The kind mother of the students in the highlands.

QTO - Upon taking up her teaching position at a remote border school in Lia commune, difficulties and shortages were inevitable. However, with her love for the profession and silent sacrifices for the students of the ethnic minority community, teacher Tran Thi Diem Ha of A Xing Primary and Secondary School has overcome all obstacles to stay at the school and in the village. For the children here, she is both a silent guide and a second mother, helping them confidently go to school every day.

"Sowing the seeds of literacy" in border areas.

In 2019, teacher Tran Thi Diem Ha was assigned to work at A Xing Primary and Secondary School, a school located in a remote border commune. The first few days presented many challenges for the young teacher. The biggest difficulties at that time were the lack of adequate living conditions, the language barrier, and the differences in lifestyle among the ethnic minority people.

“What I remember most are the prolonged rainy seasons and floods, when the roads to the villages were cut off due to many bridges and culverts being submerged, making it impossible for me to return home. Daily life became very difficult because we couldn't buy food and water. Not to mention, seeing the students going to class barefoot in the freezing weather made me cry with compassion. From that empathy, every time I managed to save a little money to buy sandals for the students, I felt warm inside knowing I had shared a small part of their difficulties,” Ms. Ha confided.

During recess, teacher Tran Thi Diem Ha frequently chats with and guides students in reviewing their lessons - Photo: KS

The greatest motivation that keeps teacher Ha staying at the school and in the remote village is the sincerity of her students and the local people. On Vietnamese Teachers' Day (November 20th), the gifts from her students in the highlands are not fresh flowers or expensive items, but chickens, bundles of wild vegetables, sticky rice, honey, sugarcane... all produced by their families.

Some parents even walked several kilometers through the forest just to bring the teacher some freshly harvested sticky rice. It was this genuine kindness and affection that helped her realize that teaching in the highlands is not simply about teaching literacy, but also about instilling hope for a bright future in her students.

To help students love learning and attend classes diligently, Ms. Ha always reminds herself to continuously learn, improve her professional skills, and actively participate in competitions to become more mature. In her experience, teachers in mountainous areas must truly love their students, be willing to make silent sacrifices, accompany them, and become someone their students completely trust.

Supporting students in border regions.

In her teaching, Ms. Ha always proactively adjusts the content and delivery of lessons to be more relatable. Instead of unfamiliar examples, she uses images from fields, streams, etc., to make it easier for elementary school students to understand. She is willing to stay after school to tutor weaker students and organize games during recess to build a friendly classroom environment. At the same time, she connects with philanthropists to support school supplies and travels through streams to remote villages to encourage students who have dropped out to return to class.

Her most memorable experience was persuading a student who had dropped out of school to work in the fields to return. Upon his return, the student gave her a small bag of guavas and promised to attend school regularly, demonstrating the true meaning of her efforts. Thanks to her dedication, the class consistently maintains a high attendance rate.

Ho Thi Py Say Thuy, a student in class 2A at A Xing Primary and Secondary School, shared: “Ms. Ha is very loving and approachable. When we don't understand a lesson, she explains it to us many times. Thanks to her visiting our homes to encourage us, the students attend school more regularly, and we love her very much.”

Mr. Dinh Van Doan, Deputy Principal of A Xing Primary and Secondary School, said: “Ms. Diem Ha has solid professional skills and a high sense of responsibility. Despite the limited resources in this border area, she always proactively innovates teaching methods to suit the students. Not only is she an excellent teacher, but she is also a dedicated homeroom teacher, closely involved with parents to maintain student enrollment. The accolades she has received are entirely deserved, and she is a role model who spreads positive energy throughout the school.”

From 2019 to the present, Ms. Ha's efforts have been recognized with many achievements, such as: achieving the title of excellent teacher at the district level in 2022; excellent homeroom teacher at the district and provincial levels in the 2023-2024 school year; having a provincial-level innovative teaching experience and achieving the title of Provincial-level Emulation Soldier in 2024.

"My greatest wish right now is for the students at the school to study in better conditions, with fully equipped functional rooms and smart classrooms. I hope the school will always be a warm second home so that every day at school is a joyful day for the students in this mountainous region," Ms. Ha shared.

Ko Kan Suong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/giao-duc/202606/nguoi-me-hien-cua-hoc-tro-vung-cao-3ba696f/