Remembering the chalk dust on teachers' hair - Final episode: The village school principal

I remember one summer afternoon in 1991, I cycled to Tam Giang School to withdraw my application for university admission. The school was on summer break, only the principal Hoi...

Teacher Nguyen Hoi - a simple teacher - Photo: document

After 37 years of working as a teacher, excellent teacher Nguyen Hoi (former principal of Tam Giang High School and Dang Huy Tru High School, Hue ) summarized his career: "37 years of teaching, including five years as a teacher, one year as a vice principal, 31 years as a principal, I have never complained about my job even though there have been extremely difficult times. Because I always find joy in every word, every smile of my students, every word of my colleagues...".

"I want to be a village school teacher"

In 1983, after graduating from the physics department of Hue University of Education, with his good academic results, student Nguyen Hoi was assigned by the Binh Tri Thien Department of Education to work at one of two schools, Quoc Hoc or Hai Ba Trung, Hue City.

Staying in the city to teach at big schools was the dream of many students at that time, but the student from The Chi Dong village (Dien Hai commune, Huong Dien district, Binh Tri Thien province) Nguyen Hoi chose a different path. He chose to return to his hometown to teach at the high school where he started his dream of becoming a teacher.

"When I was a first grader (now 5th grader), I had a dream of becoming a teacher, a village teacher. So when I graduated, I thought about returning to my old school. I clearly stated my wish to return to my hometown, first of all to teach my younger siblings and students in the area. More deeply, I wanted to use my knowledge to improve the education of the people in the countryside on the other side of Tam Giang lagoon, which at that time was still isolated and very poor" - teacher Hoi recalled.

Mr. Hoi belongs to the first generation of local teachers who were former students of Huong Dien High School No. 3 (later Tam Giang High School). Those were the years of the subsidy period, when teachers' lives were still full of difficulties. The young teacher and his wife temporarily built a small house in the yard of the production team of Dien Hai Agricultural Cooperative to begin their journey of teaching their juniors.

He recalled that the teacher's salary was not enough for the couple to live on, even though in the countryside at that time, expenses were very low. On weekends, he had to take the ferry across Tam Giang to Sia market to buy some goods for his wife to sell, to earn extra income to buy rice.

A part-time job of teachers in Dien Hai commune at that time was to go fishing at night to improve their meals, and if they caught a lot of fish, they could sell them to earn more money. The teacher also lit an oil lamp and went to the fields near Tam Giang lagoon to fish. "But before going to the fields, I had already prepared my lesson for class the next morning. It was very difficult, but I never neglected my lessons or had any intention of quitting my job."

In 1989, Mr. Nguyen Hoi was appointed by the Department of Education and Training of Thua Thien Hue as principal of Huong Dien High School No. 3 when he was only 29 years old and not yet a party member. The person who signed the decision to appoint him was Mr. Le Phuoc Thuy, director of the Department of Education and Training of Thua Thien Hue, who said at the decision-giving ceremony: "The education sector first of all needs people who are passionate about their profession and their homeland. Although not yet a party member, I trust Mr. Nguyen Hoi."

The principal did not disappoint the trust of the head of the provincial education sector. In his first year as principal, he was recognized as an excellent manager, and two years later, he was awarded a certificate of merit by the Provincial People's Committee. In 1996, teacher Nguyen Hoi was admitted to the Party after six years as principal.

"My point of view is not to lie, not to chase after achievements. The quality of teaching and learning should be said to be equal. We must be honest in teaching and learning. If teachers and parents feel secure when looking at the head of the school, then I will be happy!" - Mr. Hoi confided.

You take your documents to Hue tomorrow to submit them on time. I am very happy if my students pass the university entrance exam. Try to study well, okay?

Mr. NGUYEN HOI

Cycling to each teacher's house to campaign

The late 1990s and early 2000s were a difficult period for Tam Giang School when the school lacked 35 teachers. The five communes of Ngu Dien in Phong Dien district at that time were among the most disadvantaged "remote areas" in the province. Mr. Hoi's solution at that time was to ask the Department of Education and Training of Thua Thien Hue to mobilize a number of teachers from schools in the city and some other rural areas to "do duty". But that was only an urgent, temporary solution.

To solve the problem of teacher shortage, Mr. Hoi cycled to each house of teachers who graduated from the Pedagogical University and were working in secondary schools, persuading them to come to Tam Giang School. On the other hand, he proposed to the Department of Education and Training to prioritize arranging for the Pedagogical University graduates who were former Tam Giang students to return to their old school to teach.

Teacher Le Ngoc Lanh, a literature teacher at Tam Giang School, said: "When I first graduated from university, I returned to my hometown without knowing where I would teach. Teacher Hoi rode his bike to my house to encourage me to teach at Tam Giang School. If I agreed, he would go to the Department of Education to take care of all the paperwork."

Mr. Hoi also visited many teachers who were his former students, kindly inviting them to teach at his old school. He wanted to build a Tam Giang School with a team of teachers who were former students of the school so that they would be attached by their love for the school that was in their hearts.

Teacher Nguyen Hoi (white shirt, standing in the middle) with students at the March 26 camping trip - Photo: archive

A simple teacher

For me, one of many students of Mr. Nguyen Hoi, I always thought that he was born to be a principal. Although in that position, he also encountered many difficulties. My class of 1988-1991 was a generation of students with too many personalities. Perhaps in the first years as principal, Mr. Hoi had the hardest time with this class of students. His strict, even harsh, admonitions to some of the students who were slacking off made many of them angry, but thanks to that, they corrected their mistakes.

At that time, the principal was only 30 years old, an age full of energy, love and determination. Now, looking back, the students who were "beaten" by Mr. Hoi all said that it was a painful beating that they would remember forever and helped them grow up. He always told the teachers in the school that disciplining students was for education, not to satisfy the anger of the teachers. Students must be given the opportunity to correct their mistakes.

I remember one summer afternoon in 1991, I cycled to Tam Giang School to withdraw my application for university admission. The school was on summer break, and only Principal Hoi was working. So he took over the job of the clerk and told me: "Take your application and submit it in Hue tomorrow. I'm very happy if our students pass the university entrance exam. Try to study well, okay?"

The image of the principal handing the file to the little student in the afternoon in the school yard with only two people left is deeply imprinted in my mind.

I will always remember the times when he sang enthusiastically during meetings with his former students. He sang loudly and clearly, each word as if he were giving a lecture, not melodious but very emotional. At those times, he smiled very gently, the smile of a teacher with a pure heart, like the verses he wrote: "I teach with deep love for the countryside/ I only hope that after so many years of love/ I can live forever in people's hearts/ A simple teacher".

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Phi Tan

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nho-bui-phan-tren-mai-toc-thay-co-ky-cuoi-thay-hieu-truong-truong-lang-20251125104206895.htm