The Metronome at the Corner

During the COVID-19 outbreak,Li Zhen,a teacher at Wuhan No.2 School for the Deaf,was busy in doing voluntary work for nursing homes while teaching his students online.He was so occupied that he didn’t even have the time to look after his pregnant wife.

“Students will soon participate in the entrance exam to college,so I must train them through online videos.It is more important for me to offer psychological counseling to them,because they are more sensitive than normal students.” Young as he is,Li Zhen often calls his students children,and the latter call him their “Brother of Dance.”

Six Bottles of Iced Water

Every day,Li Zhen prepares five or six bottles of iced mineral water,which are used to cool his mobile phone.While being a volunteer,he never forgets to offer his students video guidance in dance and psychological counseling.All the work has to be done with the help of a mobile phone.But long time communicating with the students online causes his mobile phone to heat up,thus affecting their smooth communication.Therefore,he cools his mobile phone by placing bottles of iced water on its back.

Li Zhen (middle) and his students as the champions in Italy李桢（中）和学生在意大利参加比赛夺冠后合影

疫情期间，武汉市第二聋哑学校的李桢老师很忙,他一边在养老院做志愿者，一边远程指导学生，连做月子的爱人都来不及照顾。

“孩子们快要高考了，我要视频指导训练，更重要的是做好心理辅导，他们比一般人更敏感。”尽管李桢很年轻，但他习惯叫学生们“孩子”，学生则都称他为“舞蹈哥哥”。

六瓶冰冻矿泉水的用途

每天出门前李桢都要准备五六瓶冰冻矿泉水。这些冰水是给手机降温用的。当志愿者的同时，他通过视频辅导学生舞蹈课和心理辅导，离了手机不行。跟学生交流时间长了手机就会发烫，影响流畅度，他就用冰水瓶子放在手机后面降温。

高三学生梅子艺术有天赋，高考有望通过艺术加分进一所好大学，但她性格内向。李桢注意到这一点，通过手语跟梅子私聊后发现，梅子的父母受疫情影响失去了工作，在生活重压下想让梅子放弃高考。

This scene was such a shock and grief to Li Zhen that he went to help these students set the music with tears in his eyes.“I was deeply moved by their love for art,” he said.At that moment,he decided that he would stay to help these children realize their dreams.

Meizi,a senior student gifted in art,is expected to be admitted to a good university with her art bonus points.Noticing her timidity,Li Zhen talked privately with her through sign language and found that she was at the verge of giving up her college entrance exam because her parents lost their jobs due to the epidemic and the family was under heavy economic pressure.

Li Zhen then persuaded Meizi’s parents to change their mind by analyzing her future employment situation,and by telling some success stories about deaf students who had studied in colleges and universities.He said,“Every decision by parents may have an impact on the whole life of their children.It is a duty for teachers in special education schools to do ideological work with the parents.”

Reason for His Stay

Li Zhen graduated from the School of Music of Central China Normal University,majoring in Dance Education.10 years ago,he witnessed a scene which stayed in his mind and led to his decision to stay working for the school for the deaf.

In May of 2010,Li Zhen,who was about to graduate,was invited to help rehearse dances in Wuhan No.2 School for the Deaf.One day after supper,he got to the dance classroom in advance and saw a group of children sitting around a large speaker at a high volume,their ears against it.After asking them,he learned that before rehearsal these children wanted to feel the melody and rhythm of the music by the vibration of the speaker box.But they accidentally set the sound box to the radio mode,not realizing that it produced a harsh noise.

This scene was such a shock and grief to Li Zhen that he went to help these students set the music with tears in his eyes.“I was deeply moved by their love for art,” he said.At that moment,he decided that he would stay to help these children realize their dreams.Refusing offers from employers with good conditions,he became the only full-time dance teacher in this school.

After he started to work as a teacher there,Li Zhen faced many difficulties since he had no knowledge of special education and sign language at all.He still remembers that after the school opened in autumn of 2010,his class was in disorder.At that time,in a bad mood he hid himself in the lounge until a small hand patted him on the shoulder.When he turned around,he found a student with Down’s syndrome smiling at him,without using any sign language.

