University students reach out to children of medical workers as tutors

"Tell your mom 'I love you' every day if you have the chance," Zhang Zhining, a sophomore from Shanghai Jiaotong University's law school, said in an online teaching session for two children whose mother is a medical worker, youth.cn reported on Thursday.

In late March, the Shanghai municipal committee of the Communist Youth League launched a "cloud classroom" program to recruit college and university students as volunteers to provide one-on-one online tutoring for children of frontline workers, as well as primary and middle school students isolated in temporary hospitals in Shanghai.

Zhang is one of those volunteers. The program is providing children online services like mental health guidance, inspirational education and homework tutoring to help alleviate their anxiety and ease their school burdens.

The two children Zhang taught told her their mother recently left home early and came back very late, sometimes having no time to talk to them. Zhang told them she herself also missed her family while on campus, as the whole city is under closed-loop management to curb the local outbreak.

For Zhang, the voluntary service practiced during the epidemic is more like self-management. Teaching can bring children and volunteers together and enrich their experiences. At her university, there are over 300 students enrolled in the program. According to the children's ages and different interests, the volunteers designed various courses covering topics such as "How can N95 facial masks protect people from getting the virus?", "How is sugar made?", and other popular questions.

Zhang Haiyang, a PhD candidate at the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, is also a volunteer. He was assigned to teach a sixth-grade student isolated at a temporary hospital in Shanghai. The parents of the student told Zhang their son lacked enthusiasm in learning English. While encouraging him to watch more English videos and animation to cultivate his interest, Zhang also taught him medical knowledge like eye care. Zhang said his ideal profession is being a teacher. "Doctors heal people's body, while teachers nurture their mind. Both give a sense of personal accomplishment."

According to the committee, as of 12 pm on April 4, 1,165 children of frontline workers have registered in online classrooms, and 2,385 students from eight universities, including Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tongji University have applied as online tutors. Another twelve universities including Shanghai University of Finance and Finance, Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Shanghai Conservatory of Music have prepared nearly 500 online classes with specialized characteristics.

Currently, the program is in contact with nine medical teams and seven temporary hospitals in Shanghai to provide online services for children.