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agination and encourages them boy’s happy face after class which the 60-year-old art teacher says.
to follow their hearts to create. So used to be a rare sight.
I think this teacher can help my While seeing improvement in
son,” the mother says. “My son told me that attending many of her students, Wang feels
painting class every Saturday is the saddened that about 50 percent of
Through paintings, the family highlight of his week,” says Han. the children stopped going to her
studio in six months.

“The parents think my teaching
philosophy is too ideal, and chil-
dren can not learn practical knowl-
edge such as exam skills. It hits me
pretty hard. There were moments I
doubted if I could keep this going.
But every time I think about how
many kids with mental disorders
need my help, it keeps me going,”
Wang says.

“The skills I

want to teach

A group picture of Wang Ting (right 1) and her students at the gate of her art studio. (Photo cour- students is not
tesy of Wang Ting)
drawing, but

independent
learned about their son’s passion Former teacher Wang Ting,
for mathematics. who founded the art studio in 2008 thinking. They
to help students with mental issues, need a medium
“Once the teacher asked my son says it is important to help students to open up their
to draw sea creatures, he designed develop independent thinking.
all the fish and corals with symbols minds to the
of addition, subtraction, multipli- She points out that test-based world. I want to
cation, and division. When I asked education only forces students to
him why he did it, he said he liked learn without motivating their in- help them break
Math and that’s why he made such terests and judges students’ ability free from
an interesting design,” Han recalls. merely by their grades.
examination-
“From his paintings, I learned “The skills I want to teach stu- oriented
that I should give him more space dents is not drawing, but inde- education.
to explore what he likes to do,” the pendent thinking. They need a me-
mother says, adding that her son dium to open up their minds to the Every child is
goes to the painting studio once a world. I want to help them break unique”
week. free from examination-oriented
And she was delighted to see the education. Every child is unique,”