Mr. Zhang Dawei (middle) with his students at 2007 World Summer Games

In 1998 a 20-year-old young man retired from a professional shooting sport team and came to Nankai District Special School as a teacher. In the past 11years he took care of every child in the school with high sense of responsibility and dedication. He tasted bitterness of hardships, while devoted the professionalism of a special educator with patience, attentiveness and exquisiteness, propping up a blue sky for the disabled children with loving care. This young man is Zhang Dawei, a teacher in the special school.

“When I first saw the intellectually disabled kids, I thought, ‘can these children practice track and field in future while now they cannot even walk properly?’, said Zhang with a smile. However, “since I selected my career, I must grit my teeth and go on working with the kids with determination.”

To educate the ID students, a special education teacher would experience untold hardships. Every morning Zhang would come to school ahead of time to get everything prepared and then carry out the Special Olympics training of the kids. Oftentimes the students cannot do the movements properly even after many attempts, Zhang would show them the correct way by repeated demonstration. Zhang’s home is far away from the school---it takes him over an hour by bicycle. But in the 11 years he was never late. Some of his students were not nourished properly due to low family incomes. As their teacher, Zhang bought them breakfasts and lunches for many times that he himself doesn’t even remember. . For some students , he did this for years. Talking about his students from poor family backgrounds, Zhang’s eye iswet as he remarked, “They are not perfectly sound in mind and body, nor can they choose their family (rich or poor), but I hope each of them can grow healthy.”

Daily training class for the students

To recogne his excellent services, the school leadership assigned to him the training of the school’s gymnastics team in 2005. For gymnastics Zhang was a layman. But so long as he was assigned the job, Zhang was committed to do his best---oftentimes he does the movements times and again before teaching his students. Owing to his punctiliousness, the team won very good scores in the National Special Olympics gym competitions in the first year ---7 gold and 12 silver medals. In the past three years the team has totally got 12 gold, 23 silver and 33 bronze. And as an individual, Zhang was also recognized as a national distinguished sports worker.

Nowadays Zhang Dawei has grown to be a “veteran” special educator. In the camps kids call him “big brother”, while the younger ones call him “daddy”. With strong confidence Zhang remarked: “I will do my best to help these kids grow up in sports. I wish I will prop up for them a blue sky, letting them soar freely in it.”

By Zhang Wenqing, Website of People Daily Tianjin Branch