Go to school while herding buffalo and cutting grass

Due to her family's financial difficulties, for the past few years, Xuyen has had to hitchhike to school with her friends. In addition to school hours, when she returns home, she herds buffalo, cuts grass, and helps her mother with farm work. Overcoming her circumstances, Muong ethnic minority student Dinh Thi Xuyen has excelled in achieving 3 perfect scores in the 2024 High School Graduation Exam.

Can't believe it's true.

One day after receiving the results of the Social Science subjects History, Geography, and Civic Education all achieving perfect scores of 10, female student Dinh Thi Xuyen (Muong Bi High School, Tan Lac District) said: "I am still elated with joy. I predicted that I would get about 8-9 points for the Social Science subjects, so when I saw 3 scores of 10, I couldn't believe it was true, I had to look at it over and over again for fear of checking the wrong registration number," Xuyen recounted.

Ms. Bui Thi O, Xuyen's mother, was also very proud that her daughter was the only candidate in Hoa Binh province to have 3 subjects with perfect scores. "I didn't leave my phone all day yesterday. Many people called and texted to congratulate me. After 12 years of hard work raising my child to study, now she has these results, I am very proud," Ms. O shared.

Ms. O and her daughter are experiencing the happiest days. Photo by Hong Trung

Ms. O's house is in Bay hamlet, Phu Cuong commune, Tan Lac district. Although they have escaped poverty for 2 years, Ms. O's family still faces many difficulties. The family only has a few fields and despite trying to work hard, Ms. O and her husband, Mr. Dinh Van Hai, are always facing poverty.

A few years ago, Hai went to Hanoi to work, and since then the family has been less miserable. Xuyen is the eldest child of O, the second daughter will be in 7th grade next year. Because their father is often away from home, for many years, O has been taking care of the two children by herself. As the eldest child, and the family is poor, Xuyen always knows how to help her mother with housework. In addition, she is also determined to study really well to make her parents happy and to have the opportunity to "escape" in the future.

"Except for the time I go to school, when I come home I do all kinds of work from herding buffalo, cutting grass to planting, picking... My mother has a small shop on Da Trang Pass, along Highway 6 from Hanoi to Mai Chau, so on my days off, I also come here to help my mother sell local products such as corn, bamboo rice, grilled eggs...", the Muong female student said.

Xuyen is the only candidate from Hoa Binh province to achieve 3 scores of 10 in the 2024 high school graduation exam. Photo: Hong Trung

Although Xuyen and her family have just received great joy, the female student said that she has not had time to meet her friends and teachers to share because she is busy selling goods for her mother. At the small shop, Xuyen is busy serving customers. She is so busy that she has been a "celebrity" for more than a day but has not had time to read information written about her.

Meanwhile, from the capital Hanoi, Mr. Hai knew that his daughter had just achieved excellent results but he only called to congratulate her because he was a factory worker and was not allowed to take a mid-week break. Mr. Hai promised his wife and daughter that they would arrange to return soon to organize a small party to celebrate his daughter.

"My child hardly has time to go out with friends. On holidays and Tet, when friends gather to go out, he has to go to Da Trang Pass to help his mother sell goods, even on the first day of Tet. Sometimes I feel sorry for my child and see that he is being unfair to his friends, but Xuyen understands and doesn't complain. He also encourages me and says he just wants to be with his mother, wants to work with her, doesn't want to go anywhere. Only a few days before the exam does he stop doing housework to study," Ms. O shared.

Although he just received the good news, Xuyen has not had time to meet and share the joy with his teachers and friends because he has to sell goods to help his mother. Photo: Hong Trung

Secret to "hunting" for 10 points

Sharing with the press, Ms. Tran Thi Thuy, homeroom teacher of class 12A1, Muong Bi High School, said: "Xuyen is a student with difficult circumstances, but she is very obedient, hard-working, determined to study and study all subjects. In addition to studying in class and reviewing in the afternoon at school, although her house is far away, Xuyen still stays in the library with some good students in the class to form a group to review in the evening. In the first mock high school graduation exam, Xuyen got the highest score in the school."

Meanwhile, Xuyen "revealed" that, during her 12 years of school, she had never attended extra classes because her family did not have the means. She always tried to grasp the knowledge in class, and asked her friends and teachers about things she did not understand. The female student really liked History because she wanted to learn about history and culture, while Geography provided knowledge about nature and society.

The dream of a Muong female student is to become a teacher. Photo: NVCC

The female student who scored 3 10s shared: "Many people think that you have to memorize to grasp knowledge, but I don't study like that. I memorize the main ideas, then review and solve problems. Sometimes I go online to find more documents to consolidate my knowledge, and when I'm still not sure, I ask my teachers. I also don't stay up all night, I only study during specific times. The only night I stayed up until 3am was the day before my graduation exam."

Xuyen initially planned to enroll in the People's Security Academy, but because she was small and underweight, she also thought about Journalism, but she was afraid that journalism was "difficult" and then gave up. Finally, she decided to use the C00 combination (Literature, History, Geography) with 28.73 points to apply for admission to the History Department of Hanoi National University of Education.

Ms. O is very proud of her daughter and said that despite the difficulties, she will raise her daughter to a good education. Photo: Hong Trung

"I am passionate about History, I dream of becoming a history teacher. Moreover, my family is poor, so my parents and I have to consider carefully which school to choose. There are schools with tuition fees of tens of millions per semester, which my family certainly cannot afford. Choosing to study at Hanoi Pedagogical University is the most suitable," the female student said.

Despite her family's financial difficulties, Ms. O is determined that if Xuyen passes the university entrance exam, she is willing to work two or three times as hard to raise her children. She even considered going to Hanoi to work as a hired hand with her husband. "Before, I only studied until grade 9, and my husband until grade 7. Both my husband and I studied well, and were excellent students every year, but because our family was too poor, we could not go to school. Now, at any cost, I have to raise my children to a good education," Ms. O confided.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nu-sinh-dat-3-diem-10-thi-tot-nghiep-o-hoa-binh-vua-di-hoc-vua-chan-trau-cat-co-20240718232606608.htm