quiet yet vibrant rural primary schools, young educators took charge of teaching portions of mathematics, physical education, art, music, science, and mental wellbeing lessons.
Their aim was not to ‘replace’ the teachers, but to ease the burden on the already busy teaching staff while offering the children novel classroom experiences – such as learning maths through games, expressing emotions through painting, or unleashing their natural energy through song or a game of football.
They hoped this week's lessons would transcend mere knowledge transfer, becoming instead a sparkle in the pupils' eyes, trust woven through laughter, and an opportunity for mutual discovery.
At 8:40, the bell for the first lesson rings.
Toby and Tori crouch beside the little tables in the nursery class, guiding the children's hands to hold their brushes; Matthew enters the Year 2 classroom, using sweets as teaching aids to explain multiplication; others are busy assembling science experiment kits and organising art supplies. As soon as the main break begins, the playground erupts into a whirlwind of activity. The children, like a flock of cheerful birds, took our hands to play skipping and sack races.
Shyness? Long gone.
Laughter, shouts, and the sound of running footsteps lit up the entire campus.
At two in the morning, a series of urgent knocks echoed through the dormitory: ‘Wake up!’
Their luggage had been packed long ago. The children rolled out of bed, rubbing their sleepy eyes, quickly dressed, checked they had everything, and set off into the night.
After the plane touched down, the coach journeyed into Shuanggang Town, Poyang County. Following a brief rest at the hotel, the truly significant lesson of this SDG Week teaching mission was only just beginning.
Anshan Primary School was quiet. Not the kind of quiet devoid of sound, but the kind where you knew at a glance that something was missing.
Rusty bells, worn-out lecterns, empty desks, and the roll-call list on the blackboard—the higher the year group, the fewer the names, with the Year One column entirely blank.
The headmaster explained that many children here are left-behind children, with parents absent year-round, relying largely on themselves for both studies and daily life. These scenes were not unfamiliar to me; I had witnessed similar schools when taking students to Sichuan's Daliang Mountains—resources flow towards cities, yet children are left behind. This is the reality facing many rural schools.
Yet our purpose in bringing the children here was not to ‘observe hardship,’ nor to stage a photo-op charity event. We wished for them to step into the real world and witness lives utterly different from their own.
It was precisely here that I observed qualities in them seldom seen within the confines of the school grounds.
In May 2021, through the joint efforts of student and parent volunteers at NAS Guangzhou Panyu, the ‘N-Action’ charitable initiative was formally launched.
From a single library in 2021 to a mutual journey in 2025; from online classrooms to highland handshakes, ‘N-Action’ has long transcended a mere teaching support initiative. It has become an enduring educational marathon, spanning years and still growing.
Sustained by sincerity, deepened by perseverance.