“I suddenly realized how absurdly I behaved.I was like a kid,who gets moody easily in face of difficulty.While on the contrary,like an adult,that child seemed to be quietly telling me that I should not worry and that I would be qualified for my job if I learned new knowledge little by little!” Thinking of this,Li Zhen rose and returned to the classroom.He started teaching the students again from every act,rhythm,and stage picture…

李桢给家长做工作，给他们分析未来的就业形势，给他们讲以往考上大学的聋哑学生毕业就业的事例，最终改变了他们的想法。“家长的每一个决定，都可能会影响孩子的一生，做家长的工作是特教学校老师的常态。”

震撼一幕让他留在聋校

李桢毕业于华中师范大学音乐学院舞蹈教育专业，扎根聋哑学校，是因为那个10年来一直印在脑海中的画面。

2010年5月，即将毕业的李桢受邀到二聋校帮忙排练舞蹈。一天，晚饭后他提前来到舞蹈教室，看到一群孩子围坐在响着巨大噪声的音箱旁边，一个个把耳朵贴在音箱上。问了以后才知道，他们是为了在排练前通过音箱的振动感受一下音乐的旋律和节奏。他们不小心将音箱调成了收音机模式，却不知道音箱发出的是刺耳的噪声。

这一幕让李桢心酸颤抖，他噙着泪水上前帮学生们调出音乐。“他们对艺术那种纯粹的向往，深深地打动了我。”李桢说，他当时就下定决心，要留下来，帮孩子们圆梦。他婉拒了好单位的橄榄枝，成为二聋校唯一一名专职舞蹈教师。

没有学过特殊教育，没有学过手语的李桢从教后遇到了很多麻烦。李桢回忆，2010年秋季开学后，他的课堂乱成一锅粥。他心情很不好，课间躲在休息室不肯出来。此时，一只小手拍了拍他的肩膀。他转过身，看到一名先天愚型的学生对着自己微笑，没有任何手语表达。

“我突然意识到自己多么荒唐，自己才像个孩子，遇到不顺就情绪化。而他却像个成年人，仿佛默默地告诉我：不要着急，我们一点一点学，一定可以的！”李桢起身回到教室，又开始从每一个动作、每一拍节奏和每一个舞台画面开始教起……

上天不负有心人。李桢最终带着孩子们完成了舞蹈《楚韵雄风》，并在第二年夺得了全国特殊学校舞蹈比赛二等奖。此后，每当李桢难以坚持时，都会回想起那个学生无声的微笑，想起孩子们第一次夺奖的兴奋。“让每一个聋哑孩子能够在舞台上发光”成了他最大的梦想。

带着学生夺取世界冠军

李桢除了教全校高一到高三的律动课，还要带几十名学生组成的校艺术团。聋哑学生跳舞，第一步是要感受律动。李桢从让他们把手放在鼓上感受节奏做起，一步步统一学生对乐曲节奏的把握。练舞时，他总是高举双手打拍子、做提示，年纪轻轻就得了肩周炎。

学生们为圆梦舞台也付出了常人难以想象的努力。2013年8月，李桢带队赴长沙参加全国第八届残障人文艺汇演比赛。由于参赛队伍较多，训练场地极为紧张。他们只能找到一处户外停车场，顶着烈日排练。“当时的舞蹈动作有很多是在滚烫的地面上完成的，排练结束，看到孩子们身上一道道血印子，有的伤口还夹着沙砾。”李桢说，最终他们拿到全国银奖，和金奖的大学生作品仅差0.01 分。

10年来，李桢带着二聋校艺术团共获得国家级奖项9 个、省级奖项11 个、市级奖项35 个。2018年元旦，他们首次走出国门，在意大利国际啦啦操公开赛中，作为唯一的残障人队伍，战胜30 多支劲旅，拿到高中组集体花球和双人花球两项世界冠军。

