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TEACHERS' STORIES: Huan Da Yan Huan Da Yan teaches third grade math at Chong Tao Primary School. Like his students, he is from Chong Tao. We asked him why girls are kept out of school more than boys are. First, he said, the financial burden keeps girls out of school. Second, girls are so useful to the family in terms of work that they are kept at home. When we asked why girls are more useful than boys, he replied that this was traditional and cultural. Huan Da Yan is the father of a girl and a boy, both of whom have passed their final exams and are continuing past high school. Huan Da Yan pays for a few of his students himself when their parents cannot afford to pay for books or school fees. Sometimes they pay him back when they can. We asked him how often he does this. “Every semester,” he answered. Isn’t this a burden on your family? “Yes,” he said, “but it’s okay.” Yang Chai Feng Yang Chai Feng teaches Chinese at Chong Tao Primary School. We asked her if teachers try to encourage girls to stay in school. She said that if someone misses school, a teacher makes a special visit to find out why. If the problem isn’t financial, sometimes a teacher’s visit sometimes results in the student returning to school. Mostly, however, the reasons are financial. She explained that families usually believe that if a girl is not going to make it to college, it isn’t worth sending her to school. It only benefits the family into which she marries. To Yang Chai Feng, knowledge makes education worthwhile; her class ranks first in a district of eight primary schools, and also has the highest percentage of students continuing on to high school. As a result, she has been appointed the team leader for all of the Chinese Departments in the entire district. YOU CAN HELP CONTACT GIRLS GLOBAL