"You don't have to pay attention to my scores or my hard journey. The scores will be constantly refreshed. What needs to be paid attention to is the things behind the scores-why are so few blind people taking the college entrance examination? Which levels are they stuck on?"
▲Blind candidate Ang Ziyu.
“It’s difficult to take this road. It requires the right time and place. I can only say that I have made countless choices against the current. If my example allows more blind candidates to enter the college entrance examination room, that’s my result. The greatest significance."
Our reporter Wang Jingxue
Ang Ziyu is ready for a new journey.
This is Monday afternoon, July 27. A few hours later, his father Ang Guo Yin will take him to the airport. At 9 o'clock in the evening, he will take the plane from Hefei to Kunming alone, meet with five other blind friends from different parts of the country, and start a week-long trip together.
"It's also for exercise. I have taken buses, subways, and trains alone. I haven't tried airplanes. I will definitely go to university in the future and I must exercise more." Said the 19-year-old Hefei boy who is nearly completely blind.
In the previous week, he became a hot news figure because he scored 635 points in the college entrance examination, which exceeded the score of 120 points for the Anhui Province Science Book. Some netizens sighed: "This is really better than me with my eyes closed."
After accepting a long and short interview, Ang Ziyu felt, “You don’t have to pay attention to my score or my hard journey. The score will be constantly refreshed. What needs to be paid attention to is the thing behind the score-why there are so few Of blind people take the college entrance examination? Which barriers are they stuck on?"
In 2020, 10.71 million candidates across the country signed up for the college entrance examination, of which only 5 blind candidates took the exam using braille test papers.
“It’s difficult to take this road. It requires the right time and place. I can only say that I have made countless choices against the current. If my example allows more blind candidates to enter the college entrance examination room, that’s my result. The greatest significance." Ang Ziyu said.
A blind child wants to take the general college entrance examination
As teachers, Ang Guoyin and Yu Jinfang know the power of knowledge. They have taught countless students and are familiar with the various business processes of the school, but they are very at a loss as to how their son is going to study.
As a child, Ang Ziyu knew that he would take the college entrance examination.
His father, Ang Guoyin, is a high school math teacher, and his mother, Yu Jinfang, a junior high school Chinese teacher. After taking graduates every year, the two often talk about their students’ high school and college entrance examination results at home.
Ang Ziyu still remembers that his father said that they had a class of students, and many of them had scored more than 600 in the exam and could go to a good university. After hearing this, he also wanted to pass the college entrance examination and have his own future just like the excellent children of his parents.
Ang Ziyu thought this was a matter of course, but didn't know that children like him were uniformly excluded from this battle of thousands of horses.
At the age of 3, Ang Ziyu was diagnosed with congenital retinitis pigmentosa. The doctor said that his little vision would gradually decline, and taking medicine would only delay the speed of blindness.
For many years thereafter, every summer vacation, Ang Guoyin would take his son to Beijing Tongren Hospital to see his eyes and travel by the way.
The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace, the National Museum, the Military Museum... They went to many places together, "Take the children to relax, meet the world, and while he still has some eyesight, they can see the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, the streets and alleys of the capital. Take a turn and take a look."
In the dead of night, or on the road to play, the father and son suddenly calmed down, "If you look at our eyes, you will see melancholy eyes." Ang Guoyin paid attention to his son at this time, little Child, there are all things in your eyes.
"My mother and I thought, no matter how he reads, as long as he can continue to read, we will create conditions for him to read as much as possible." As teachers, Ang Guoyin and Yu Jinfang know the power of knowledge. They have taught countless students and are familiar with the various business processes of the school, but they are very at a loss as to how their son is going to study. "I don't know if he can take the college entrance examination, how he will go to school in the future, whether he can have a bowl of food, it is unknown. I always worry about this, and I can't sleep every day, so I can only comfort myself. Whatever he reads, he reads until he has no conditions. Read it."
