Silent teacher sows the seeds of the future on the Ia Dal border

Teacher Quach Van Vuong, with more than 22 years of dedication, has contributed to changing the lives of students in the Ia Dal border area.

Teacher Vuong regularly tests his students' knowledge.

“The more difficult it is, the more you try, the more you don't give up” was the first thing teacher Quach Van Vuong, Party Cell Secretary and Principal of Hung Vuong Primary and Secondary School, Quang Ngai province, said to us when we met him in the deep forest of the Central Highlands , in the remote border area of ​​Ia Dal commune, the land bordering Cambodia.

Hundreds of hardships in high mountains and deep forests

Ia Dal Commune Party Secretary A Khien introduced us to teacher Quach Van Vuong. So we all eagerly marched to the border. Having made an appointment, teacher Vuong came to the school gate to welcome us. His quick, generous, and friendly demeanor towards first-time visitors dispelled the fatigue of the long journey. At first glance, the teacher born in 1978 was quite tall, strong, with a mature demeanor, open and confiding, his eyes exuding determination and determination.

Amidst the deep blue of the border, Mr. Vuong pondered, recalling the time he was present in the border area: "It's been over 22 years, brother." Recalling the difficult early days in 2003, crossing streams and forests all day to reach the border commune of Mo Rai. After staying in the village for 12 years, in 2015, Mr. Vuong volunteered to move to the new district of Ia H'Drai, Kon Tum province (old). As a young man, he worked hard and devoted himself to bringing "literacy" to the children of ethnic minorities. Mr. Vuong could not hide his sadness because it contained many memories and hardships... But for him, "difficulties keep him here, hardships do not give up".

Muong ethnic boy Quach Van Vuong was born and raised in Dai Dong commune, Phu Tho province, but has a special connection with the mountains and forests of the Central Highlands. From the early days of venturing into the highlands, with his dedication and passion for the profession, he has contributed a lot to the cause of "cultivating people" in the highlands of Sa Thay district, Ia H'Drai district, Kon Tum province (old) - a strip of land located along the Vietnam-Cambodia border.

After more than 22 years of “staying in the village” in the sunny and windy highlands, looking at the teacher’s eyes, smile and friendliness, few people would have thought that the journey of “sowing letters” would contain so many difficult and arduous memories. “When I entered the profession, I was very happy because I had fulfilled my dream of becoming a teacher. However, teaching in the mountains is not an easy task for anyone, not just a new teacher like us,” Mr. Vuong confided.

As an English teacher, right from the first days of teaching, Mr. Vuong has constantly trained, researched, and learned from colleagues and reference materials to improve his knowledge, skills, and teaching quality. With the enthusiastic heart of youth and passion for the profession, since he was a teacher at Sa Nhon Secondary School, Nguyen Hue Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities (Mo Rai Commune), Tran Quoc Tuan Secondary School, Nguyen Tat Thanh Secondary School (Ia Toi Commune) and now Hung Vuong Secondary School, Mr. Quach Van Vuong has always firmly held the title of an excellent teacher for many years, always completing his tasks excellently, and being recognized and rewarded by all levels.

Teacher Vuong (middle) went to people's houses to encourage their children to go to class.

Recalling the early years of staying in the villages and schools in Sa Nhon and Mo Rai communes, in those days, to get to class, teachers had to cross muddy roads, traffic was cut off. When it rained, the roads became slippery and muddy. It took hours of pushing carts and walking to get to school. In addition, teachers had to carry food and water to stay in remote villages, making travel even more difficult.

The biggest challenge in the early years was not only the lack of facilities, but also the language barrier. The class was full of Gia Rai ethnic children who could not understand or hear Kinh language well. “I taught in Kinh language, but the students did not understand, and vice versa, when the students spoke, I did not understand. Sometimes I felt helpless,” Mr. Vuong recalled.

But instead of being discouraged, he started learning Gia Rai. Taking advantage of every free hour, he practiced speaking the most basic words to be able to communicate with the students. Thanks to that, after many efforts, the teacher and students gradually found a "common language". During the lessons, he often organized games and practiced simple songs in English for the students, or played games where students said a Gia Rai word and the teacher translated it into English, or let the students pretend to be foreigners to help them feel less stressed and more inspired with this subject.

Every evening, Mr. Vuong and some teachers met and talked with village elders and influential people to promote and encourage their children to go to school. Some people listened, but there were also many who did not support. In those days, students would drop out after a few months of school. Secondary school students stayed home to work on the fields, while primary school and kindergarten students had no one to take care of them, so they followed their parents to work, sometimes only returning home for half a month. Mr. Vuong confided: "Seeing the children struggling to make a living, not having enough food to eat, and many of them in tattered clothes, there were times when teachers could not hold back their tears."

With the determination not to give up, after each school hour, in the afternoon, in the deep forest, the teachers wandered to each house, if not once, then two or three times. “The children are still at the age of playing, going to class for the first time, the next day they refused to go anymore, we had to follow them to their houses to encourage them to go to school. There are also children who often skip school to follow their parents to the fields, teachers also had to wade through streams, cross forests to pick them up to go to school. There are also times when we feel weak, want to give up but why can't we bear to leave these small villages, where there is a school on the edge of the forest, where there are poor students thirsty for knowledge, where there are honest, simple, poor people, where there are countless difficulties when sowing each word but full of human love”, Mr. Vuong confided.

Teacher Vuong (second from right) talks with teachers.

