Preschool teacher remembers the time she rode 50km to work with her pregnant belly

"I was so healthy that day"

Ms. Le Thi Ha, 52 years old (teacher, professional group leader, 6-18 month old class, Hoa Hong Kindergarten, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City) is about to complete 30 years of working as a preschool teacher. Born and raised in a poor countryside, Ms. Ha has always been a good student since childhood. She dreamed of becoming an English teacher for high school, but fate brought her to become a preschool teacher in 1995.

Having worked at Kindergarten 17, Go Vap District (now Quynh Huong Kindergarten) from 2002 to July 2007, the teacher always feels grateful to the teachers in Go Vap District for creating conditions for her to go to university, study and work at the same time, and develop professionally.

Ms. Le Thi Ha takes care of children

"Thinking back now, I see that I was very healthy at that time. My husband and I lived in a small house in Nha Be District, and my husband worked as a worker in District 7. More than 20 years ago, traffic and roads were not as convenient as they are now. Every day I rode my motorbike, 25 km from Nha Be to school in Go Vap, and in the afternoon I rode from Go Vap back to Nha Be, a total of more than 50 km each day, rain or shine," Ms. Ha recalled.

The hardest time for the kindergarten teacher was when she was pregnant with her first child. She only took two weeks off before her due date. Every day, the young teacher hugged her pregnant belly and rode her motorbike at full speed. To be at school at 6:30 a.m. to pick up the children, she sometimes had to leave home at 5 a.m. and only returned home when it was completely dark.

When the baby was nearly 4 months old, she returned to work (previously, maternity leave was only 4 months, not 6 months like now, if female workers worked under normal working conditions). At first, not being able to find a babysitter, the teacher carried the baby on her back and rode her motorbike to school. The weather in Ho Chi Minh City on the days before Christmas was colder than usual, the teacher wrapped both mother and child tightly in scarves and cotton coats. The strength of a mother enables a woman to do things that, when thinking back now, she might be surprised.

The 52-year-old teacher is always taking care of children aged 6-18 months.

Occupational disease is not discouraged

Being present at Hoa Hong Kindergarten, District 7, witnessing how Ms. Ha takes care of children aged 6-18 months, hearing the evaluations from the principal and Ms. Ha's colleagues, I admire this 52-year-old teacher even more.

A preschool teacher with good expertise, many years of being an excellent teacher at the school level, an excellent preschool teacher at the district level, has been in charge of many groups and classes at nursery and kindergarten ages. Since 2016, when Hoa Hong Kindergarten opened a group of classes to take care of children from 6 months old, Ms. Le Thi Ha volunteered to take charge of the class, even though this is a group of classes that teachers work hard, requiring higher intensity work.

"I am also a mother, and have experienced pregnancy and taking care of my child from birth until the day he goes to daycare, so I fully understand the feelings of a mother and what a baby needs when he leaves his mother's arms and enters the teacher's arms. I am also very happy that now Ho Chi Minh City has many spacious kindergartens that take care of children from 6 months old, so that women can go to work with peace of mind," said Ms. Ha.

Before, Ms. Ha's voice was very clear, she sang well, every time she told stories, taught music to children, from young children to teachers who observed her class, they were all fascinated. In recent years, due to having to talk a lot, continuously in a noisy environment, Ms. Ha suffered from prolonged sore throat, the doctor concluded that her voice was hoarse due to occupational disease, her voice could not return to the way it was before. However, the teacher's love for children has never cooled.

'Thinking about retiring in a few years and not being able to take care of the kids, I feel empty...'

Every day, the teacher is at school from 6:30 and finishes work at 5:00 p.m. If a parent leaves work late and asks her to help look after the child, she stays to look after the child. Having worked for nearly 30 years, the teacher has degenerative spine disease, varicose veins, and diabetes, but she still perseveres throughout the 9 months of the year, even signing up to work during the summer because she misses the children.

"There are days when we preschool teachers don't have time to go to the toilet, or when we're thirsty, we don't have time to drink water because we're always on our feet. This child cries, that child screams, this child pulls on his shirt, that child grabs his arm and leg, we stand up and sit down continuously, but after a while we miss the children. I'm used to being so busy, thinking about retiring in a few years, not being able to see the children running and playing, not being able to pick them up and drop them off every morning, not being able to play with them every afternoon, I feel so empty inside...", Ms. Ha was moved.

Young love makes every day at school happy

In Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City, there is a kind preschool teacher who is loved by many students and parents. The teacher's name is Pham Thuy Hoan, 37 years old, a teacher at An Thoi Dong Kindergarten, Can Gio District. Recently, she won second prize in the city-level competition for excellent preschool teachers in the 2023-2024 school year.

Kindergarten teacher Pham Thuy Hoan (2nd from left)

Ms. Hoan studied preschool education and then taught at this school since 2007. While working, she went to school and graduated from the preschool education department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. After 17 years of working at the same school, the teacher born and raised in Can Gio district said that her husband is also a teacher, many relatives in the family are also teachers, so she finds that the teaching profession brings her a lot of joy and happiness in the profession.

"I am a resident of Can Gio, the school board, teachers and parents are all residents of Can Gio, everyone is like neighbors, living simply, lovely and close. Whatever fruit the students grow or catch, they bring to the teacher. On the day of saying goodbye to the kindergarten students, at the graduation ceremony for the children, the children kept hugging their teacher and crying because they had to leave her, it was so sad...", Ms. Hoan confided.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-giao-mam-non-nho-mai-lan-om-bung-bau-chay-xe-50-km-di-day-185240806110013541.htm