Writing Contest "Beloved Teacher": Fragile candle, brilliant flame

The math lesson of class 4C at Tran Phu Primary School (Luc Yen district, Yen Bai province) begins with specific, vivid examples. Besides, attractive illustration slides make the atmosphere very exciting.

Effort in adversity

On the podium, teacher Nguyen Thi Viet Nhung (born in 1975) smiled gently. Few people know that in her 27 years of working with students in the highlands, this Tay ethnic teacher has experienced adversity, but she has strongly returned to her career of educating people with passionate love.

The difficulty of walking could not limit her movement. She went to each student's desk, stopping to give detailed instructions and kindly answer questions. For every subject, she designed unique and engaging lectures, helping students acquire knowledge easily and proactively.

Teacher Viet Nhung in a class. (Photo provided by the character)

Student Nguyen Hai Phong shared: "Ms. Nhung makes the class feel excited, asking interesting questions for us to explore. If the answer is not correct, she gently explains and encourages us, but never gets angry."

Ms. Nhung said that when she returned to school after the amputation surgery, everyone looked at her curiously and with pity. "At that time, I told myself to try twice, three times harder so that no one would worry or look at me with pity anymore," Ms. Nhung shared.

Viet Nhung is the eldest of four children. She studied in the 9+3 program at the Luc Yen District Continuing Education Training School. In 1995, Viet Nhung received her teaching degree and was eager to become a teacher when she was accepted to Tan Linh Secondary School. In 1997, she was transferred to Yen The Primary School No. 1 (now Tran Phu Primary School).

Disaster struck the young teacher while she was studying in a standard improvement class. In 2000, Nhung discovered that she had a ganglion cyst in her leg socket. Pain tore through her small body every night. During the April 30 and May 1 holidays, she returned home to visit her daughter. Seeing that her left leg had shrunk, her parents decided to suspend her studies and take her for treatment.

Ms. Nhung and her students take care of the cabbage garden at school.

A ray of hope flashed when doctors used Nhung's own bone to graft bone to save her left leg. But when the day came to remove the iron brace, her body refused to accept the grafted bone. Despite the doctors' best efforts, Nhung still received shocking news: her left leg had to be amputated. Nhung collapsed, her future darkened, she fell into a deadlock and despair.

In addition to the mental pain, she struggled with severe physical pain. "When operating and drilling the damaged bone, I had to use a bandage to stop the bleeding, which made me ache to the bone every time I changed the bandage," Nhung recalled.

After months of treatment at K Hospital ( Hanoi ), Nhung was emaciated, her skin pale from lack of sunlight, causing her whole family to worry. She confided: "My mother was shocked when she heard that I had to have one leg amputated, so her health declined. My father was old and had to stay at the hospital; my younger sister was both studying at university and spending time taking care of me. In the hospital, I saw many people in miserable situations, some had lost their hands, lost their eyes, some had no relatives by their side when they died. I felt lucky to have my family and colleagues by my side, that made me get up and cherish life, cherish love."

Useful "initiative" tree

Returning to work after 2 years of fighting the disease, Nhung had to wear a prosthetic leg. Due to health reasons, she was assigned to work in the library by the school. After a while, her desire to teach urged her to propose her wish to the school board. Just when a teacher transferred to another school, Ms. Nhung took advantage of the "golden opportunity" to return to the podium. When Nhung tried teaching, the school board was quite worried about her health, afraid that she could not stand for long, could not walk to the back of the class to create uniformity in the class, but she tried her best in every step and was evaluated by the school board as a good lesson, qualified to teach.

In the 2004-2005 school year, Ms. Nhung participated in the District-level Excellent Teacher Competition and won a "double" award: "Most effective illustrative lesson" and "Quality portfolio". Constantly creative, Ms. Nhung was trusted by the school to train excellent students and become the head of the professional group, helping new teachers.

Nhung is considered a "tree of initiatives". She has a series of initiatives such as: "Practicing reading for 4th graders in the direction of developing capacity", "Some measures to improve descriptive writing capacity for 4th graders", "Some measures to teach math with words for 5th graders in 2011" applied in the primary education program of Yen Bai province.

Viet Nhung has been attached to her prosthetic leg in her life and work for nearly 20 years. Every year, Nhung still has to go to the orthopedic facility to maintain and replace her prosthetic leg when needed. She takes care of it and considers it a part of her flesh and blood.

Respecting Ms. Nhung's determination, the school's board of directors and colleagues throughout the terms always encouraged and created conditions for her to work well. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh, Principal of Tran Phu Primary School, said: "Since entering the profession, teaching with traditional methods, Ms. Nhung has been creative to have good teaching hours. And now, when the school is equipped with many modern teaching equipment and implementing digital transformation, Ms. Nhung has taken the lead in the movement to innovate teaching methods, constantly improving the quality of lectures and sharing experiences with colleagues". Mr. Tran Quy Duong, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Luc Yen district, assessed Viet Nhung as an example of overcoming difficulties, being passionate and creative, standing out in the local education sector. She has been awarded: The title of Excellent Teacher by the President in 2017; a certificate of merit by the Prime Minister in 2019; She is also a provincial delegate to attend the 10th National Patriotic Emulation Congress in 2020.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/giao-duc-khoa-hoc/ngon-nen-mong-manh-anh-lua-ruc-ro-20230624195531239.htm