巨大的付出也给李桢带来诸多感动。在东方卫视《完美搭档》节目中，李桢和两名聋哑学生代表第一次走进大型演播厅，在聚光灯下展现完美演出。当他从舞台角落被邀请上台，两名学生拿出了一封偷偷准备的信，交给评委伊能静。

“舞蹈哥哥，我们私底下一直这样偷偷叫你。在我们小时候，没有人会知道我们想什么，也没有人在意我们想怎么样。直到有一天你出现了，我们第一次知道我们能跳这么漂亮的舞蹈、啦啦操……我们知道你热爱舞蹈，拿过很多奖，但你从遇到我们以后，就再也没有登上过舞台，只能在角落里当我们的节拍器。是你的坚持，让我们没有放弃。谢谢你，舞蹈哥哥……”伊能静念完信，泪流满面。

2010年至今，李桢不知不觉中已培养了近10 届毕业生。北京、天津、长春、重庆、郑州、西安、南京……每年寒暑假，学生们都会从各地高校回武汉看望李桢，这是他每年最大的收获和欣慰。

Just as a Chinese saying goes,“God helps those who help themselves.” Li Zhen finally led the children to complete the dance “Stately Charm of Chu,” and gained the second prize in a national dance contest of special education schools in 2011.Afterwards,whenever he lost his momentum and wanted to quit,the silent smile of the child and his students’ excitement at winning a prize for the first time came to his mind.Thus,“enabling every deaf child to shine on the stage” became his greatest dream.

Coach of World Champions

Besides teaching the rhythm course to senior high students at the school,Li Zhen was also responsible for the students’ art group.To learn a dance,a deaf student must first feel the rhythm.Li asked his students to put their hands on the drum to feel rhythm,and unified their grasp of music rhythm step by step.When he instructed his students to practice a dance,he always held his hands high to show the beat and give hints.As a result,he got a frozen shoulder at a young age.

His students have also dedicated incredible efforts to perfecting their stage performance.In August of 2013,Li Zhen led his students to participate in the 8th National Theatrical Festival for Disabled People in Changsha,Hunan Province.Contestants filled up the competition hall and arenas for training,so Li and his students had to rehearse in the burning sun in an outdoor parking lot.“Many dance movements were completed on the hot ground.At the end of the rehearsal,the kids bore many injuries,” said Li Zhen.Finally,they won the national silver award,only 0.01 points behind the gold.

In the past 10 years,led by Li Zhen,Wuhan No.2 School for the Deaf has gained 9 national awards,11 provincial ones,and 35 municipal ones.On January 1,2018,as the only disabled art team,for the first time it gained the world championships in both Team Cheer Freestyle Pom and Doubles Cheer Freestyle Pom for senior high schools after it defeated over 30 rivals in the International Cheer Open held in Italy.

Great efforts were accompanied by many touching details.InPartner,a program on China’s Dragon TV,Li Zhen and his two deaf students entered a big studio and put on a perfect performance in the spotlights for the first time.When he was walking onto the stage,the two students took out a secretly prepared letter and gave it to the panel judge Annie Shizuka Inou.

“Brother of Dance is what we always call you privately.In our childhood,no one knew what we thought or cared about what we wanted to do.It was not until your appearance that we first realized we could perform such wonderful dances.We know that you love dance and have won many awards.Since you came to teach us,however,you have never appeared on the stage.What you do is act as a metronome at the corner.It is because of your persistence that we have not given up our efforts.Thank you,Brother of Dance…”As Annie Shizuka Inou finished reading this letter,tears welled up in her eyes.

From 2010 to now,Li Zhen has coached nearly 10 batches of graduates,who are now studying or working in Beijing,Tianjin,Changchun,Chongqing,Zhengzhou,Xi’an,Nanjing,and so on.During winter and summer vacation,many of his students return from their colleges to visit him in Wuhan,which offers him the greatest pleasure every year.(Translation: Cao Qing)