Sticking to schools in the most remote areas of Quang Nam province amidst poverty, young teachers still happily accept. Because they come here not for the salary but it is like 'fate'. Their entire youth is almost devoted to the journey of 'sowing letters in the clouds'.
IN PLACES WITH MANY "NOTS"
In the highland schools in Nam Tra My District (Quang Nam), names like "Mr. Thai's roof" and "Mr. Vanh's roof" in Tra Don Commune make people feel distant every time they are called. Difficult roads and lack of resources make this place considered "remote and remote". Most of the villages are isolated in the mountains and forests, with many "nothings" such as: no internet, no phone signal, no clean water...
Exactly 7 years since graduating from Quang Nam University with a major in Primary Education, Mr. Ho Van Xuan (29 years old, from Tra Don commune, Nam Tra My district) passed the exam to become an education officer and came to work at Tra Don commune's boarding and primary school. This year, Mr. Xuan was assigned to stand at Ong Thai's roof (village 4, Tra Don commune) to teach a combined class of 1-2 with 7 students. "The students here are all Xe Dang ethnic people, so most of them do not know how to speak the common language. Therefore, when teachers come here to teach, they must prepare themselves mentally to be both a teacher, a father, and a mother to patiently guide their children," the young teacher began the story.
The arduous path that two young teachers Ho Van Xuan and Pham Van Tien have to go through every week to get to the school where they teach.
For the past few weeks, every time he goes to class, Mr. Xuan, like many other teachers who work at schools in the highlands, is always covered in mud, as if they have just waded through the fields. Because the only way connecting this place to the outside is a dangerous trail, where the sun is all buffalo's back, and the rain is muddy enough to cover half a motorbike wheel. "Previously, if I went in the direction of Tra Don commune, from the motorbike parking lot to the school on Ong Thai, I had to walk another 7 hours through the forest, wading through many large and small streams. Luckily, now village 4 is connected to Tra Leng commune (Nam Tra My district), so the distance is shortened by half," Mr. Xuan shared.
V BEING BOTH A TEACHER AND A NANNY
At ten o'clock, the sound of the ruler hitting the wooden board mixed with the students' mumbling reading echoed through the mountains and forests. The sight of students with sunburned hair and wide eyes sitting on the brick floor reading made the witnesses moved to tears. The class was a combined primary school, but every now and then the cries of children only 2-3 years old could be heard. Ong Thai's house only had a primary school, and every day the children's parents went to the fields, so although he had not yet studied preschool education, with his love for children, teacher Ho Van Xuan also took on the role of "nanny" to take care of 8 more preschool children.
Leaving the lesson plan, Mr. Xuan's hands quickly cut meat and picked vegetables to cook lunch for the children with the support of a parent. Like other teachers in the villages on the highlands, at the beginning of the week, Mr. Xuan carries a backpack containing meat, fish, fish sauce, salt, rice, etc. up the mountain. "Most of the children are in very difficult circumstances, a meal with meat is a luxury. Therefore, to ensure meals with enough nutrients, in addition to the support of benefactors, I try every way to try to find three meals with meat for the children each week," Mr. Xuan confided.
Teacher Ho Van Xuan takes care of students' nap time
In addition, the classroom is cramped and dilapidated, so to ensure naptime and care for the students, Mr. Xuan uses his own break room for the students to stay.
"IT 'S FATE, IT'S KARMA"
The story of pursuing a teaching career and working with students at Ong Vanh's roof (Tra Don commune) for teacher Pham Van Tien (27 years old, from Tra Doc commune, Bac Tra My district, Quang Nam) was like a pre-arranged arrangement. Four years ago, Mr. Tien graduated from Quang Nam University, majoring in Primary Education. For a young teacher, teaching at the most remote school like Ong Vanh's roof is not for the salary, but for fate and career.
From the school on Mr. Thai's roof to Mr. Vanh's roof, it took more than an hour to walk on a trail in the middle of the old forest. Although he was a mountain man, when he carried his backpack and walked up the 45-degree slope to Mr. Vanh's roof, looking at the simple school like a rice warehouse in the middle of a typical local farm, Mr. Tien suddenly felt his legs slipping. Because he did not think the school he taught at would be so simple.
The early days were not easy for a young teacher. In a place with no phone signal or electricity, students trudged out of the forest and he had to take care of them from morning to night. However, what made Mr. Tien the most miserable was the story of finding students. "Most of the Xe Dang people live on the mountainside, the roofs are crowded and steep. Before each new school year, teachers have to walk to each roof to call students to class. Finding the children is difficult, finding their parents is even more difficult. Many times we have to wait until night, when the villagers return from the fields, to meet them, and it takes a lot of persuasion to bring the children back to class," Mr. Tien said.
Coming here since the first days of graduation, 3 years ago, Mr. Tien also taught at separate schools located deep on the top of Ngoc Linh mountain. This year, the school he teaches at is a combined class of 1-2 with 6 students, a bit further away; in addition, he also takes care of 8 preschool children. Because he is a contract teacher, in recent years, Mr. Tien has only received about 5 million VND in salary each month. Meanwhile, each month he has spent about 350,000 VND replacing the chain sprockets of his motorbike, not to mention gas money... "I am a local, so I understand the difficulties and hardships of the children here. I see coming here to stay in the village not for the salary but as fate, as a career. More than anyone else, young people like me must nurture dreams for the children, with the hope that later they will have the opportunity to leave the mountains to find knowledge, then return to change the village", Mr. Tien affirmed.
Mr. Tien and Mr. Xuan were covered in mud after overcoming the arduous road.
According to Mr. Tien, most of the roads to the villages are not paved with concrete, so traveling during the rainy season is like torture. Teachers have to push their carts step by step. The carts are constantly broken, and every day they go to class they are covered in mud. Not to mention, during the rainy season, the water in the forest streams rises, making it dangerous to get to the village. "But after passing through, looking back, you will see that the slope that made you slip and fall is... normal, seeing the hardships is just an experience. Many times we slip and fall on the road, getting dirty and soaked, but we still smile and are happy. It is the difficulties and hardships that have helped young teachers like us become more mature, more steadfast and more confident in our choice when coming to the teaching profession," Mr. Tien confided.
Attached to the mountains and clouds, teachers in the highlands are familiar with the life of "living in the village", familiar with the customs of the highlanders, like a child of the people. It would be difficult to tell all the hardships in the "classrooms in the clouds", but the youth of many teachers is still left here. Day by day, they quietly choose to go towards the hardships, to carry letters up the mountain slopes, back to the villages...
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/gian-nan-hanh-trinh-geo-chu-tren-may-185241222194210316.htm
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