Female teacher and the memories never experienced in life

Students suspected of taking their classmates' school supplies home to drink weed killer or students with poor personal hygiene, teachers reminded them and immediately took a week off school... are memories that teacher Le Thi Ngoc Linh, Le Van Tam Primary and Secondary School, Dak Po Pho Commune, Kong Chro District, Gia Lai Province will always remember after nearly 10 years in the classroom.

The crying gradually subsided.

According to teacher Ngoc Linh, at first, because she did not understand the native language, the interaction between her and the students was not effective, especially those who had just moved from kindergarten to first grade. They had not been exposed to the common language much and were very shy and reserved when meeting teachers. In addition, they were shy, so they only communicated with each other in their own language.

Ms. Linh decided to learn Ba Na herself to be able to communicate better and make it easier for the children to understand. “I only think about teaching them when I speak so that they understand. Besides using Ba Na in communication, when teaching, I mainly speak in Vietnamese, repeating some common words so that the children can gradually get used to hearing and recognizing them, such as: Book, pen, notebook, read, etc. Gradually, with the flexibility of combining the two languages, the children and I understand each other better. They are no longer shy, but instead know how to joke with the teacher. Smiles have appeared more on their faces. The classroom atmosphere is cheerful, there is no more crying or screaming like when they first received the class.”

Teacher Le Ngoc Linh and students

Overcoming the language barrier seemed like the end of the difficult period, but that was only the beginning. During the teaching process, Ms. Linh encountered many things she had never experienced before…

Many unfortunate incidents happen because of small things. For example, when studying in class, a student loses his/her school supplies. One student suspects the other, and the other student says he/she did not take them. So the student is suspected of taking weed killer at home. Fortunately, emergency treatment is given in time, so his/her life is not in danger.

Or there are friends who have poor personal hygiene, are reminded by the teacher because they are embarrassed in front of their friends, so they miss a whole week of school, the teacher goes looking for them but can't find them because they are not at home but are staying in a camp in a very far away field,...

“Understanding that mentality, before dealing with anything related to sensitive issues, I have to think and consider carefully before handling it so as not to negatively affect the students, which in turn affects teaching,” Ms. Linh shared.

Now that she has been working here for nearly 8 years, there are very small things that make Ms. Linh extremely happy. Ms. Linh was moved when she said: “On Vietnamese Teachers' Day and International Women's Day, the children gave me drawings and wild flowers picked from the roadside. Things that seemed extremely ordinary made me extremely happy. Not because I was happy because I received gifts, but what made me smile unconsciously was that the children knew how to care, love, and express their feelings for us, considering us as relatives. That means the children have opened their hearts, the bond between teachers in the highlands and ethnic minority students has become clearer and more colorful! After days of hard work, that is a medicine that helps me feel more comfortable. The love and efforts of the children overcome the language barrier and the difficulty in getting used to the brand new alphabet. I silently thank them for their efforts!”…

Teaching has given me everything.

Teacher Ngoc Linh was born and raised in a mountainous district of Gia Lai province – Kong Chro district. Here, the people are mainly Ba Na ethnic people, living on slash-and-burn farming, growing short-term agricultural crops such as chili, squash, cassava, beans, with unstable income.

Ms. Linh said that since she was a child, every time she followed her mother to the village to trade, she saw children her age without clothes to wear, unable to go to school, and not having enough food. Her mother often brought old clothes to give away. “Following my mother many times, I saw people living in difficult circumstances, unable to go to school. I don’t know when the dream of becoming a teacher began to form in me. The older I got, the more that desire urged me.”

In high school, the only dream of taking the university entrance exam to major in education became the motivation for Ms. Linh to study hard and pass the entrance exam to the Faculty of Primary Education, Quy Nhon University. After graduating, with her youth and enthusiasm, Ms. Linh applied to teach in Dak Po Pho commune - a very difficult commune in the district's third region, quite far from home.

“It can be said that the teaching profession has given me everything. From a child, that dream has motivated and trained me to become a good person, a person who is useful to my family and society,” Ms. Linh expressed. “The bright faces, the happy smiles of the students, and the small family we are building are the motivation for me to try harder, nurturing my passion for teaching.”

Teacher Le Thi Ngoc Linh is one of 60 outstanding teachers with many contributions to the career of educating people, honored in the "Sharing with teachers" program in 2024. These are teachers working in remote areas, border areas, islands... despite facing countless difficulties and shortages, they are still persistent and tenacious in imparting each word and knowledge to their students with all their love.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nu-giao-vien-va-nhung-ky-niem-chua-tung-trai-qua-trong-doi-20241120091322844.htm