As a Biblechristian Samuel Pollard senior was particularly focused on bringing Christian teaching to poor and disadvantaged people through preaching and pastoral work.
Chinese scholar in Beijing to memorize Samuel Pollard, marked the 100 anniversary of the death of Samuel. Professor Tao Shaohu started with this statement: "Pastor Samuel Pollard passed away 100 ago. He has achieved, in ten years, what Miao people never did for thousands of years in Miao District.As he lay dying, he said a broken prayer, 'Have mercy on us Miao.' then he left us."
Tao choked back sobs during the speech, he spoke, " Big Flowery Miao(A-Hmao, an ethnic group in China) regretfully shed tears a hundred years for losing the tutor who helped us out of suffering with all his heart." He talked about his understanding toward Samuel Pollard's education philosophy using five stories.
1.Convert to Christ; Build schools and advocate studying.
P. Pollard established a church in A-Hmao district firstly. He led A-Hmao people to build at least eighteen modern schools in Shimenkan.
2.Help Miao people explore their own culture and use it.
After learning Miao language for three months, Pollard explored it trying to find characters used to record language for A-Hmao. Pollard said he would use Shimenkan pronunciation to be the standard pronunciation of A-Hmao language because Shimenkan Miao language has pleasing sound, soft intonation, civilized word groups. In 1905, Pollard led Miao and Han older generation of teachers to find back the characters once used by Miao in only a year.
3.Teach Miao people math skills.
Although Pollard was a pastor, in the beginning of Shimenkan schools, he taught them math skills. Tao said, after Pollard taught his uncle math over a year, his uncle could manage account checking with landlord's private adviser. Since then, there was no short of food supply in his father's home.
4.Help Miao people get rid of bad customs.
That time A-Hmao men and women got married in very early ages, which was a bad custom. Pollard regarded them as his brothers and sisters and instructed them to improve. Then he made a rule: before marriage, young man should reach 20 years old and be able to write and do farm work; young women should reach 18 years old and be able to knit, take care of children and the aged, honor God and understand God's word.
5.Select and develop talented person who could lead Miao people.
Pollard paid much attention to developing talented person who could lead Miao people. Among the first and second generations, Pollard chose about 20 teachers to study in Sichuan and return to education Miao people. After Pollard died, his successor selected excellent Miao students to study and come back to lead Miao people just like him constantly.
What Pollard did has lightened the hope of self-reliance and established the faith in development. During the scholar's speech, Tao, the lecturer sang an ancient song in Miao language and expressed his missing and appreciation to Pollard, then translated the lyrics into Chinses as the summary: God created the heaven, the earth and all good things in the world, and sent his only son Jesus Christ to bear this world's sins and give eternal life to them.
In the end Tao appealed to A-Hmao for carrying on Pollard's mission left according to their abilities in memory of him.
