The lesson "pressure makes diamonds"

In 2016, I was assigned to teach in a mountainous area. At first, I was confused about the job, which was nearly 40 km away from home. The road was far away, I had to cross many dangerous high mountains, and the working environment and colleagues were unfamiliar, so I felt very confused.

Find every way to "entice" children to school

At the same time, Ms. Lieu was also assigned to be the principal of the place where I worked. My first impression of her was that she was a tall woman with a kind face, a gentle and warm smile, and was always friendly to everyone.

During my first days working here, I encountered many difficulties in my professional field as well as in food and accommodation. The mountainous area where I worked had limited teaching equipment and water for daily use. People's lives were very difficult, the roads were remote and isolated, and children's homes were often far from school, sometimes deep in the forest.

Bài học áp lực tạo nên kim cương - Ảnh 1.

Ms. Lieu has done her best to help students in the highlands go to school and motivate her colleagues to stay in school and class.

We often go to encourage parents to send their children to school. Language and cultural differences make many parents afraid to communicate and find ways to refuse. Many other circumstances are still poor, so parents are reluctant to send their children to school. They often take their children to the fields to pick cashews to earn a living or send them to grandparents to take care of.

At that time, my colleagues and I encountered many difficulties in motivating children to go to school. Ms. Lieu always encouraged us and helped us find effective solutions to convince parents to send their children to school.

In addition to informing parents that their children's attendance at school will receive attention and support from the state and local authorities, with all the enthusiasm and heart of a teacher, she plans to renovate the environment inside and outside the classroom with creative and attractive ideas, attracting the attention of parents and local authorities.

She directed to utilize every small corner in the school yard to install models of stilt houses where local ethnic identities are preserved such as: Gongs, T'rung instruments, drums; ... agricultural products such as corn, cassava, potatoes ... All are very close to the daily life of children and local people, giving children a sense of familiarity at school just like at home.

Previously, the classrooms were far apart and had been badly degraded due to the long construction period. Ms. Lieu asked for financial support from higher authorities to renovate the classrooms and buy teaching equipment for the children. She and we went to the parents’ homes to convince them to send their children to school so that they could have a bright future…

Spread love and attachment to the highlands

In the first year working in the highlands, I was under a lot of pressure because of many new things such as: records, students, parents and even colleagues. At that time, a person who used to be very passionate about teaching, who used to love children, wanted to quit because he could not stand the difficulties in the industry.

I am a very quiet, introverted person. After teaching all day, I just stay alone and rarely talk to my colleagues. I always feel that people often avoid my presence because they feel that I am not sociable and friendly.

She saw and understood the difficulties I was facing. Ms. Lieu motivated me with the saying "Pressure creates diamonds". She said: "Remember your passions and dreams and turn those difficulties into motivation for you to strive, so that when you look back, you will not feel regret for what you have contributed".

Those words of encouragement and comfort gave me more motivation to overcome the difficulties ahead. She was like a mother, a teacher who was always there to help and guide me through all difficulties.

In management, she created conditions for me and other colleagues to teach many lessons to gain experience. She gave me and my colleagues the opportunity to participate in the district-level competition for excellent teachers, encouraged us to participate and achieve good results.

Not only that, seeing that I had many difficulties in living, she helped me find a place to live in school to make my work more convenient, creating conditions for me to meet and talk with colleagues to help me eliminate distance and open up more to everyone.

Knowing that I had a talent for painting, she guided me to decorate and paint on the empty walls in the school campus. Thanks to her help and the solidarity of all my colleagues, my school was reported by Binh Thuan Provincial Television about the creativity in paintings, a report called "Highland Brushstrokes".

My colleagues and I gradually eliminated the distance, became closer, bonded and strived for a common career. I really had more strength and motivation in my work, felt more love for my job, more love for children than before, had more affection for students in the highlands, and wanted to contribute more to education in the highlands.

I don’t know since when I no longer feel pressured and tired. Ms. Lieu has inspired me to stay strong in this profession…

Noble heart

The day I received the decision to transfer to another unit, she and I were both moved and tearful, her feelings for me were like those of a mother. She has always encouraged, helped, and tolerated me on my path to adulthood. She taught me many lessons about life, about how constant effort will bring good success, experiences, and love.

PARTNER UNIT