In June 2021, Liu Lingli, a teacher at Hengyang Special Education School, was awarded(授予) the title of an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China.
Born in Hengyang, Hunan Province in 1973, Liu studied special education at a normal college in Nanjing. She learned how to teach people who couldn't hear, speak or see.
"My neighbor was kind to kids although she wasn't able to hear or speak. She couldn't find a job because she never went to school. Even worse, her husband was not kind to her," Liu said. "The woman's trouble made me sad, so I decided to study special education so that I could do something for the disabled people," she added.
In 1991, Liu became a teacher at Hengyang Special Education School. Now there are about 300 disabled students aged from 7 to 10 at school. The school offers three-year preschool training and classes for these kids. It's the most difficult to teach the first-graders. "We are teachers as well as ‘nannies'. We put a lot of effort into our job because the children who can't hear have no knowledge(知识) of sign language(手语) or how to learn," Liu says.
Liu Lingli takes care of those who cannot hear and speak. Liu's class teaches sign language, pronunciation and writing. Liu has written a textbook on tongue (舌头) training. "For those students who are unable to hear and speak, tongue training is very necessary and important," she says.
The smiles on her students' faces bring Liu happiness. "If they're educated, the students are more likely to live a normal life," Liu says. "Only knowledge can help change their lives."