Ang Guoyin still remembers the first day of sending Ang Ziyu to kindergarten. As soon as he arrived in the class, the head teacher asked him to sign an exemption agreement and promised that if the child had an accident, he would not come to the kindergarten. "We feel very uncomfortable in our hearts, feeling that our children are lower than other children on the first day of school, and we are also lower than other parents."
After that, every time he went to a new school, he would write such a letter of commitment for his son.
"After school, you can see the sunshine on Ang Ziyu's face." Ang Guoyin said, the head teacher of Ang Ziyu Primary School is a very caring teacher. "Maybe he felt that the teacher treats me and goodbye. Like my child, I have nothing short of it, so he is very happy, and his grades have always been in the top three in the class. Teachers and classmates recognize him even more, forming a virtuous circle."
After graduating from elementary school, Ang Ziyu was recommended to study in Hefei No. 48 Middle School with the 13th place in the school. This is also where Yu Jinfang works. Many teachers in the school watched Ang Ziyu grow up with uncles and aunts. This made him better accepted and avoided the problems that many blind children might encounter when they study in regular classes in ordinary schools.
Looking back at his son's more than ten years of study, from kindergarten to high school, Ang Guoyin felt that every aspect was not easy. Relying on their firm fight, they were lucky enough to meet good teachers and the staff of the education authority who provided assistance in every link, and finally bumped over.
Including the high school entrance examination, the province has no conditions to provide Braille test papers, and it is not possible to ask Ang Ziyu to take the exam by asking people to read the questions. The Hefei City Education Department will lead him to introduce Ang Ziyu to the Qingdao School for the Blind in order to continue his studies.
That was the first time Ang Ziyu left his parents. Ang Guoyin clearly remembered how he felt when he sent his son to Qingdao and took the train back to Hefei. He was lying in his seat, thinking about things, and thinking about things, the more sad he was, and he almost cried, "It's especially uneasy, especially uncomfortable, what's wrong? Children who are as good as him or even not as good as him can stay with their parents. After receiving education in a good high school, why should my child stay away from home and study in a place where he is not familiar with?
Looking back now, he said that the fragility at that time was also because his wife was not around. "If his mother was there, I might be stronger."
Material for reading
When other children are in physical education classes or exams, Ang Ziyu will go through what the teacher said from beginning to end, or find a difficult problem that no one can solve, and slowly ponder it.
When I grew up, I heard that I might not be able to take the college entrance examination. Ang Ziyu was confused. “In the end, I decided to keep studying. My parents said that even if I can’t take the college entrance examination, I still have to read. Learning knowledge is the first thing.”
From elementary school to high school, Ang Ziyu was a top student in the class. This achievement is hard-won, although his own explanation for this is: "Ordinary people want to do too much and face too many temptations, and because of my eyesight, I have neither time nor so many choices, such as , I can’t play computer games."
Before learning Braille, Ang Ziyu relied entirely on listening and memorizing to learn. This requires him to concentrate every minute in get out of class, and spend several times as much time as other students after class to recall the content of the class.
In the beginning, Ang Ziyu's eyesight could be used in large-character books. Ang Guoyin and Yu Jinfang typed all his textbooks into the computer verbatim, adjusted the font size, and printed them out. A single A4 paper printed less than 100 characters.
"But this process is very happy for us, because the children are willing to learn, every time the exam results are very good." Ang Guoyin said.
After the third grade of elementary school, Ang Ziyu's eyesight decreased severely, and he gradually became unable to use large-print books. Together with his parents, he found a new method-listening to books with a dot reading machine, importing all textbooks into the dot reading machine, and hearing from the beginning to the end. "In this way, we can preview and review." Ang Ziyu said, "We continue to encounter problems like this, and then we continue to find solutions."
He admits that he has moments of psychological imbalance. When he was in elementary school, he found that other classmates could finish their homework in class and go out to play after school, but he had to memorize the homework and let his parents read the questions. He dictated the answers and was busy until 9pm. There is also a class quiz. When other students are struggling to write, he has nothing to do and can only sit around for the whole class. "My mother said that if you want to take the college entrance examination, you have to spend three times more time than others."
