Teacher provides a lesson in dedication

He assured the principal that he would strive to live up to his responsibilities as a good teacher and then put down his roots at the school.

Yet, early on, his career hit a speed bump.

Lin's strong southern accent drew laughter from the class as soon as he opened his mouth.

It dealt a huge blow to his self-esteem.

"I remember blushing and talking under my breath and I was afraid that even those sitting in the second row could not hear me."

The embarrassment was only saved by the bell, and he quickly picked up his books and fled.

The incident led Lin to do some soul-searching, which aroused his fighting spirit and a desire to improve his own teaching ability.

He voluntarily chose to move from the better equipped dormitory to a small, uninhabited bungalow right next to the school.

It offered him a quiet environment to better concentrate his mind and prepare for classes.

Over the next two years, he burned the midnight oil, studying hundreds of teaching materials and writing copious notes. Early in the morning, he would review his lecture notes to ensure that nothing would go amiss in class.

To better know the students, Lin took the initiative to visit their homes, which were scattered across a dozen nearby villages.

His dedication eventually endeared him to his students.

As he made progress at work, Lin became acutely aware of a common problem shared by all the students.

"They were not confident, answering questions in a low voice and afraid to speak in public," he says.

His teacher's instinct convinced him that it would hinder their future development.

Therefore, he came up with a plan. He made a pact with his students to come to school 30 minutes earlier every morning, during which time he led a public reading session, where he encouraged students to take turns in expressing themselves before the group.

From the start, he recorded their efforts, which enabled them to feel the joy of seeing the positive changes in their readings over time.

Lin also encouraged shy students to write weekly diaries in order to communicate with him and, in return he promised to read them carefully and reply with more words than they had written to him.

And he proved, literally, to be a man of his word.

Wei Bo, who used to study at the school, actually counted the words of Lin's reply during his seventh grade.

"I had my doubts, so I wanted to find out," recalls Wei, who is now studying in college.