In his students' silent world, teacher makes a difference

China Daily

19th September 2022

In his students' silent world, teacher makes a difference

Over the past 26 years, Wang Huawen has taught more than 600 students with hearing impairments. More than 500 of them have been admitted to different colleges since he became an art teacher in the Special Education Experimental School of Jilin city, Jilin province, in 1996.

Born to a rural family in Jilin's Panshi in 1968, Wang has lived in a world of silence since he was 7, when medicine he was taking caused irreparable damage to his hearing.

"At the beginning, my parents had to speak quite slowly to me to help me understand them by reading their lips," he said. "At the age of 8, I entered a special education school in Panshi, where I began to learn sign language."

In 1989, Wang entered the Special Education Experimental School of Jilin, a secondary vocational school.

"Thanks to my parents' support and encouragement, I could continue my studies," he said.

"When I entered the school, I was uncertain what to choose as a major. They suggested that I should choose art when they found I showed interest on it."

He studied hard at the school and logged excellent academic performance during the four years of study at the school. In 1993, he was admitted to the College of Special Education of Changchun University to study arts and crafts design.

After graduation in 1996, Wang returned to his alma mater and became an art teacher.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202209/16/WS63244e28a310fd2b29e7824e.html