"Experts" in building standard schools
For thirty years working in a high-altitude mountainous school, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong (Principal of Chau Binh 1 Primary School), a teacher from the lowlands, has, with her dedication, transformed Chau Binh 1 Primary School from a school lacking in many aspects, backward, and weak, into a national standard school and a key school of the district at the primary education level.
(Baonghean)For thirty years working in a high-altitude mountainous school, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong (Principal of Chau Binh 1 Primary School), a teacher from the lowlands, has, with her dedication, transformed Chau Binh 1 Primary School from a school lacking in many aspects, backward, and weak, into a national standard school and a key school of the district at the primary education level.
Graduating from Tan Ky Mountain Teacher Training College in 1985, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, with her youthful energy and enthusiasm, volunteered to trek through forests and streams to the mountainous Chau Binh region. For 11 years as a teacher in remote villages and isolated schools, she dedicated all her passion to imparting knowledge to her students. During this time, through her diligent efforts, she was consistently recognized as an outstanding teacher at the district and provincial levels. In 1996, she was appointed Deputy Principal, and in 1998, she became Principal of Chau Binh 1 Primary School.
Teacher Nguyen Thi Lan Huong at the "Exchange of Excellent Primary School Education Administrators" event.
As a school administrator, she was always concerned with finding ways to improve the quality of education at the school and implement the roadmap to achieve national standards. Regarding infrastructure, while there were programs and projects for classrooms, the school grounds required internal resources. To equip the school with teaching materials and improve facilities, she mobilized teachers to lend money to the school. She used all her savings, along with money borrowed from staff and teachers, to purchase the necessary supplies. Furthermore, she implemented incentive mechanisms to encourage teachers to improve their professional skills and dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to their students, thereby enhancing the quality of teaching. After five years of persistent effort, in the 2003-2004 school year, Chau Binh 1 Primary School was proudly recognized as a national standard school at level 1.
Transferred to Chau Binh 2 Primary School at the end of the school year, she and the school board continued to build Chau Binh 2 Primary School to achieve national standard certification. In the 2007-2008 school year, she was transferred back to become the Principal of Chau Binh 1 Primary School with the goal of building a national standard school at level 2. Implementing the "Learning and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh" campaign, and at the same time implementing the "Two No's" campaign of the Ministry of Education and Training, a large number of underperforming students dropped out of school. She quickly found ways to prevent students from dropping out: calling on teachers to provide free tutoring for weak students; launching the "Warm Meal" movement to help students living far away have lunch at school; Teachers sponsor students from disadvantaged backgrounds... With the collective efforts of the teachers, the dropout rate gradually decreased, reaching 100% by the 2012-2013 school year. “It takes real perseverance and persistence to stabilize student enrollment. But it's still very fragile because a natural disaster, or sometimes a family member falling ill… years of hard work can suddenly vanish into thin air. And then these students might return to helping their parents with chores and earning a living.”
Currently, Chau Binh 1 Primary School is on the path to achieving national standard level 2, facing numerous difficulties: dilapidated facilities, shrinking school land... But with the steadfastness and exemplary leadership of the principal, coupled with the unity of the teachers, the school will overcome the immediate challenges, continue to affirm its reputation as a leading primary school in Quy Chau's education sector, and achieve level 2 standards according to schedule.
For teacher Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, the titles of "Excellent Educational Administrator," the Certificate of Merit from the Ministry of Education and Training for her achievements in education, the Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People's Committee for being a Provincial-level Emulation Soldier, or the title of "Expert in Building Standard Schools" that her friends and colleagues affectionately and admiringly bestow upon her cannot compare to the warm feelings of parents, the growth of generations of students, and the development of the school. Her innovative teaching methods, such as "Guidelines for teachers to teach autonomously to ethnic minority students," and "Solutions for innovating management in high-mountain primary schools," were born from her dedication, stemming from the practical demands of teaching, and from her love for her students and her profession. These innovations have high applicability, are widely disseminated, and are applied by teachers in teaching and management in mountainous schools.
Text and photos: Duy Nam