Ang Guoyin asked his son, what are you thinking about when other children are in PE classes or exams? Ang Ziyu replied that he would go through what the teacher said from beginning to end, or find a difficult problem that everyone couldn't solve, and slowly ponder it. "I heard it and felt that my child is indeed a material for reading."
In 2014, on the second year of Ang Zi Yu's second year, the doctor pointed out that he should hurry up to learn Braille. Ang Guo Yin found the only teacher who knew Braille at the Anhui Special Education School to teach Ang Zi Yu Braille.
This summer, Li Jinsheng, a 46-year-old blind man from Henan, walked into the college entrance examination room amidst the beating of gongs and drums by his blind friends. He became the first blind candidate in my country to use braille test papers to participate in the general college entrance examination, arousing public attention. It is also at this time that many people know that it has been difficult for blind people to take the college entrance examination before.
Although China’s 2008 revised Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons clearly stipulates that all kinds of entrance examinations held by the state must be provided with braille test papers, electronic test papers or assistance by specialized staff if blind people take part in the various entrance examinations held by the state, but in practice, Blind people who apply for the college entrance examination are often rejected on the grounds of "no precedent" and "common schools are unable to train blind students."
There are more than 17 million blind people in China, accounting for 18% of the blind people in the world. For a long time, this group of people who want to receive higher education can only take the “single test, single test” approach. It is difficult to pass, but candidates can choose from a single major. There are two main directions: acupuncture and massage and music.
"Ang Ziyu is very uninterested in these two majors." Ang Guoyin said that Li Jinsheng's participation in the 2014 college entrance examination gave them hope, and he also learned that the Ministry of Education proposed for the first time in the annual admissions work document that the blind should take the unified examination. Provide convenience. "My child's goal is clear, that is, to pass the college entrance examination and receive education in a better university."
Ang Ziyu's motivation is even greater. Sometimes, parents would hear him solving problems even when talking in sleep, and Ang Guoyin's task of reading problems for his son every night is getting more and more difficult. Especially in English, when he encounters a word he does not know, he can only pronounce one letter and one letter. Ang Ziyu will also ask about the meaning of some words. Ang Guoyin will look up the dictionary, and Ang Ziyu will write down the new words to the wrong question. Originally.
After attending high school, Ang Ziyu finished his freshman year at Qingdao Blind School. He felt that the study intensity was too low, so he returned to Hefei and transferred to Hefei Sixth Middle School to study in preparation for the college entrance examination.
Hefei No. 6 Middle School is a provincial key high school. The study schedule is tight. In the next semester of the third year, exams are required every Monday, two, three, four, and five. Ang Guo Yin went to accompany the test every day and was responsible for giving Ang Zi Yu the questions.
In the second and third years of high school, "driving at night" is the daily routine of Ang's father and son. They learn from 6:30 to 12:30 every night, and Sunday is no exception. From time to time, Ang Guo Yin had to force his son to rest quickly.
"I admire Ang Ziyu very much. His greatest advantage is his tenacity, and he will keep walking when he recognizes the goal. I was actually taken away by him. Sometimes, I think that I am very tired, but the child is still I'm insisting, so what reason do I not insist on?"
Over the past ten years, Ang Ziyu has learned a few points, and Ang Guoyin has been with him. "Like him, there is no entertainment, and I feel that the distance between colleagues and friends has become farther, because we talked together for 20 minutes. There is no time. But every time I see a child's grades improve and a name is on the school's red list, I am very pleased."
This is the love of parents for their children, right?
"I think this is a duty." Ang Guoyin said with a smile, "Daddy's duty."
WWII college entrance examination
Ang Guoyin said that he believes that blind children who have passed the ordinary college entrance examination are fully capable of adapting to the pressure of study and life in ordinary universities.
In 2019, Ang Ziyu took the college entrance examination for the first time and touched the braille college entrance examination paper for the first time.
