Farm School
At Tra Nam Ethnic Boarding School, Primary and Secondary School (Nam Tra My), the nearly 300m2 medicinal herb garden is taken care of by teachers and students in turns. There are many precious medicinal herbs such as ginseng, ginseng, angelica and many typical local agricultural products.
Dinh Quang Boi (class 3/1) said that since having this medicinal herb garden, during recess, students have had a new playground to experience, explore and practice planting and caring for medicinal plants.
“The school’s medicinal herb garden is very lush, with a familiar scent to us. My parents at home grow Ngoc Linh ginseng and Nam ginseng, and I often follow my parents to the garden to see how they grow them. Now that there are more classes at school, I really enjoy it,” Boi said.
According to teacher Vo Dang Chin - Principal of Tra Nam Primary and Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, from the beginning of the school year, the school has oriented to build a small-scale farm school, growing some special medicinal plants, easy to grow and adaptable to the climate and soil conditions of Tra Nam.
“This model will create a passion for discovery in students and educate them about how to care for and produce products from medicinal herbs. The school also reminds students of the role of indigenous medicinal herbs in competitions such as startup ideas, STEM, and guides them to focus on green agriculture ,” said Mr. Chin.
According to Mr. Vo Dang Chin, most of the families of the students grow Ngoc Linh ginseng and medicinal herbs. Thanks to these precious herbs, their economic life has been significantly improved. Therefore, the farm in the school yard helps the students recognize the benefits of medicinal herbs, thereby orienting their future life and work.
Inspire passion
Tra Tap Commune (Nam Tra My) is preserving and protecting a large area of forest. Under the canopy of the primeval forest, thousands of species of flora and fauna are growing and developing. Among them are rare medicinal herbs such as Ngoc Linh ginseng, wild bitter melon, Gynostemma pentaphyllum... discovered and preserved by the Ca Dong people until today.
Due to the characteristics of a poor commune, the people's educational level is not high compared to some localities, the economy is still backward, and the infrastructure has not been invested in and developed synchronously, so Tra Tap commune has not been able to fully exploit the potential value that medicinal plants bring.
In order to help local students have a new perspective on the value of indigenous medicinal herbs, in recent years, Tra Tap Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities has included in its curriculum knowledge related to how to make simple products from agricultural products and medicinal herbs.
Teacher Nguyen Ngoc Son - Principal of Tra Tap Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities - Secondary School said that through integrated STEM lessons, the school includes basic knowledge about medicinal properties, applications, crude extraction methods, preservation and product design from local materials.
“Those lessons, which seem boring, are enthusiastically received by students because they not only learn from books but also have practical experiences: from drying, cooking, mixing, packaging... to create products such as herbal shampoo or natural essential oils. It is worth mentioning that through these experiences, in addition to being exposed to scientific knowledge, students in the highlands can also visualize the economic potential of their homeland's medicinal herbs,” said Mr. Son.
At the STEM competition recently organized by the Department of Education and Training of Nam Tra My district, Tra Tap Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities - Secondary School participated in two products: "medicinal shampoo" and "natural essential oil" and won both prizes. Teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Uyen (the teacher who guided the students) said that this was the result of the efforts of both her and her students.
“In the process of guiding the production of products, in addition to imparting knowledge, we also try to inspire and instill a passion for creativity and self-challenge in the students. At first, they were a bit confused, but later on they became more confident and showed their abilities and passion for medicinal herbs seriously,” Ms. Uyen shared.
Although the products are small and simple, they are the result of the passion for research and development of both teachers and students. Above all, they have proven the effectiveness of Tra Tap Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities in bringing STEM into teaching. These products are also the first step for students to practice production and business thinking, a vivid way of educating to instill in them the concepts of "added value" and "OCOP products".
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nganh-giao-duc-nam-tra-my-dua-tri-thuc-duoc-lieu-ban-dia-vao-truong-hoc-3155980.html
Comment (0)