Day after day, week after week, year after year, teacher Quach Van Vuong did not pay attention to how long his journey was. He only knew that every road in this highland area had worn away his footprints. With responsibility and love for his students, he passionately, patiently, tolerantly... turned to the children who were still "hungry for knowledge" in the highlands.

According to Mr. Vuong, the greatest joy and happiness of teachers in the highlands is to see the growth of their beloved students. With their love for children, teachers have instilled in their students the most loving feelings.

In response to that love, the generation of students over the years has always been obedient, studied well, and been more conscious in their studies. It is because of that caring and attentive teaching that the students are all obedient, polite, especially those who love reading and have the will to strive to become good children and good students.

Among them is A Vet, a Gia Rai ethnic who was taught by Mr. Vuong from his first steps, and is now an officer at Ho Le Border Guard Station. A Vet confided: "Mr. Vuong instilled confidence and inspired me to confidently step into life. Ro Cham Nguyen, currently a police officer at Ia Dal commune, shares the same sentiment: Without Mr. Vuong, I would not be where I am today."

It can be seen that, in any position, with exemplary and pioneering actions in all work, combined with a simple and humble lifestyle, he has created love and attachment from comrades, colleagues and students in the mountainous areas throughout the long period of hardship. Mr. Vuong said: "As a party member, whatever you do, wherever you are, you must put your heart and soul into it."

Comrade Po Ly Hao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of Ia Dal commune commented: "Mr. Quach Van Vuong is a teacher who is dedicated to his profession, has management skills, always inspires and awakens the dreams and aspirations of his students, so that they can overcome barriers and confidently step into life."

New school, new aspirations

In the 2024 - 2025 school year, teacher Quach Van Vuong was assigned as Party Cell Secretary and Principal of Hung Vuong Secondary School.

“I returned to the new school with new responsibilities and new confidence in the staff and teachers. That motivated me to promise to devote all my efforts to building and developing the school, especially stabilizing internal solidarity,” Mr. Vuong expressed. True to his word, he organized and implemented educational tasks synchronously and effectively, creating a vibrant, substantial, and comprehensive emulation movement that was recognized and highly appreciated by all levels and sectors.

With the strong direction of Mr. Quach Van Vuong, in the 2024 - 2025 school year, the school has just been recognized as a national standard school at level I. The quality of the teaching staff and students has been improved; 1 student achieved excellent student in Literature grade 9 at the provincial level; 12 teachers participated in designing E-learning lessons at the provincial level; 8 teachers achieved excellent teaching at the provincial level.

The staff and teachers of Hung Vuong Primary and Secondary School are always united, building and developing education in border areas.

Teacher Lo Thuy Huong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell and Vice Principal of the school, said: Mr. Vuong focuses on building a spirit of solidarity and is devoted to the school's tasks. Every task is thoroughly and smoothly resolved by him... He has the style of a leader who knows how to observe, listen, and constantly learn, dares to think, knows how to do; cares about innovation and improving the quality of teaching and learning, regularly organizes class observations, visits, and monitors teachers' teaching discipline; encourages teachers to promote students' thinking, initiative, and creativity.

Vice Principal Hoang Dai Quang confided: “Mr. Vuong is always the one to take the lead, do things first; carefully study documents before meetings and listen to opinions from professional groups with an open-minded attitude, discuss together, find solutions that are reasonable and reasonable. His working style is decisive, concise, and effective; when in meetings, he is required to reflect firmly on the content, speak to the point, and conclude clearly and specifically.”

Regarding the new school, Principal Quach Van Vuong and the Party Committee and political system of Hung Vuong Secondary School started to build the school with over 50 cadres, teachers, staff and 976 students. Adhering to the motto of "taking students as the center", taking advantage of the support of the government and the consensus of parents, promoting the potential of cadres, teachers and staff so that the school can further affirm its quality of education.

In the middle of the borderland, our conversation continued until late afternoon. I felt from the teacher a source of positive energy, a spirit of abundant enthusiasm. Every story about education became interesting, endless. Principal Quach Van Vuong had many concerns and thoughts with the goal of comprehensively developing the school. I felt deep inside the rustic, sincere, generous nature of this middle-aged principal was a passionate heart, carrying the heavy responsibility of a party member in the border area of ​​Ia Dal commune.

“If someone asks me about the sad memories of the years I have been here, I will answer: Try standing on the podium looking down at the class, listen to the students calling their teachers, the wide, innocent eyes, the carefree smiles, and listen to the clear singing like the birds in the mountains and forests, like the sound of streams flowing into cliffs; the honest, simple people and the majestic mountain scenery… you will surely believe that what I say is true. I cannot remember any sad memories. And until today, I still have the same aspirations and enthusiasm as the first days I entered the profession,” Mr. Vuong shared.

Saying goodbye to Hung Vuong Secondary School, the words of teacher Le Thi Lanh followed us all the way down: “Without love for students and dedication to the profession, perhaps no one is enthusiastic enough to stay in the remote mountains. Teaching in the highlands, teachers have many things to worry about, many hardships to overcome to fulfill the mission of those who spread knowledge, dedicating their whole lives to the hundred-year career”.

Saying goodbye to Ia Dal border, Principal Quach Van Vuong held my hand tightly as a commitment, filled with faith and aspiration to create a generation of knowledgeable highlanders, hoping for a bright future in the beloved border land.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thay-giao-tham-lang-gioi-mam-tuong-lai-tren-bien-gioi-ia-dal-334810.html