During the exam preparation stage, he used the same real exam papers and mock papers as ordinary college entrance examination candidates. Ang Guoyin tried to ask for the braille college entrance examination papers of previous years from the education department of Anhui Province, but failed to get them. He felt that this was not fair, "their group has too few educational resources."
According to regulations, the difficulty of braille test papers is equal to that of ordinary college entrance examination papers. Because blind candidates answer the questions with their hands, their test duration can be extended by 50%, and the admission score is the same as that of ordinary candidates.
"I found that the braille college entrance examination paper is very different from what I imagined. It is printed on one side and strung together with lines. There are many sheets of paper in one subject, and some subjects can have more than 30 pages, like a book larger than A4 paper. Ang Ziyu said that the structure of the test paper was also different from the one he used daily, which disrupted his answering rhythm.
After the results came out, Ang Ziyu's score was 55 points higher than that of the first line of science in Anhui Province, and his daily model test scores were usually 100 points higher.
Ang Guoyin applied for him a volunteer and received the admission notice. Ang Ziyu did not open the envelope for a week.
He decided to repeat the study and said to his undecided parents: "Don't worry, I will not go backwards after another year of work."
Ang Guoyin fought with his son for another year. The latest one in his WeChat Moments was a link to an English mock test that he forwarded in the early morning of January 18 this year. It was something he wanted to transfer to Ang Ziyu, whose screen name is "Reading Everyday", but it was sent to Moments by mistake. Inside.
Under the pressure of re-reading, Ang Ziyu's mentality is always very good. Ang Guoyin secretly doubts whether his son has a strong heart or is not resuscitated. He has not really realized his sadness along the way.
On July 7, Ang Ziyu walked into the college entrance examination room again. Ang Guoyin also came to the examination room as the teacher of his school. He was sitting in the exam teacher's lounge very nervous, what did his son do? Could it be a problem? Could it be impossible to solve a problem? So nervous until the college entrance examination is over.
On July 23, when Ang Guoyin found out his son's score, Ang Ziyu hugged his mother and cried loudly.
"I don't worry about him now." Ang Guoyin said. He believes that blind children who have passed the ordinary college entrance examination are fully capable of adapting to the pressure of study and life in ordinary universities. There shouldn’t be much problem, and it won’t be bad to come to work. As for where he can go, it’s up to him. He is simple, but sometimes very mature. I believe he will set new goals for himself. For example, he said he was about to register for this year’s CET-4, and after CET-4, he would take CET-6."
Now, Ang Guo Yin felt much more relaxed. He took the initiative to call his old classmates and colleagues, saying that he would gather together when he was free. When he is less than 50 years old, his hair is already a lot whiter. A while ago, the students who graduated last year came back to see him and sighed as soon as they met: "Teacher, you have more white hair."
A blind child wants to have a broader future
"People don't know much about us, not only because the society pays little attention to us, but also because of our own reasons. We should take the initiative to go out of our house and into society."
Ang Ziyu said that he would like to be a math teacher in a special education school in the future.
Rather than saying that this is what he really wants to do in his heart, it is better to say that this is what he wants to do temporarily based on the feasibility of learning from the experience of the blind seniors.
When studying in Qingdao School for the Blind, the teacher will analyze for the students the future living conditions of their group in the career and life planning class and which jobs are suitable for them.
Ang Guoyin remembers that the content of the class shocked, disappointed, and was unacceptable to the 15-year-old Ang Ziyu. Compared with traditional employment directions such as acupuncture and massage, becoming a school teacher is considered the best goal that blind children can achieve.
It's not that Ang Ziyu doesn't want to be a teacher. What he is unwilling to do is that he is judged in advance as the best and can only do this. He wants to go other ways to prove this judgment is wrong. "That's why I especially want to go to Beijing when I volunteer."
Ang Ziyu has visited Beijing many times for medical treatment, travel, and activities. He feels that there are relatively complete barrier-free facilities, the largest Braille library in the country, many of his friends, and more resources, opportunities and tolerance. .
