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High school life officially began, and five classes joined us in our enrollment. The classrooms were arranged in two rows of five bungalows. Unlike the Sophomores and Seniors who lived in the teaching building, the Third Middle School had made a slight change to its long-standing numerical class assignment system. This time, we were assigned to classes 841 to 845. The teachers, who adhered to the Doctrine of the Mean, once again redistributed the "Top Students" designated by the County Education Bureau, but they still gave special attention to Class Three, which led to the emergence of the "Ultimate Class Three," a remarkable phenomenon in the history of Third Middle School.
Thinking back on the term "Ultimate Class Three," although it originated from a Hong Kong drama my child loves called "The Ultimate Class," it truly reflects what happened at Dongkou Third High School in the mid-1980s. During that era, when intellectuals were just beginning to shake off the label of "stinky old nine" due to the restoration of college entrance examinations and a group of distinguished teachers was being cultivated and appointed around this examination, our Class Three gathered relatively outstanding teachers and students for some special reason.
Among the five classes, our Class Three was led by Zeng Jiqing. Although he had just graduated from Gaosha Town Middle School and was a new teacher, he had over ten years of teaching experience. He previously taught at a large factory's affiliated school where talented individuals were concentrated, but he returned to his hometown of Gaosha and temporarily filled in at the junior high school. His educational philosophy clearly bore the mark of empiricism but was also grounded in solid theoretical knowledge. Compared to younger teachers fresh out of university, he exhibited greater flexibility and foresight, and his experience and effectiveness in educating students were remarkable, making him the teacher I admired most throughout my high school years. The other four classes were all taught by recent graduates: Liu Renshan for Class One, Long Yuejun for Class Two, Zeng Guangli for Class Four, and Xie Guoqing for Class Five.
The subject teachers for our class were also notably different from those of the other classes: there were three Chinese language teachers for the entire grade; Teacher Zeng Jiqing taught only our class; one teacher taught both Classes One and Two—though I can't recall their name; and another young female teacher with the surname Xiao taught Classes Four and Five. There were also three math teachers; again, our Class Three had one who taught only us—who was also the school's academic director (later I heard he was an assistant). Classes One and Two were taught by Liu Renshan, while I forgot who taught Classes Four and Five. There were only two English teachers: Peng Songren was young and taught Classes Two, Three, and Four; another older teacher taught Classes One and Five. The physics, chemistry, biology, and political science teachers were shared among all five classes; among them were the homeroom teachers from other classes: Long Yuejun taught physics, Zeng Guangli taught biology, Xie Guoqing taught political science, while chemistry was taught by a teacher with the surname Xiao—who was in his thirties with average skills but a good temperament. Unfortunately, I have forgotten his name; I feel sorry for him as well as for my own major in Chemical Engineering at university. As for history and geography, at Third Middle School—which emphasized science over literature—these subjects weren't offered until second year when students would be divided into arts and sciences.
The seven subjects we needed to study were also mandatory for science students taking college entrance exams. In Class Three, our team of "two veterans leading five newcomers" truly represented the strongest lineup that Third Middle School could offer to newly enrolled First Graders. From my later learning experiences, I indeed felt it was exceptional: Teacher Zeng Jiqing's broad perspective, solid foundation, and keen insight sparked my lifelong interest in language and literature. Luo Xiangui's math lessons might have seemed somewhat fragmented but were practical and greatly aided me in solving exam problems—especially in solid geometry that truly expanded my spatial thinking. Long Yuejun was not only my cousin but also our Physics Teacher—a model of youthful ambition who constantly strived for improvement. Although my understanding of physics was somewhat dull and I only received direct education from him for just over a year with results that were barely satisfactory, he nonetheless left an imprint on my rational thinking. Xie Guoqing's political science class during our First Year focused on Political Economy—a thin 39-page book—but it was engagingly presented with references that kept me interested; throughout high school, my political scores rarely fell below 85 points. He was also the only subject teacher who guided us through graduation from high school and served as my homeroom teacher at Third Middle School; although I had many criticisms about his abilities as a homeroom teacher then—and even now—I must admit he succeeded in political education. Zeng Guangli's biology lessons and Teacher Xiao's chemistry classes lacked distinctive features but at least they tirelessly imparted knowledge and techniques useful for college entrance exams. I feel particularly guilty towards Teacher Peng Songren; despite being so young and relatable to us, I struggled with English as I fell into the category of "language-challenged." Even though I wanted to work hard at it, I couldn't muster much effort—thus dragging behind until today when my English remains stuck at recognizing twenty-six letters and simple words.
In addition to the teachers, Class Three students were unique: although the school evenly distributed students scoring above 570 points across five classes, Class Three ended up with Huang Dongxiu—the only student exceeding 630 points—who ranked among the top ten in the county. She held onto her position as first in our cohort for over two years until another Top Student transferred from a prestigious school right before graduation broke her undefeated streak—only once. Among those scoring above 570 points in our class group of about ten students were several gifted individuals like Shao Jiajian who scored 581 points but wasn't admitted to vocational school due to some reasons; Peng Zequan—the top student from Meitian Middle School near Xizhong Village Committee; Jiang Yunrui who solved math problems effortlessly; not to mention myself who fancied myself quite exceptional at that time.
On another note, nearly all children of teachers attending high school back then ended up in Class Three. While their grades might have been average, their connections could influence many decisions even during what was considered a clean era in the 1980s; certainly some "high-ranking officials' children" took advantage of this opportunity too—like a secretary’s son from Gaosha Town or daughters of several state-owned factory directors across the county—even a beautiful girl who quickly climbed into the school's flower rankings upon entering without anyone knowing her background...
With both teachers and students assembled together, Class Three began its journey forward as my life opened an unpredictable new chapter!
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