Hard work like an old kindergarten teacher

The boy named Th. still shook his head and refused to eat, grabbing the teacher's hand and crying loudly. As if a "switch had been turned on", the children sitting at the two tables next to her also cried loudly. Ms. Ngoc sang "grasshopper" again, coaxing and feeding this child while another child climbed out of his chair and ran around, this child pulling her hair, that child pulling her shirt.

Only by observing a working day can one appreciate the hardships of older preschool teachers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc holds and comforts the baby

"THE FIRST MONTH, I WANTED MY KNEES TO FALL OFF"

Ms. Nguyen Thi My Ngoc, 51 years old, has 30 years of experience as a preschool teacher, and is currently a teacher of the powdered milk class (children 6-12 months) at Phu My Kindergarten, Phu My Ward, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. Ms. Ngoc said that she has taught all ages in preschool, from nursery to kindergarten. "But the hardest part is still taking care of children from 6-12 months old," she said.

The milk powder class has 15 children, with 3 teachers. The teachers said that children under 6 months old are in the arms of their mothers, families, surrounded by relatives, in a strange environment, the children cry a lot. Some children cry for 1 month, 2 months, cry all day long, the teachers take turns holding and cuddling them so that the children can feel the trust and warmth of the teacher. "When I first took on the task of working in the milk powder class for 2 weeks, I wanted to quit because it was too hard. Children cry and have to be held all day, and my right thumb is stiff, now I still can't hold a pen, so holding the children is even more difficult. My legs hurt, sometimes I have to ask the principal for a break in the morning to go to the doctor to get medicine," Ms. Ngoc said.

The 51-year-old kindergarten teacher recounted that at the beginning of the school year, there was a child who slept in a hammock at home, but refused to sleep in a bed (each child had a small folding bed) or a crib in class. Every noon, the teachers took turns holding the child in their arms, shaking and rocking the child until the child fell asleep. When they put the child down on the bed, the child cried. "Holding the child all the time hurt my arms so much, I sat against the wall, put the child on my lap and shook my thighs like this until the child fell asleep. It was like that all afternoon, eyes half-closed, legs shaking, for 2 months, I was in so much pain that my knees felt like they were going to fall off."

T VOMITED FROM HER HEAD

At 11am, the children have finished eating and are running around the classroom playing. The three teachers of the milk powder class at Phu My Kindergarten, District 7, each take turns cleaning tables and chairs, mopping the floor. One teacher prepares the children's bath, another teacher takes care of dressing them, and arranges a place for them to nap. The children must sleep well, and no child is still grunting or vomiting, then the teachers can sit down to rest and eat lunch. After eating, the teachers do not have to take a deep nap.

Submit to the Government to increase allowances for preschool and primary school teachers

At the 5th meeting of the Culture and Education Committee on the afternoon of May 27, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son informed that the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Home Affairs have agreed and submitted to the Government to increase preferential allowances for preschool and primary school teachers with two different increase levels.

Mr. Son informed: "At the last National Assembly session, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed to increase the preferential allowance for teachers. Immediately after the National Assembly session, the Government directed ministries and branches. The Ministry of Education and Training also worked with the Ministry of Home Affairs many times and the two ministries agreed and submitted to the Government to increase the preferential allowance for preschool and primary school teachers. Specifically, the preferential allowance for preschool teachers will increase by 10% and for primary school teachers by 5%."

"On May 12, I sent an official document to the Ministry of Finance and hope that this matter will be resolved soon. I hope that National Assembly delegates will also support it on the National Assembly forum to increase preferential allowances for teachers, ensuring the number of employees," said Mr. Son.

Tue Nguyen

Ms. Duong Thi Thu Nga, 54 years old, with 35 years of experience working in preschool education, said: "When children sleep, that is when we need to pay the most attention to their safety, to prevent the risk of choking, vomiting, difficulty breathing... We take turns watching the children's nap time, only daring to lie down a little to run over when we hear them crying."

"Children 6-12 months old who just started school often cry, whine, and demand to be held. When one child cries, the other cries too, which is very difficult to coax. Not to mention when the children are tired or coughing, the teachers have to pay more attention to them. Children poop while eating. When children first start school, sometimes they poop 4-5 times a day. Teachers are feeding one child but have to stop to change diapers and bathe another. After a while, they feel dizzy. Everyone who goes to work has several sets of clothes, because it is normal for children to vomit from above the teacher. While feeding a child, the child spits all the porridge and milk on the teacher. Or when I am cleaning up for one child, I can put on a shirt and then another child cries and vomits all over me again," said a teacher at Phu My Kindergarten.

Ms. Duong Thi Thu Nga holds the baby in one arm and feeds porridge to the other children with the other hand.

Some days I come home from work and lie down because I'm tired.

Ms. Luu Thuy Anh, 47 years old, teacher of class 3B (3-4 years old), Tuoi Tho 7 Kindergarten, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, is called "ma Anh" by the children; but many children also greet her "hi grandma" which makes her feel a little sad.

Both a grandmother and a teacher

At Phu My Kindergarten, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, teacher Lam Hong Mai, 53 years old, is a teacher of the soft rice class (children 13-24 months) and has been a grandmother for several years now. Her grandchild is also in kindergarten, so every morning the two of them go to school together, the grandchild goes to class, the grandmother also goes to class to teach.

The 53-year-old teacher said that some children have to be carried on her shoulders to sleep. Some children only sleep when they are lying on her body. Some children have to be coaxed and carried around the room to finish a bowl of rice. The difficulty for an old preschool teacher like Ms. Mai is the flexibility to be able to carry children and take care of them continuously from morning to afternoon. Next, she has to run, jump, dance, sing, tell stories, and be flexible when applying modern information technology to be able to teach children many new skills...

"After turning 50, I also feel like I'm not as sharp as when I was younger. It's hard to run fast, be flexible, dance well, sing well, or tell stories as well as those who have just graduated. My voice is sometimes hoarse," Ms. Mai confided.

In recent years, Ms. Mai often suffered from leg pain and joint fatigue. Her job required her to stand and move constantly, making her legs more painful every night when she got home.

Ms. Thuy Anh has many underlying diseases, plus osteoarthritis and varicose veins, and has to take medicine every day. She loves children, loves her job as a preschool teacher, and is enthusiastic about her work. She does not hesitate to take on any job. Every day when she goes to class, no matter how tired she is, the children rush to her asking for "Mom Anh, please hold me", "Mom Anh, please hug me", the teacher feels more motivated.

There were children she had to comfort and carry on her shoulder to stop them from crying. With her age and pain in her limbs, Ms. Thuy Anh could not carry her children as easily as before, so she thought of a way to let the baby sit on a table or a slightly higher platform and stand there to hold and comfort her child. There were days when Ms. Thuy Anh would lie down in the middle of the house because she was so tired that she could not do anything.

"Many preschool teachers who are nearly 50 years old or over 50 years old are no longer as flexible as young teachers. Teachers have to keep an eye on children from one angle, but they also have to observe many other angles to ensure their safety. For example, when taking children out to water the plants in the garden, if the child runs fast, I have to follow quickly. Sometimes when I see a child about to fall, I have to rush to catch him. But older teachers have aching limbs, and their flexibility is not as good as that of young, healthy teachers," Ms. Thuy Anh confided. (to be continued)

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