Before resuming classes last year, he went to Beijing to participate in a summer camp for visually impaired students. “It’s like a city survival challenge. For example, let yourself go to a shopping mall far away to find a few stores, and practice crossing the road. How to listen? The direction of the car, whether it is a red light or a green light..."
Mother Yu Jinfang often encourages her son to "go up" as much as possible. "The more you go up, the higher the quality of the people around you, and the more they will see your strengths and highlights, instead of staring at your shortcomings, mocking and fooling."
"I may have more choices when I go to college in Beijing," Ang Ziyu said.
He is already considering employment and wants to be a special education teacher for the time being, but he also has concerns.
In April 2019, Zheng Rongquan, the first blind college student in Zhejiang Province who used Braille test papers to take the college entrance examination and was admitted to the university, applied for the teacher position of Nanjing School for the Blind. He scored first in the examination, but failed because his eyesight did not meet the medical examination standards for civil servants.
A few months later, when Wang Xiangjun, the first blind college student in Anhui Province to pass the college entrance examination, applied for a music teacher post in a special education school in Hefei, he was also told that he could only be a substitute teacher because of his poor eyesight.
"This is very strange." Ang Ziyu said, "it is completely feasible for us to be teachers in schools for the blind, and we will understand students better than ordinary teachers, and we will be able to provide them with tailor-made methods."
There are always so many challenges for blind students, including the road to college entrance examination that Ang Ziyu has just gone through. "Blind candidates want to compete with ordinary candidates and get more choices through the college entrance examination. The first problem they encounter is the braille textbook and supplementary materials. It’s too scarce. No school for the blind can provide a workbook for the general college entrance examination. Then, the single test and the general college entrance examination can only choose one of two, which makes it difficult for many candidates to have the courage to choose the latter.” Ang Ziyu said. This does not even count that his parents are teachers, and there is no need to find someone to make up lessons and read questions for him.
No matter what, Ang Ziyu has summed up many sets of "methodology" to deal with challenges, and he is confident that he will go on the road to learning better——
Get along with your classmates, "You need to continue to prove yourself. You must not be a weak person in their hearts, and you must not need their help in all aspects. There must be some aspects where you can help them."
When encountering problems, "If you have a goal, you must go on firmly. There will be many problems in the process, which can not be reduced to a large scale. The problems must be specific. For example, my English is not good, whether it is grammar or what part is bad. Resolve it in a targeted manner. Many people find that the problem is difficult to solve because they don’t know what the problem is."
I run into a misunderstanding of blind people, "People don’t know much about us, not only because the society pays little attention to us, but also because of our own reasons. We should take the initiative to walk out of our house and into society. For example, some subway workers are not guided. For blind training, if we go out more, will they be able to accumulate more experience and do better?"
He is ready for the next stage of the journey.
After arriving in Kunming on July 28, Ang Ziyu talked to his father about his willingness to apply for volunteers. In the first batch, he most wanted to apply to the Central University for Nationalities and China Agricultural University. His first major was his favorite mathematics. From 2014 to today, it has been 7 years since blind people participated in the college entrance examination. He felt that as long as he scored enough, he would not be rejected by the school because of his eyesight.
"I think his idea is still a little simple, even ignorant." Ang Guoyin said, before filling out the first batch of volunteers on August 2, he wanted to introduce his son's situation to the admissions office teachers of the two universities and asked Ask if some majors do not accept students like him. Every 10 minutes, he made a round of phone calls to the admissions office, but he never got through.
In the next few days, Ang Ziyu and his companions plan to take the route of Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang. They will also climb the Yulong Snow Mountain. "Climbing to the mountain, we will have a special feeling. Du Fu said,'We will be the top of the mountain, and you will see the mountains. ', it's not just visual sensations, just like closing your eyes, you will also have a lot of imagination."
Ang Guo Yin’s plan is to continue to call the admissions office, “This kind of thing cannot be an accident. If you are overthrown, you will never have the opportunity to make up. I am particularly worried about this.”