"Sowing letters" in the middle of the ocean

There, the teachers' passionate lectures not only impart knowledge, but also tell stories about the strong will, silent sacrifice and deep love for the Fatherland of those who "sow letters" on remote islands.

After more than 35 years of teaching at Cam Phuoc Tay 1 Primary School (Cam Lam District, Khanh Hoa Province), Mr. Le Xuan Hanh still decided to go to Truong Sa, dedicating his years before retirement to the students here.

Mr. Hanh’s class is also very special, with 6 students from grades 1 to 5 studying together. In each lesson, he often uses chalk to divide the board into many parts, then “rotates” to teach each group of different levels.

“It is really hard, but just seeing the children's eager eyes, hearing them read their lessons clearly, or showing off their good scores, all my fatigue seems to disappear” - Mr. Hanh smiled gently.

Teacher Luu Quoc Thinh kindly teaches his students.

In the yard next door, another classroom was also bustling with singing and laughter. It was the kindergarten class of young teacher Cao Van Truyen (J'rai ethnic group). Originally a teacher at Son Hiep Primary School (Khanh Son district, Khanh Hoa province), when he volunteered to go to the island, Mr. Truyen took on the responsibility of teaching the "young citizens" of the island.

Teacher Truyen excitedly said: “With no experience in teaching preschool children, I was quite bewildered at first. I read books on my own, then called the mainland to learn from the experiences of preschool teachers. To overcome the difficulty in teaching materials, I collected sea shells, washed them, painted them with the children, and made them into animals and flowers; used plastic bottles to cut and paste into toys; and turned fallen square Indian almonds into teaching aids for children to practice counting and arranging shapes... The lessons gradually became creative playtimes.”

Not only Mr. Hanh or Mr. Truyen, on islands such as Da Tay, Sinh Ton, Nam Yet… there are also teachers who are quietly “sowing knowledge” day and night in difficult times. Lack of documents, new information and no Internet are common difficulties of schools in Truong Sa.

“We have to be creative in every lesson, taking advantage of every possible means. Although I am not a specialized teacher, I still study by myself to be able to teach all subjects: IT, English, Music, Fine Arts and soft skills to students. Without Internet, I use my personal TV, connected to a USB containing videos and vivid lesson images downloaded from the mainland or sent by colleagues,” said Mr. Luu Quoc Thinh, a teacher at Da Tay A Primary School.

Mr. Cao Van Truyen teaches preschool children to dance and sing.

Early morning on Truong Sa island is also very special, when the sun has not yet risen, the concrete yard in front of the sovereignty marker already resounds with the martial arts training calls of soldiers. Among the green army uniforms are 3-4 boys enthusiastically swinging their arms and kicking their legs to practice with the soldiers.

When asked about his dream, a boy with clear, innocent eyes replied: “We want to train our health so that when we grow up, we can continue to protect the sea and islands of our Fatherland.” That answer deeply touched our hearts. On Da Tay A Island, the children all exuded a healthy and very polite appearance. When meeting adults, they all folded their hands to greet them and said yes and no very obediently.

Talking to Nguyen Thanh Phong, a 5th grader at Da Tay A Primary School, he said: “There are few friends in my class, but we are as close as brothers in a family. We remember each other’s hobbies and birthdays. After school, we often go to the playground, where the soldiers teach us folk games and how to grow vegetables.”

The children in Truong Sa may not fully understand the sacredness of the two words "sovereignty", but their innocence, purity and the sounds of them studying every day are proof of the strong vitality of this outpost island.

Le Thanh

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/giao-duc/202505/geo-chu-giua-trung-khoi-ba3215e/