近日，我校外教史梅淳老師扎根寧夏鄉(xiāng)村事跡被參考消息和新華網(wǎng)報(bào)道，現(xiàn)將報(bào)道內(nèi)容附下。

美國(guó)人史梅淳(梅麗莎·史密斯)這些年換了好幾部手機(jī)，但手機(jī)里一直保存著一張黑白照片。照片上是1993年的寧夏回族自治區(qū)固原市最繁華路段，沒(méi)有如今常見(jiàn)的高樓大廈，只有布滿(mǎn)瓦礫的小路與殘破零落的矮房。

“我去過(guò)中國(guó)很多大城市，但最終選擇留在寧夏，因?yàn)檫@里的人待我就像家人，讓我感受到愛(ài)與溫暖，我想回報(bào)他們?！币活^銀發(fā)、身材瘦削的史梅淳背著書(shū)包，笑得像個(gè)孩子。

1993年，26歲的史梅淳因工作來(lái)到寧夏大學(xué)，從事教師培訓(xùn)工作，后留任當(dāng)了三年外教。三年時(shí)光雖短，卻讓她難以忘懷，因此在歸國(guó)深造獲得教育學(xué)博士學(xué)位后，她又在2004年再次回到寧夏，從此扎根于此，安心當(dāng)起“寧夏人”。

身處城市的這些年，史梅淳并沒(méi)有忘記貧窮的固原鄉(xiāng)村。她創(chuàng)辦了寧夏立愛(ài)教育咨詢(xún)公司，一方面為更多學(xué)校培訓(xùn)英語(yǔ)教師，另一方面招募志愿者，和他們一起將先進(jìn)的教育理念與真誠(chéng)的關(guān)懷帶給山區(qū)那些“淳樸、可愛(ài)的孩子們”。

史梅淳堅(jiān)信“課外閱讀對(duì)孩子的成長(zhǎng)非常關(guān)鍵”。她不僅自費(fèi)購(gòu)書(shū)數(shù)千冊(cè)，還與寧夏大學(xué)學(xué)生發(fā)起“愛(ài)的交響曲”公益演出活動(dòng)，募捐來(lái)的錢(qián)全部用于購(gòu)置圖書(shū)，捐給貧困地區(qū)的學(xué)校。

每隔一段時(shí)間，史梅淳會(huì)去固原市的鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)校一趟，給孩子們讀書(shū)，跟他們一起做游戲。

多年的教育經(jīng)驗(yàn)讓史梅淳意識(shí)到，除了書(shū)籍，這些孩子還需要“愛(ài)”與“關(guān)注”。在仍舊與她保持密切聯(lián)系的孩子中，有一名已大學(xué)畢業(yè)，目前從事室內(nèi)裝修設(shè)計(jì)。

“第一次見(jiàn)面時(shí)她還是六年級(jí)學(xué)生，和我聊天時(shí)她哭了，家庭的貧困讓她不堪重負(fù)。”史梅淳說(shuō)。她把精心挑選的書(shū)本送給那個(gè)孩子，鼓勵(lì)她寫(xiě)下閱讀感受，有時(shí)也邀請(qǐng)她到家里做客，就這樣默默陪伴她長(zhǎng)大成人。

“現(xiàn)在那個(gè)安靜的女孩變得開(kāi)朗自信，擁有一份自己喜歡的工作。”史梅淳說(shuō)，更讓她感動(dòng)的是，這個(gè)女孩不只是“接受”，也在“回報(bào)”———鼓勵(lì)其他和她面臨相似困境的孩子們。

由于對(duì)寧夏教育事業(yè)的貢獻(xiàn)，史梅淳曾獲得寧夏“六盤(pán)山友誼獎(jiǎng)”；2014年，她獲得中國(guó)政府友誼獎(jiǎng)。

面對(duì)榮譽(yù)，這位美國(guó)外教很是謙虛，“我只是一名普通的老師，做了自己該做的事”。

時(shí)光荏苒，曾經(jīng)風(fēng)華正茂的年輕女子已年過(guò)半百。除了每年夏天回美國(guó)探望年邁的老父親以及兄弟姐妹，她把所有的時(shí)間和精力都放在了寧夏的英語(yǔ)教育上。

“中國(guó)變化太大了，我剛來(lái)時(shí)和家人聯(lián)系只能寫(xiě)信，打電話(huà)半個(gè)小時(shí)就得70美元，而現(xiàn)在可以隨時(shí)隨地視頻聊天；中國(guó)的教育變化更大，鄉(xiāng)村孩子有了新校舍和免費(fèi)早午餐，也變得更加大膽自信了?！笔访反菊f(shuō)。

按照傳統(tǒng)，再過(guò)幾年，史梅淳就該退休了，但她卻希望把這個(gè)退休的年齡推遲到70歲?！拔覑?ài)寧夏，愛(ài)這里的老師和學(xué)生。”（記者 艾福梅 馬思嘉）

參考消息原文鏈接：http://www.jdqu.com/html/ckxx/2019/10/2/1306582-12.html

YINCHUAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Melissa K. Smith had replaced several mobile phones over the past 26 years. However, the American English teacher alway keeps a black-and-white photo on her phone that was taken in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 1993.

The old photo depicts the busiest street in the city of Guyuan, where there were only gravel paths and shabby dwellings. It was taken by Smith 26 years ago when she first came to China.

When she was 26 years old, she worked at Ningxia University, training teachers and teaching English for three years. Born in Indiana of America, she had never been to such a poor place before. She did not expect that the English language teaching level in the hinterland would be so far behind the times.

But the years in Ningxia left her many unforgettable memories, which made her believe that she would come back to Ningxia again.

"It's my second hometown, and it feels like I have grown up here," Smith said.

Smith returned to Ningxia after she got a Ph.D. in education in 2004, determined to improve the English language education in the region.

"Most English teachers in the university had never spoken to foreigners at that time. They could hardly speak fluent English," said Li Yuhong, a professor, who was then an English teacher with the university.

To help teachers improve their English and teaching methods, Smith set up an English corner at her apartment, making use of her spare time to teach the teachers.

Teachers were afraid of losing face in her training class at first, Li recalled. "However, she spoke slowly and always encouraged us," said Li, adding that Smith's patience and encouragement inspired her to attend the English corner for 16 years.

As teachers had no idea about "student-centered teaching," spoon-feeding education was prevalent in the classes. "Students often got sleepy, and they often gave the same answer to every question," Li said.

Noticing these problems, Smith taught teachers to guide students to participate in the class and learn to think independently.

"It's a real revolution in teaching," Li said.

With the help of Smith, Li has now become one of the most popular English teachers in the university.

Apart from her own work, Smith also cares about children in rural areas.

"They didn't have heaters or even toothbrushes and sometimes had to attend classes with empty stomachs," Smith said.

She often visits village schools, together with other foreign teachers, reading stories to the children and teaching them to brush their teeth.

She also launched fund-raising activities at the campus and raised money to purchase books for schools in poverty-stricken areas.

"When I saw books sent to them become dirty and dog-eared, I was so happy. They got very excited each time we came. I really hope these lovely and innocent children could enjoy learning like this for their whole life," Smith said.

The 52-year-old said she saw the improvements in education that the Chinese government has achieved over the past years, with more new schoolhouses, free meals and good teachers in the western regions.

In 2014, Smith received the Friendship Award, given annually by the Chinese government to honor outstanding foreign experts in China, but Smith only said she did what she should do as an ordinary person.

Smith hopes to postpone her retirement until 70, devoting herself and her time and energy to English language teaching in the region.

新華網(wǎng)原文鏈接：http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/25/c_138422457.htm