The 3 months of summer are a time for teachers to “relax” after a year of hard work on the podium and educational activities. But for teachers at Na Loc Primary and Secondary School (Muong Khuong District), summer is the season to “erase the season of letters”.
The heavy rain made the road from Ban Lau commune center to Pac Bo village muddy, with many sections of water reaching up to the wheels. My colleague and I had to grope our way through the darkness for nearly 30 minutes to get there.
At 7 p.m., the flashlights of people coming to Pac Bo village school to study literacy were shining in the rain. The class now had more than 20 students. Ms. Ly Thi Thom and Ms. Do Thi Thanh Thuy from Na Loc Primary and Secondary School decided to share a car to avoid the hardship. The class ended at 10 p.m., the road was deserted without high-pressure lamps, many days the two sisters groped for an hour to get home. The road from Ban Lau commune center to Pac Bo village has been widened, but during the rainy season, many sections have landslides. "On days of heavy rain, the Doi Gianh spillway water rises high and flows rapidly, so Ms. Thuy and I have to sleep at the school," said Ms. Thom.
Ms. Thom is a Dao ethnic group, who used to teach in a difficult area of Muong Khuong, so she understands very well the situation of the students. For many reasons, they cannot go to class or school, and gradually become afraid to communicate. Some people speak with a lisp, cannot pronounce the falling tone, or difficult rhymes such as uya, uyen, uyet, etc. She uses gentle methods to help students become more confident and bold when learning. Because the students are older and their common language is limited, she often has to use her "strength" of Dao to guide students through each letter, how to read, how to hold a pen, and convey lessons related to life.
After a period of participating in the literacy class for the local people, Ms. Thom shared: Seeing the students happy when gradually learning to read, write, communicate confidently... I have more motivation to complete the task. Outside of class, I spend time talking and confiding with the students to understand more about the living conditions, customs, and culture of the Dao Tuyen people, which helps me to teach more easily, and at the same time learn more life skills, experiences, and practical knowledge.
Teaching alongside Ms. Thom is Ms. Do Thi Thanh Thuy, an Art teacher at Na Loc Primary and Secondary School. “Working at school all day, there are nights when I am very tired, but just coming to class and seeing the students attentively listening to the lecture gives me more motivation. There are days when students stay late to copy notes, so I don’t get home until after 11pm,” Ms. Thuy confided.
Ms. Thom turned on the projector and read aloud the poem "The Sound of Leng Gung Waterfall", below, the students read along in unison. The oldest student in the class - Ms. Ly Thi Huong, over 60 years old, squinted at the board, her voice still slurred but she still couldn't hide her joy: "Before attending this night class, I was the only one in my family who was illiterate. Many times when the commune and village issued documents, I couldn't read, which was very annoying. Since the literacy class was organized in the village, I told my husband and children that I would go to school. Up to now, after 4 months of studying, I can read, write, and do simple math...".
Dang Thi Tuoi is the youngest student in the class. When she was young, her family was poor and did not have the means to go to school. When she learned about the literacy class, her husband and children encouraged her to go to school. Currently, Tuoi is the most agile student in the class, has the best handwriting, and was chosen by the teachers to be a “teaching assistant” to support the older students in the class.
Looking at the dedicated teachers on the podium, we try to study hard again.
Present at the Pac Bo school class quite early, quietly observing the students, teacher Thao Ha, the class leader, said: The Pac Bo village literacy class has been taking place since April 2024 with 25 students. There are 24 teachers from Na Loc Primary and Secondary School participating in the literacy class. Every Monday to Friday, the teachers take turns teaching 2 people in each class. This year, the school merged 2 levels, there are a lot of records and books, so the school teachers do not have a summer vacation. After the school assignment, the teachers continue with the task of literacy. The majority of the students in the class are elderly, doing rough and heavy labor, their fingers are no longer flexible, many have an inferiority complex. The female students have small children, working in the fields and doing housework during the day, and also have a hard time taking care of their children.
To help students persevere in pursuing their studies, we regularly learn about each family's circumstances and the difficulties they face, and from there find ways to promote and mobilize people to realize the benefits of learning.
At 11pm, the class ended, the rain continued to fall outside, the students' flashlights gradually dimmed after the turns. The two teachers busily packed their books, put on their raincoats and left together on the familiar road, so that tomorrow their colleagues would continue their journey, bringing letters to light up the highland villages...
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