In 1912, in order to start up the Jimei Elementary School, Tan expended a lot of energy persuading the heads of every household and eventually gathered the kids of the whole village to attend class in the shrine hall.
一九一二年，陳嘉庚為了要辦集美小學，費了一番功夫，說服各房長輩，才將全村孩子集中到大祠堂裡上課。