The year of the Sheep is over, and the year of the Monkey is upon us. But just before the fireworks, Alibaba founder Jack Ma sat down with the Qianjiang Evening News to talk about his happiest moment in 2015.
He chose a trip to Sanya that he took to with 100 rural schoolteachers to reward them for their work.
“Did you know,” Ma asked his interviewer, “that of those 100 teachers, 95 had never been on an airplane before? All hundred had never seen the ocean. Many of them were so amazed by the five-star hotel that they didn’t even dare use the toilets, because they were too clean.”
“At first I thought, I want to make these teachers feel respected. Then I thought that I needed to give them some memories so that they can help their students think freely.”
According to Ma, there are 40 million students living in rural poverty in China, but only 3 million rural teachers.
“There are two parts of a country’s strength and power,” said Ma. “One is the peak, the top individuals. The other is the valley, the children who don’t get educational opportunities. If those 40 million children were educated systemically, China would be better. It’s lamentable; these students are left behind, taught by their grandparents because their parents are in the cities working. The students don’t understand the cities, and some even hate cities. The only people spending time with these kids are their rural teachers; they’re the only warmth in these rural areas.”
“If we make these teachers more respected, and give them more sunshine and warmth, they will pass it along to their students.”
Ma also shared a couple other superlatives that summed up his 2015. His most “satisfying” thing was Alibaba’s strategic clarity, he said, and his toughest challenge was constantly being attacked (by competitors, in the media, etc.).
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