Knowledge fulcrum in difficult lands - Part 2: Giving wings to dreams for Van Kieu students

TP - In the middle of the majestic Truong Son mountain range, in the remote border area of ​​Quang Tri province, there is a small school named Lam Thuy Boarding Primary and Secondary School. For over 16 years, in that place, teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh (born in 1985) has quietly written a beautiful story about the aspiration to "sow letters" for the children of the Bru - Van Kieu ethnic group.

With her love for her job and perseverance, teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh has turned children who were once afraid of studying into students full of dreams and a desire to pursue knowledge to escape poverty and change their village.

Take the plunge

In 2009, when she graduated from Quang Binh University, teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh brought with her a simple but strong ideal: bringing knowledge to children in remote areas. Born into a poor farming family in Quang Tri, Thanh witnessed the disadvantages of rural children due to lack of learning conditions since childhood, and that instilled in her the desire to stand on the podium. Therefore, as soon as she graduated from university, Thanh applied to volunteer at Lam Thuy Boarding Primary and Secondary School (now in Kim Ngan commune, Quang Tri province), a school located deep in the Truong Son mountain range, where 98% of the students are Bru - Van Kieu people.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Thanh and Bru - Van Kieu students review for the excellent student exam

The trip to submit the application became a memory she could never forget. Starting at 7:30 am from Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh province (old) and not arriving until 1:30 pm. The distance of nearly 120 km, including 50 km of forest road, overwhelmed her. The villages were far away, the mountains and forests were misty, the school facilities were so simple it was hard to believe.

Thanh was accepted to the school. At first, she wanted to give up many times, even preparing a resignation letter because she felt so lonely and uncertain. But then it was the tanned faces, clear eyes and innocent smiles of Bru - Van Kieu students that kept her. Thanh saw in them the simplicity, purity and "something" that made her unable to leave. She realized that her responsibility was not only to teach, but also to accompany and pave the way for them to reach bigger dreams.

Ms. Thanh went to the village to encourage students to go to school.

That decision to stay became a turning point, the beginning of a long journey of being attached to the land of Lam Thuy. Her youth, love and small family happiness from then on were linked to this school, with many hardships but also much happiness.

“The children here all come from poor families, have limited knowledge, and go to school in a “learning for the teacher” style. Many of them do not have enough books or clothes. There is a girl who has reached puberty but is still so naive that she thought she had a “nosebleed down there”. I had to wholeheartedly guide, explain, and instruct her,” Ms. Thanh said. From those funny and pitiful stories, Thanh understood that the teaching profession in the mountains is not only about teaching but also about being a mother, a friend, and a spiritual support for students.

When students were reluctant to go to school because they had no clothes or books, she quietly used her salary to buy them. When students skipped school, she went to their homes to persuade them. When the school lacked teachers, she was willing to stay with the students, teaching, caring, cooking, and comforting them. Those small but persistent tasks became the link between her and the great forest, turning the remote mountainous area into her second home.

Changing perceptions about the work of nurturing excellent students

In the first years of working at Lam Thuy Boarding Primary and Secondary School, Thanh was not assigned to teach in her field of expertise. She was responsible for school equipment, did education dissemination work, and then asked to teach review classes in the afternoon to supplement students' knowledge. Despite the heavy workload and difficult circumstances, she always worked with a sense of responsibility and passion for her profession. That dedication made the pedagogical council recognize her, parents trust her, and students love her.

By the end of 2013, the school asked her superiors to consider transferring her to the teaching position. From then on, teacher Thanh began her journey with Bru - Van Kieu ethnic students to conquer the alphabet. Ms. Thanh said that most of the students were slow to absorb knowledge, and the teacher had to repeat a lesson 5-7 times. To consolidate knowledge, every evening she tutored students in the boarding school completely free of charge. Small night classes, lit up in the middle of the forest, have become a familiar image for many years.

In the 2017-2018 school year, Ms. Thanh began to take on the task of training a team of excellent students in Biology. At first, the work was challenging. Parents were not very interested, and the students were not motivated. She had to go to each house to "take, coax, and flatter" the students to class. There were evenings when she came to the house, but the students refused to go. To "entice" the students, she used her own salary to buy candy and milk for the students to eat comfortably during each class. Thanks to that perseverance, the students gradually changed.

From being afraid of studying, the children learned to dream, to try hard, and to thirst for knowledge. Children who were previously shy and lazy to study, began to proactively ask her to join the team. Some children were determined to study really well so that they could return to become teachers, doctors, or construction engineers in their villages. "I believe you can do it", that was the sentence that Ms. Thanh repeated many times to instill in each child the belief in themselves and the effort to improve.

In the first year, the school's excellent student team ranked 18th out of 29 in the district - a modest position but an important milestone for a mountainous school. From that milestone, teachers and students together made continuous efforts and brought about unprecedented impressive achievements at Lam Thuy Boarding Primary and Secondary School.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's excellent student team surpassed more than 28 schools in the entire region to rise to first place. "That achievement has created a big echo, contributing to changing people's perception of the work of nurturing excellent students in highland schools with ethnic minority students, gradually eliminating the gap between schools in disadvantaged areas and schools in favorable areas," said Ms. Thanh.

The greatest joy is the growth of students

During 16 years of working at the remote school, Ms. Thanh has become a pioneer in paving the way for Bru - Van Kieu students: the first person to guide them to enter the district-level Science and Technology competition; the first person to participate in designing "Integrated lesson plans" and to inspire students to apply interdisciplinary knowledge to solve practical problems. She has been recognized by the school's Pedagogical Council as the best homeroom teacher for ethnic minority students at the secondary school level.

Behind those memorable milestones, Ms. Thanh still maintains a simple, humble mindset, admitting that she is "not good at talking, just quietly working and contributing". For her, the greatest happiness is not the certificates of merit, but the maturity of the students; the bundles of wild vegetables and small cassava tubers that parents and students bring; the loving eyes of the children in the great forest. Now many of her students have become university and college students across the country. "They still keep in touch, still text me to ask how I am, and thank me regularly. That is the most precious gift of the teaching profession", Ms. Thanh said emotionally.

Currently, Ms. Thanh's house is about 70 km from Lam Thuy Boarding Primary and Secondary School. Her husband works far away, so for many years she and her child have been staying at the school dormitory to facilitate teaching. She only comes home occasionally on weekends. She just gave birth to her second child 8 months ago and had to ask her grandmother to come and live with her to take care of her.

Despite her own disadvantages, teacher Thanh still overcame all, because of the deep affection that generations of students had for her. She not only lit up their dreams of knowledge, but also planted in the hearts of generations of Bru - Van Kieu ethnic students a strong belief that they could absolutely reach out to the ocean to assert themselves.

For 7 consecutive years (2018-2025), Bru - Van Kieu ethnic students trained by Ms. Thanh won 7 district-level excellent student team awards and many other individual awards. Among them, Bru - Van Kieu students surprised everyone by winning second prize in Biology, surpassing even schools in the lowlands with better conditions.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/diem-tua-tri-thuc-vung-dat-kho-bai-2-chap-canh-uoc-mo-cho-hoc-sinh-van-kieu-post1797397.tpo