Story of 2 Nghe An teachers honored as outstanding young teachers nationwide
Recently, Nghe An had two teachers awarded the "Outstanding Young Teacher" award nationwide in 2024 by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. This is a well-deserved recognition because the two representatives of Nghe An not only have excellent professional achievements but also have many silent contributions to help students in disadvantaged areas.
Support for ethnic minority students
There are 5 students who won the National Informatics Prize, 55 students who won the Young Informatics Prize at the provincial and regional levels, that is the greatest asset in nearly 10 years of work of teacher Phan Thi Hong Hai (born in 1992), currently working at Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2. What is more special is that the students who won the prize come from remote areas, ethnic minority areas of the province.
Sharing about this young female teacher, Ms. Dau Thi Quynh Mai - Vice Principal of Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School No. 2 said that before 2015, the number of students who won the provincial-level Informatics prize at the school was very small. Because more than 90% of the students werechildren of ethnic minorities, accessing and mastering computer knowledge is a big challenge for them.
However, since 2015, when teacher Phan Thi Hong Hai came to work at the school, the Informatics department has been given a new lease of life. With her professional skills and dedication, Ms. Hai has become a solid support, helping her students achieve many achievements not only in provincial-level excellent student competitions, but also in regional and national youth Informatics competitions and the National Innovation Competition for teenagers and children.
Teachers and students of TBoarding High School for Ethnic Minorities No. 2 Nghe Anoften jokingly call Ms. Hai's house "a house of love". Because she cares for her students who are still in need, before important exams she often welcomes her students to her house to directly guide them. Even during the 3 months of summer, many students who live far away are allowed to stay at her house to directly teach and review.
From her home, many students now have meaningful support to become students of major universities such as Le Thanh Thuong (born 2003), a Tho ethnic group in Nghia Dan district, Nguyen Quoc Cuong (born 2005), a Thai ethnic group in Co Muong village, Chau Kim commune, Que Phong district. Thuong and Cuong both passed the IT entrance exam at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Nguyen Huy Nhat (born 2006), from Poom Lau village, Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district, passed the exam at FPT University.
Recalling the time under the guidance of Ms. Hai, Nguyen Huy Nhat - a young man from Poom Lau village (Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district) said that when approaching the high school program, he was quite passive in the subject of Information Technology. Because in the two previous levels, he rarely had the opportunity to practice this subject. His family's circumstances were also not enough to buy him a personal computer.
It was not until I was taught by Ms. Hai, who even created conditions for me to stay at her house during the summer months of my 3 years of high school, that I truly mastered my IT knowledge. That helped me win the First Prize in the Central Region Youth IT Competition 2022; the National Youth IT Encouragement Prize 2023, the Gold Medal in the Central Highlands Region IT Olympiad 2023, the First Prize in the North Central Region IT Olympiad 2024...
From these achievements, Nhat has firmly continued his journey and received a 100% full scholarship to become a new student at FPT University last September.
Along with Nhat, Thai ethnic student Phan Ka Ka (born in 2007) in Chieng Huong village, Quang Phong commune, Que Phong district is also a case that surprises many people because of his progress. Born into a poor family, his mother struggled to raise him in difficult circumstances, but he has a second warm home with Ms. Phan Thi Hong Hai. Thanks to the months of being guided by her, he has also become one of the top candidates in the 2024 provincial excellent student competition in Informatics along with many other regional and national awards.
The day I received the news of the awards, the first thing I thought of was my two mothers: my biological mother who gave birth to me and my second mother, the teacher who helped me fulfill my dream.
“Perhaps for every teacher, happiness does not lie in the big things, but in seeing their students progress every day. Witnessing them, even in remote areas, having the opportunity to conquer their dreams, that is the great motivation for me and my colleagues at this school - where more than 90% of the students are ethnic minorities - to continue to strive, accompanying them on the path we have chosen.”
Teacher Phan Thi Hong Hai
Dedicated team leader of "rice country" students
The second representative of Nghe An at the national "Outstanding Young Teacher" honor program in 2024 is teacher Pham Thi Lan (born in 1994) - Team Leader of To Ba Ngoc Primary School (Minh Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District). In recent years, Ms. Pham Thi Lan has become a familiar face in many recognition programs as she is a typical individual who was awarded the "Excellent Leader" Badge at the Central level by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the 7th National Advanced Youth Badge following Uncle Ho's teachings in 2023. She is also an individual who received many Certificates of Merit from the Nghe An Provincial Youth Union for "Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style".
In the “rice country” where she lives and works, Pham Thi Lan was affectionately nicknamed “big sister” by her colleagues and students of To Ba Ngoc Primary School. With her enthusiasm and love for the job, “big sister” Pham Thi Lan has led the school’s team movement to grow, becoming a typical unit of the province in team work and youth movement in the recent period. What is special is that, from her love for her students, she has become the nucleus of volunteer movements to support families of students with difficult circumstances in the district.
Remember last May, Ms. Pham Thi Lan called for and gave more than 65 million VND to the family of two children Nguyen Duc Anh (born in 2005) and Nguyen Duc Anh (born in 2009) in Hamlet 5, Minh Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District. The two children had a very difficult situation when their mother left to get married when they were both young, their father raised them alone to study but unfortunately on the way home from work, he had an accident and died on the spot. Because of his difficult situation, Nguyen Duc Anh decided to work for hire to support his younger brother Nguyen Duc Anh, who is in grade 10 at Phan Thuc Truc High School.
Understanding the difficulties of the children, Ms. Lan promptly became a bridge for benefactors to support more than 65 million VND and create spiritual support for the children to overcome difficult times.
From 2019 to now, Ms. Lan has directly called for more than 600 million VND and more than 1,000 gifts to give to disadvantaged students and lonely elderly people in and outside Yen Thanh district.
Many students who have received help from Ms. Lan not only have the opportunity to continue their learning journey but also become more mature in their thinking, knowing how to share and spread love to other difficult circumstances.
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Sharing about these typical examples, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union Tran Linh expressed: “Models like Ms. Phan Thi Hong Hai and Ms. Pham Thi Lan have contributed to building generations of students who are not only good at knowledge but also rich in compassion. Her dedication and silent work have added color to the image of “ferrymen” in today’s life...”
