From teacher to literary critic

Late afternoon in Bao Ai commune, Ms. Luu Khanh Linh still sits among the tall stacks of books and students' writings. On her desk, the novel by writer Nguyen Ngoc Yen is open, next to it is the manuscript of a literary criticism she is preparing to send to a magazine. That familiar image has become a symbol of a special journey: from school to forum, from knowledge transmitter to literary critic. More importantly, she is the one who sows the love of literature in the young generation in rural areas.

As a member of the Lao Cai Province Literature and Arts Association, Ms. Linh is one of the few high school teachers who participate in writing literary criticism seriously and methodically.

She is always modest: “I do not dare to consider myself a professional critic. I only choose authors and works typical of my hometown to write about, with a respectful and grateful attitude towards those who have worked hard to cultivate local literature.”

In fact, the job of literary criticism in the provinces is still not pursued by many people. Ms. Linh often takes the time to read works, talk with authors, and write with a clear methodology. Before putting pen to paper, she always learns about the author's creative flow, the message they convey, and the human meaning that the work brings. All are exploited from the perspective of literary theory, not just superficial feelings or fleeting emotions with words.

“When reading a work, I consider it on two levels: content and form, studying all the artistic elements that make up the work, thereby finding the author’s ego,” Ms. Linh shared. This approach not only helps her criticisms have depth but also opens a bridge between the work and the reading public, especially with students.

Ms. Linh believes: “For a work to survive, it must have readers. A work will have no value if it just sits on the bookshelf without being read, felt, understood and loved.”

As a teacher, Ms. Linh is well aware of the key role of schools in orienting reading culture for the young generation. Young readers make up a large proportion of the community, but in an era filled with entertainment channels, they easily forget to read books. Without the school's subtle guidance, it is difficult for them to access good values ​​with high aesthetic value.

“Without that, human values ​​and beauty in each person are not properly aroused. Before wanting to be good and talented, each of us needs to perceive life through beauty, including identifying mistakes and ugliness to create more beauty. That must be done through literary works,” Ms. Linh pondered.

She also believes that knowing about Vietnamese literature and world literature is good, but every student must also know about local literary works. From that, she has made efforts to bring the works of local authors into school life, turning them into a vivid source of teaching materials.

This school year, she boldly assigned teachers in the school to research and include local works and authors in the test questions. This is not a strange thing, because the stories of writer Nong Quang Khiem have been chosen by many provinces as materials to include in the test questions. Ms. Linh was one step ahead, and soon realized the importance of this.

Recalling when she became Principal of Cam An High School, the first thing Ms. Linh did that surprised many people was to buy trees to decorate the school grounds and classrooms and give books to the classrooms. She called on donors to make bookshelves for each classroom, give books to students, and mobilized donations of books from the Provincial Literature and Arts Association and the Association for Promotion of Education at all levels.

To date, the school has over 1,000 books for students. Writer Nong Quang Khiem has donated books twice, along with authors Duong Thu Phuong, Hoang Viet Quan, Bui Thi Kim Cuc, Le Van Cuong, Kim Thanh... Ms. Linh has divided books among classes, arranged them on shelves with the hope that during breaks, lunch breaks, and experiential activities, students will have more choices of books.

To make this work not just a formality but a reality, she and the Board of Directors and the Pedagogical Council organized competitions. She believes that it is only practical when it affects students. Besides calling for volunteerism, it is also necessary to attach responsibility to students.

Since the 2020-2021 school year, she has advocated the establishment of the Literature Club, the Radio and Media Club. In particular, the Radio and Media Club spreads the message of reading; the Literature Club hosts the contest "Write a review of a good book on the bookshelf" - becoming a useful playground where works by local authors are honored. Students are forced to read and she often jokes that this is an activity of "active enforcement" of reading awareness. When reading works and writing reviews, through competitions, students have truly read and written.

Ms. Linh shared: “There were even students who wrote about Hoang Viet Quan’s research and criticism essay about author Ma A Lenh. For students, writing about a research essay is almost beyond their ability. But there were students who boldly wrote, this is a very positive thing - daring to think, daring to do. That student was awarded a Special Prize.”

Ms. Linh not only initiated the contest but also directly participated in judging the awards. She said that was the only way to get teachers involved. Things that were outside the traditional curriculum and lesson plans, things that had never been done before, had to be done to set a precedent.

“What is not a familiar path must be created. To create a path, one must have intelligence, dedicate time and effort” - she said with strong belief.

Up to now, after 5 years, the contest has been held regularly with many different topics such as writing about mother and school, teachers in my eyes... Ms. Linh believes that with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), if not regularly trained in writing skills, students can easily become dependent on AI, causing stagnant thinking.

In the 2024-2025 school year, in the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Cam An High School had 100% of students participating in the school-level competition. The school selected 2 works to compete at the provincial level and both won prizes. Student Nong Phuong Giang won the Encouragement Prize with her essay on the work "For the Sunny Seasons" by author Duong Thu Phuong. The short story "Dream on the Mountain Top" by student Dao Xuan Mai, class 11C1, was awarded the Best Short Story on the Inspirational Theme.

Ms. Linh (far left) and her students won prizes in the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

With that achievement, Ms. Linh was very happy: "I want to train students to think, dare to evaluate, dare to comment, have personal opinions. Only when they have the courage to live, when they grow up and step out into the world, can they confidently face all challenges."

With tireless efforts, rural students in Bao Ai are increasingly confident, gradually realizing their dreams.

Ms. Linh still tells the children: "Nothing is impossible, there are only things we have not found a way to solve yet."

She believes that from here, she can equip students with the ability to handle and solve problems in life. Although busy, she never refuses students. She makes friends with students, listens, shares, and explores the colorful world of literature with them.

Ms. Luu Khanh Linh's journey from classroom to forum is not only the story of a teacher becoming a literary critic. It is also a story of love and responsibility for the profession, belief in the power of literature, and the desire to spread true values ​​to the younger generation. In the small room full of books at Cam An High School, the light of literature still shines, guiding the way for many young souls who aspire to fly high.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/tu-giao-vien-den-nha-phe-binh-van-hoc-post885904.html