The anguish reflected in those teary eyes.
Teacher Vàng Thị Dính (born in 1987), currently working at Đồng Văn Ethnic Boarding Secondary and High School (Đồng Văn commune, Tuyên Quang province), has spent nearly two decades dedicated to students in the majestic yet extremely harsh highland region. Here, Ms. Dính and her colleagues not only teach literacy but also act as friends, second mothers, and fathers to their students.
Ms. Dinh said that the students are children from remote villages, who have to leave home to live and study at the school. When they first enroll, most of them are leaving their families for the first time. Their school supplies include not only a few old clothes but also homesickness, longing for their parents, and the simple meals in their villages.
"Many girls cried silently at night, waking up with red eyes. Some didn't dare call home for a whole week, fearing they wouldn't be able to hold back their tears if they heard their mother's voice. Others, who were used to speaking their mother tongue, had to learn standard Vietnamese to communicate at the school, so they felt both shy and out of place in the new group," Ms. Dinh recounted.
Those initial difficulties only strengthened Ms. Dinh and her colleagues' appreciation and determination to create a learning environment full of love and opportunities for the children.
What moved her most was that despite their hardships, the children's eyes still shone with a yearning to learn, to discover new things, and to step out of their "village's bamboo fence" to get closer to the wider world .
These difficulties not only challenge the students but also place a big question on the shoulders of teachers like me: What can I do to help them have a more meaningful learning journey, so that the seeds of knowledge are not buried amidst the cold, rocky ground?
"The Boost" and the Self-Learning Journey
The turning point came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when online teaching and learning became a critical necessity. Ms. Dinh realized a harsh truth: "If we don't keep up with the times, our students will be left even further behind."
By chance, through social media, the Hmong teacher learned about engineer Do Hoang Son, a member of the organizing committee of the National STEM Festival. The engineer's passionate enthusiasm ignited in her a strong determination to change her mindset and do new things for herself and her students.
Vang Thi Dinh, a teacher from a remote mountainous area, embarked on a challenging self-learning journey. She enrolled in online courses on programming, robotics, and AI. Initially, she felt lost, struggling through long nights with English materials and unfamiliar technological concepts.
"There were times when I was learning, experimenting, making mistakes, and then correcting them. But the deeper I went, the more I saw a new door opening," Ms. Dinh confided. That door is called technology, and she believes it will be the strongest bridge to lead her students to human knowledge.
Robot team from the land of jagged rocks
With her accumulated knowledge, Ms. Vang Thi Dinh boldly established the school's first robotics team, ready to face any obstacles and challenges.
The first challenge was a lack of knowledge and experience, as she had never led students in a robotics competition before, and the students were even more bewildered. The teacher and students had to learn from the smallest things: assembling, programming, and testing. Sometimes, the robots would run in the wrong direction, and both teacher and students could only look at each other and laugh in confusion. But it was from these failures that they learned lessons in patience and creativity.
The equipment and robots that the teacher and students had were still practically nonexistent. Even with the connection and support to borrow a Vex IQ robot, there was still a shortage of components; if something broke, there were no replacements, and buying new parts meant waiting for days. This forced the teacher and students to make the most of everything they had, working and repairing simultaneously, learning and innovating at the same time.
However, according to Ms. Dinh, the biggest challenge is funding. Each trip to a competition is a huge burden. But Ms. Dinh's passion has received support. The school administration, colleagues, local authorities, and especially the Vietnam STEM Promotion Alliance have joined hands to support and help the teacher and students secure funding to travel to Hanoi to participate in the national Vex IQ Robotics competition.
And then the miracle happened. The "barefoot" team from the rocky plateau stunned the entire arena by winning the Iron Will award. Following this success, they also won third place in the Vex VR National Virtual Robotics Championship and the STEM Team award at the junior high school level from the Youth Pioneer and Children's Newspaper.
"These awards are not only a source of pride for us teachers and students, but also a motivation and proof that even in difficult times, with aspiration, a spirit of self-learning, and support, students in mountainous areas can absolutely step onto the big stage and confidently stand shoulder to shoulder with their peers from all over the world," Ms. Dinh said.
Photo: Provided by the interviewee
Igniting a passion for technology in the rocky plateau.
Not content with just participating in competitions, Ms. Vang Thi Dinh and the members of the STEM & Robotics Club have strived to spread the passion for science and technology in their homeland.
Notably, the school organized an STEm festival right at the school; successfully organized the KCbot Robot Competition in Dong Van district; exchanged and donated robots to other schools; and provided training on KCbot robots and Vex VR virtual robots to 20 junior high schools throughout the former Dong Van district.
A deeply moving and proud moment unfolded at the Lung Cu Flagpole – the northernmost point of Vietnam. The Vex IQ and Vex Go 123 robots, controlled by teachers and students, performed seamlessly. In that instant, modern technology blended seamlessly with sacred national pride.
“I’ve always believed that success isn’t just about winning awards for myself, but more importantly, about spreading my passion and knowledge to more students. Therefore, my students and I didn’t stop at the national level, but continued to bring STEM and robotics to our own Đồng Văn plateau,” teacher Vàng Thị Dính confided.
With her achievements in teaching and inspiring students to explore knowledge in mountainous and border areas, teacher Vang Thi Dinh is one of 80 exemplary individuals honored in the "Sharing with Teachers" program in 2025 in Hanoi, organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training and Thien Long Group.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/co-giao-thap-lua-stem-robot-tren-cao-nguyen-da-post1797240.tpo
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