Ms. Thao's special hands

Born with an imperfect left hand, teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Khanh Yen Thuong Primary School (Van Ban district) is always optimistic, overcoming her fate to become an excellent teacher.

After much persuasion, Ms. Thao hesitantly opened up to tell me the story of her life, because for Ms. Thao, whether disabled or healthy, everyone has to face difficulties in life. Ms. Thao is a daughter of Khanh Yen Thuong land, right from birth, Thao was unlucky with only a healthy right hand.

When she was 2 years old, her father passed away, and Thao and her mother had to struggle through the days of poverty, sometimes going hungry, sometimes full. Feeling sorry for her hard-working mother, Thao loved to study from a young age. “In the first days of school, I felt so sorry that I cried when my friends teased me about my shortcomings. But the more it happened, the more determined I was to study well,” Thao recalled.

After school, Thao helps her mother collect firewood, pick vegetables to feed the pigs, and learns her mother's sewing skills. Even though she lacks one hand, nothing is too difficult for her.

For many years, Thao has maintained the title of excellent student. “I know my circumstances are not fortunate, so I tell myself to try my best to study well so that my friends do not look down on me. Especially, I have to work really hard so that everyone knows that even though I am disabled, I can still do many things like other normal people,” said Ms. Thao.

With the dream of standing on the podium, Thao determined to pass the entrance exam to Lao Cai Pedagogical College, Faculty of PrimaryEducation . In 2016, after graduating, Thao graduated and was assigned to teach grade 1 at Ban Khoang branch, Duong Quy Primary School (Van Ban district).

Until now, Ms. Thao still remembers the first days of teaching. “The most haunting thing was the road to the branch, which was full of mud and steep slopes. For normal people, it was already difficult, but for a disabled person like me, driving a motorbike on that road was torture,” Ms. Thao confided.

Ban Khoang branch consists of a row of level 4 houses with 5 classrooms, the roof is made of thin corrugated iron that must be reinforced with bamboo bars to prevent heat, on windy days the whole roof shakes violently. Every day, Ms. Thao and 4 teachers at the school take turns bringing food to cook for lunch, many days they have to carry water several kilometers away. Because of the poverty, many families do not care about their children's education, and cannot afford to send their children to class...

I don't remember how many times I fell, how many times I went to class with dirty clothes and books, but the more difficult it was, the more determined I was to overcome it, because accompanying me were devoted colleagues and students who loved "letters".
Teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

In return for those difficult years were beautiful memories throughout Ms. Thao’s journey of “sowing letters”. Those were memories of Ms. Thao having to buy sandals, candy and cakes to go to students’ homes to encourage them to go to school; memories of the bunch of vegetables, chickens and eggs that parents brought to teachers or the bouquet of wild flowers that students gave her on November 20th. All became a great source of motivation to help Ms. Thao overcome difficulties and determined to teach well.

The Social Science class of class 5B, Khanh Yen Thuong Primary School, became more exciting when students took on the role of “presenters” introducing the life cycle of animals. The class of 27 students was divided into 5 groups by Ms. Thao, each group was assigned the task of presenting the life cycle of an animal using their group’s STEM product.

With a small but confident figure, Hoang Thi Hong Quyen stood on the podium, holding a ruler and pointing at the "map" with funny and colorful shapes. "The life cycle of a frog goes through the following stages: Egg, embryo, tadpole, 2-legged tadpole, 4-legged tadpole, baby frog, adult frog. Does anyone have any additional comments for group 1?" Under the raised arms, a series of opinions and questions were raised, under the guidance of the teacher, Quyen gave the answers to the students.

To have such an interesting lesson, Ms. Thao and her students had to spend a day meticulously preparing the content and the simulated cut-outs. With only one intact hand, Ms. Thao still skillfully drew and cut out animals, trees, and flowers. “As a homeroom teacher, I always struggle to research methods of imparting knowledge to students so that they can easily understand and absorb it. Not only that, I have to play the role of a “psychologist” who regularly cares about the psychological life of students. Many times I have to use my own circumstances and dreams as stories to confide, share and “inspire” students. In particular, I have to prove to them that physical disabilities will no longer be a barrier when we are determined and make efforts to overcome them,” Ms. Thao shared.

To innovate teaching methods, Ms. Thao had to explore and learn creative lessons on the internet and then apply them to her students. The school's teaching equipment is limited, so Ms. Thao finds ways to overcome this by using creative STEM products, collecting images and illustrative videos to enrich her lessons. Through experiential activities, students are trained in logical thinking, critical thinking, and many life skills such as communication skills, practice, and teamwork. Most recently, Ms. Thao won the Second Prize in the Provincial STEM Excellent Teacher Competition for the 2023-2024 school year.

In addition to constantly innovating teaching methods, Ms. Thao is also good at nurturing excellent students. Every year, Ms. Thao’s class has students who win awards for excellent students at the district and provincial levels.

Teacher Thu Thao is the youngest teacher at the school. Although she has only been working at the school for 2 years, Ms. Thao has affirmed her outstanding capacity and professional qualifications. For 2 consecutive years, Ms. Thao has achieved the title of Advanced Worker and Excellent Teacher at the school level with her creative lessons. In particular, with her optimistic spirit, strong will, and love for her job, Ms. Thao has become a shining example for her colleagues and students.
Teacher Phan Thi Nhai, Vice Principal of Khanh Yen Thuong Primary School.

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