The shock of a young teacher and his 15-year journey of "growing people" in remote areas

As soon as he arrived at the school, the young teacher from the lowlands was shocked by the deprivation: makeshift public housing, red dirt schoolyard, dangerous roads, and no phone signal.

Born and raised in Hung Yen , the only province in the country without mountains or hills, but as soon as he graduated from Son La Pedagogical College in 2009, with the desire to contribute, Mr. Hoang Van Hai chose the highland border area of Sop Cop (Son La province) - a land with many difficulties - to start his career of "sowing letters, cultivating people".

With a lot of enthusiasm and dedication, Mr. Hoang Van Hai eagerly set off when he received the decision to work at Dom Cang Primary School. But when he first arrived at the school, the young teacher from the lowlands was shocked by the shortages: makeshift public housing, red dirt school yard, dangerous roads, and no phone signal.

100% of the students here are Thai, Mong, and Kho Mu ethnic groups, and they still speak Vietnamese poorly. “I was discouraged and wanted to give up. But the encouragement from my family and the innocent eyes of my students kept me going,” Mr. Hai confided.

The teacher began his journey of "sowing letters" to his students by "sowing letters" to himself, when his students' Vietnamese language ability was limited, creating a barrier to teacher-student communication. Carrying a small notebook, Mr. Hai went to the village to learn Thai ethnic language - the most common language in Dom Cang, carefully recording each word. He went to the fields to work with the villagers to integrate into the cultural environment of his students. The school in the border area had many difficulties and shortages, so teaching materials were often just pebbles in the yard, but every day, Mr. Hai tried to sow each letter to his students.

“Seeing the children go from being shy and timid to being bold, knowing how to read and write, I understand that perseverance has sprouted. 11 years of working with Dom Cang has given me unforgettable experiences: the teaching profession is not only about teaching, but also about sowing hope,” Mr. Hai said emotionally.

Mr. Hai's students learning Vietnamese. (Photo: NVCC)

In 2022, Mr. Hai volunteered to move to Muong Lan Primary Boarding School, teaching at Huoi Pa school - only 2 km from the Lao border, 12 km from the school center. That is 12 km of winding, steep dirt road, muddy and slippery in the rainy season. Mr. Hai cannot remember how many times he fell on that road. There were days when he could not ride a motorbike, he had to walk to school.

The school has about 70 first and second graders, simple classrooms, lack of water in the dry season, bitterly cold wind in the winter, and no phone signal. 100% of the students are Mong ethnic children, almost unable to speak the common language, often skipping school to follow their parents to the fields. "Entering the classroom with 30 innocent faces, not a single child understood Vietnamese, I felt both pity and worry," Mr. Hai said emotionally.

Teacher Hoang Van Hai on his way to school. Despite the hardships, he remains optimistic because at the end of the road are his beloved students waiting for him. (Photo: NVCC)

The teacher started from zero, starting his own journey of “sowing letters” by learning the Mong language from his local colleagues and his students. He went to each student’s house to encourage them to come to class. He climbed up the hill to remind each student to go to school, and carefully taught them how to write the first strokes of a letter. Every day, the students’ sounds of “e” and “a” spelling echoed through the mountains and forests. Gradually, his students went to school more regularly, wrote more complete lines of letters, and spoke Vietnamese more confidently.

Not only teaching students how to read and write, like a father, the teacher teaches them how to take care of themselves, from the smallest things such as personal hygiene, washing hands, washing face, cutting nails... to Vietnamese communication skills. "The students only study at the satellite school until grade 2. From grade 3, they will have to go to the main boarding school, living far away from their families, without relatives around. Therefore, I always try to teach them how to take care of themselves best to prepare for the journey of independence, even though they are very young," Mr. Hai shared.

Not only teaching letters, Mr. Hai also teaches the children how to take care of themselves from the smallest things, such as cutting their nails. (Photo: NVCC)

Despite many hardships and deprivations, Mr. Hai still finds happiness from the joy, the simple happiness of his students. It is the laughter of students when they write a round letter “a”, the excitement of students when they receive a new pen, the laughter of students when they plant flowers and clean up the school yard together.

Three years have passed, Huoi Pa school is now more spacious, the road to school has been paved with concrete, the students are more diligent and the lessons are more bustling. And the teachers are still patiently staying in the village to sow the first foundations of letters for the Mong children with faith and hope for a brighter future for them.

“Each teacher is like a swallow, contributing to bring spring – a better future for students. For a teacher in the highlands like me, spring is the daily progress of students. Even though they are just small changes, they are the motivation for us to continue to stay in school and class,” Mr. Hai said emotionally./.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/cu-soc-cua-thay-giao-tre-va-hanh-trinh-15-nam-cam-ban-trong-nguoi-5065539.html