Moved by teachers 'sowing letters on stone' at the Fatherland's border

The 80 outstanding teachers who were honored in the 2025 “Sharing with Teachers” Program are also 80 stories of sacrifice, dedication and burning love for their profession. They have devoted their entire youth, quietly staying at school and in their villages, “sowing each word” in the difficult areas of the Fatherland.

If I could choose again, I would still choose teaching in remote areas.

Ten years ago, at the age of 23, young teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Ha left Hanoi and her small family to take up a position at Ban Lang Kindergarten, Khong Lao Commune, Phong Tho District, Lai Chau, a particularly difficult border commune. Holding a diploma from the Preschool Teacher Training College and a heart filled with the desire to contribute, Ms. Ha did not expect that the years ahead would be a series of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

The memory of her first day at school still haunts her: winding roads, steep slopes, and lurking rocks. Sitting behind her colleague’s motorbike, she could only hold on tight, eyes tightly shut in fear. That was only the beginning of countless difficulties: temporary rented accommodation, harsh weather, lack of facilities and above all, the heart-wrenching longing for her child when her first daughter, only 18 months old, had to be sent back to her grandparents to be cared for.

In her second year of work, when her family had just reunited in a small rented room, Ms. Ha was suddenly assigned to Nam Lung school, the most remote and difficult school in the commune. At that time, she learned that she was pregnant. Every day to class, she carried her nearly 3-year-old daughter on her back, while holding her pregnant belly, over steep roads of more than 10km. On rainy days, the roads were muddy and slippery, and sometimes she had to walk a few meters. Her husband worked in a remote area, and only had a few days off each month, so she had to shoulder most of the work. The pressure and hardship caused complications during her pregnancy, and she had to take prenatal medicine many times right at the school.

Without clean water or toilets, she and her child had to stay in a corrugated iron classroom, which was sweltering hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. Every day, with her pregnant belly bulging, she took her child to collect firewood to cook rice. However, these difficulties did not extinguish the fire in her heart. The clear laughter of the Nam Lung children was the source of motivation that helped her stay.

The parents were poor and could not contribute, so she and her colleagues used their own money to buy crayons and drawing paper. Bamboo, potatoes, corn, pebbles, etc. became teaching aids. From those simple items, she turned the small classroom into a colorful world . There, letters were sown with all the love for children.

Nestled among the clouds and mountains of Can Ty, Bat Dai Son Kindergarten has only a few small classrooms, walls mixed with earth and stone, a simple kitchen, and teaching aids mostly made by teachers themselves. Here, 100% of the students are ethnic minorities, many of them are not fluent in Vietnamese, the road to school is muddy all year round, the winter is freezing cold, and the rainy season is full of landslides. Yet for more than 10 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Men has remained steadfast in her choice of "sowing letters at the source of the Fatherland".

“If there is no electricity, use the light of love for the job,” Ms. Men said simply. From dry straw, corn cobs, pebbles, etc., the teachers make their own toys and learning models to help children approach lessons in a close way. At the same time, Ms. Men proactively built a “Language-rich learning environment”, a creative and effective model. In the classroom, all objects are labeled in Vietnamese with illustrations. She tells stories in Vietnamese mixed with her mother tongue, asking parents to be teaching assistants to help children overcome their initial shyness. Gradually, parents understand more about the importance of Vietnamese and support their children at home. The village, which used to be quiet with the sound of studying, now resounds with the first words of life. Not only is she creative in her methods, she also designs her own lessons, finds visual materials, and uses artificial intelligence to support her lessons.

Her constant efforts have helped her achieve the title of Excellent Teacher for many years in a row, and receive a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister in 2025. But for her, the greatest reward is still the smiles of her students: "Those are the first flowers of personality."

“If I could choose again, I would still choose teaching. And if I could choose a place to dedicate myself, I would still choose this border region,” Ms. Men said, her eyes sparkling with pride.

Tears on stage and a haunting call

Not only the hardships in the Northwest border, this year's program "Sharing with teachers" also depicts stories that made the whole hall silent, such as the story of teacher Dinh Thi Le Thu, Duong Hoa Primary School, Quang Ninh province.

While sharing on stage, Ms. Thu was surprised to see a video message from her former student, Chiu Gi Linh: “Teacher, you helped me return to school. Now I have a family and a little daughter. On the occasion of November 20, I wish you good health and happiness.” Her trembling voice made Ms. Thu burst into tears right on stage.

Memories flooded back. That day, Linh, a 5th grader whose homeroom teacher was Ms. Thu, suddenly dropped out of school. When she came to find her, she saw three little sisters hugging each other and crying: “Miss, our mother left… I have no one.” Their mother was so poor that she had to cross the border to China to work, and could not bring her children with her.

Ms. Thu said: “That day, I just hugged the child and said: “It’s okay, I’m here.” Then I asked my husband to let me stay overnight to reassure the children.” From her house to Linh’s village is more than 30km, while her child at home is just over two years old and has never been away from her mother. But the love for her students has helped her overcome all barriers.

Thanks to her perseverance, Linh returned to school and continued studying. Many years later, seeing her “child” again on the screen, watching her grow up and be happy, Ms. Thu could not hide her emotions. That was a priceless reward for the silent sacrifices of a teacher in a difficult area.

And that is Ms. Duong Kim Ngan, Hong Thai, Tuyen Quang, one of the typical faces of the Education sector 2025. Born into a poor family in Cao Bang, where her father used to be a teacher in a remote area and then had to leave the podium to make a living, Ms. Ngan grew up with the dream of continuing her father's unfinished work. In 2014, after graduating from Thai Nguyen University of Education, she returned to work in Tuyen Quang and has been there until now.

In Hong Thai, math is a fear for many ethnic minority students. Many are shy and self-conscious, some want to drop out of school because they think they “cannot learn”. Therefore, Ms. Ngan opens free tutoring classes for students from grades 6 to 9, regularly every afternoon or evening. “The most important thing is to help students believe in themselves”, Ms. Ngan confided.

When teaching weak students, she chooses to start with the smallest things: easy calculations, problems related to real life. Examples from fields and markets make Mathematics more approachable. If a student does just one calculation correctly, she praises them enthusiastically to instill confidence. For grade 9 students, she organizes regular mock tests, analyzing each mistake so that they can progress step by step.

The result of that perseverance is that for 3 consecutive years (2021 - 2024), the school's 10th grade math entrance exam scores were higher than the provincial average. Many students were admitted to prestigious high schools, some won provincial science and technology awards.

In addition, in the highlands, teaching is difficult, keeping students from dropping out of school to get married is even more difficult. Ms. Ngan founded the Child Marriage Prevention Club. Every month, the club creates skits, tells real stories, discusses situations... to spread the message.

There are cases where she has to visit the student's home 5-7 times, convincing both the parents and relatives. Like the case of D, a 14-year-old Mong girl. When D asked to leave school to "get married to reduce the burden on her parents", Ms. Ngan immediately went uphill to find her home, then together with the school board launched a fundraising campaign to make the family believe that "by staying at school, she is not alone". To date, D has finished high school, a happy ending to a journey full of tears and determination. In recent years, the school has no more students dropping out due to early marriage...

Amidst the villages covered in clouds, the cold of winter or the landslides of the rainy season, teachers still choose to stay. They are quiet, but never alone, facing hardships, but never stopping. And it is from the small classrooms on the high mountains, the smiles of children, the nights spent preparing lessons, the emotional tears when seeing students grow up... that create the deepest meaning of the teaching profession - resilience and perseverance so that each child can grow up, mature, and reach their aspirations.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/xuc-dong-thay-co-gioi-chu-tren-da-noi-bien-cuong-to-quoc.html