Coming to Chau Tien Kindergarten (Quy Chau), listening to the principal list the achievements of Ms. Phan Thi Quynh (32 years old), not many people would have thought that just a few years ago, this female teacher seemed to have collapsed after a great loss. Ms. Quynh is the wife of martyr Sam Quoc Nghia, a police officer of Que Phong district who sacrificed his life while on duty in March 2020.
Having loved teaching since childhood, in 2012, after graduating, Ms. Quynh was assigned to teach at Chau Thuan Kindergarten, one of the disadvantaged communes, nearly 30km from the district center. In 2018, shortly after getting married, she was transferred to Chau Tien Kindergarten. Ms. Quynh's husband is the pride of the whole family, one of the best drug detectives of Que Phong District Police. However, due to the nature of his job, he often has to be away from home, so he doesn't have much time for his family.
In March 2020, during a raid, Captain Sam Quoc Nghia was unfortunately fiercely fought back by drug dealers, causing him to sacrifice himself. “It was a huge shock for me. At that time, even I myself did not think I could get up,” Ms. Quynh said about the months after the loss. However, thanks to everyone's encouragement and her own determination, the female teacher did not allow herself to collapse. Not long after her husband's funeral, she suppressed her pain and continued to devote herself to her work. Even just a few months after that family incident, Ms. Quynh participated in the district-level competition for excellent teachers and won a prize.
“The pain was so great that for a long time, many nights I just hugged my child and cried. But when I went to school, I had to hold back everything to do my job well. I did not want to let down my husband who had died fighting for the peace of the Fatherland,” Ms. Quynh added.
Not long after getting married, her husband passed away, so the couple did not have time to save money to build their own house. Luckily, Quynh's parents recently lent her some money so that she and her daughter could buy a house. The house Quynh chose to buy is located near the Que Phong District Police Headquarters. "The reason I chose that house is because it is close to the unit, so his teammates can often come to burn incense. He is my pride, and I also want my only daughter to follow in her father's footsteps and become a police officer," Quynh said.
Moving to a new house far from the old school, Ms. Quynh now has to wake up early every morning to send her daughter to school in Kim Son town in order to travel 15km to Chau Tien Kindergarten to work. Despite the hardship, even when it rains and is windy, Ms. Quynh has never been late. The principal of Chau Tien Kindergarten said that at school, Ms. Quynh is always dedicated and takes care of everything. Even though her house is far away, she often arrives early, decorates the classroom beautifully, and creates a love for children every time they go to school. Moreover, Ms. Quynh is also dedicated to every task, even the smallest, and is considered by the students at the school as their second mother.
Finding joy in work, with colleagues, with students, teacher Phan Thi Quynh is also finding strength for herself. She appreciates it even more because in the past 3 years, despite many changes in her personal circumstances, she has still fulfilled her family and national duties. In 2022, she was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for "Having excellent achievements in work from the 2020-2021 school year to the 2021-2022 school year". In addition, Ms. Quynh is also a grassroots Emulation Fighter for 2 consecutive years, achieving the title of Emulation Movement Good at State Work, Good at Housework and many other Certificates of Merit. This November 2023, she is a typical face of Quy Chau district to be honored as an Outstanding Female Teacher Overcoming Difficulties at the provincial level.
In 2015, due to family circumstances, Ms. Vi Thi Hang (born in 1991) had to leave her job as a teacher at a kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh City to return to her hometown (mountainous district of Tuong Duong). At this time, Ms. Hang's father had just suffered a stroke and was paralyzed in one arm and one leg; her grandmother was very old and weak; mother and daughter depended on each other... Ms. Hang returned with the wish to continue taking the exam to become a kindergarten teacher in her hometown to conveniently take care of and support her grandmother and father.
Ms. Vi Thi Hang's wish was partly fulfilled when she was admitted. However, Ms. Hang was assigned to teach at Huu Khuong Kindergarten - a particularly disadvantaged commune in Tuong Duong district. Her way home was much shorter than before, but the way to school was full of hardships and many new challenges.
Huu Khuong Commune is located in the Ban Ve hydroelectric reservoir area and is likened to an “oasis”. To go from Ms. Hang’s house in Thach Giam town to Huu Khuong Commune is an extremely arduous journey, taking a whole day, with many stages of getting on the bus, getting off the boat, walking uphill…
At the time Ms. Hang started working at the school, Huu Khuong commune was a "nothing" commune because it had no electricity, no market, no motorbike roads, and food and clean water were in short supply. Even the commune's kindergarten was very makeshift. After each flood, teachers had to spend a lot of time cleaning up mud, reinforcing tables and chairs... Because of the living conditions and low educational level of the people, the care of children was often "outsourced" to the school by parents. In a new, strange and difficult environment, when she first arrived, teacher Vi Thi Hang wanted to learn a lot from her senior colleagues. But the "support" was no longer there because few people who came to Huu Khuong persisted in staying in the village and school. Later, her learning was mainly through documents and asking senior teachers in the district. Taking advantage of the weekends when she was home, she registered for part-time university classes (studying every Saturday and Sunday) to improve her skills and professional qualifications.
With her eagerness to learn and efforts to improve, Ms. Hang quickly became a key teacher at the school, achieving many outstanding achievements such as excellent teacher at the district level, emulation fighter at the grassroots level. In 2017 and 2018, Ms. Hang won 2 prizes in the "Elearning electronic lesson plan" contest at the district level. Ms. Vi Thi Hang said: "Using electronic lesson plans in teaching will help children be more interested in learning; help teachers save time preparing materials and teaching aids. At school, I used a computer connected to a TV (borrowed from a local person) to teach children."
Ms. Hang has been cultivating her love of learning and responsibility for her profession until now. Even now, although she has transferred to Luong Minh Kindergarten, Ms. Hang still demonstrates her qualities of "being good at school and taking care of housework". At work, she is always dedicated to her profession; dedicated, responsible and always excellently completes assigned tasks. In the process of performing her duties, Ms. Hang always works proactively and scientifically; clearly identifies tasks to prioritize implementation... With difficult problems that she does not fully understand, Ms. Hang does not "hide her ignorance" but frankly discusses and asks for comments from the school's board of directors to implement, as well as improve herself. In the 2022-2023 school year, she achieved the title of excellent teacher at the provincial level.
Teacher Ngo Thi Thuy Hang - Principal of Luong Minh Kindergarten said: Teacher Hang loves her job and children; is energetic, enthusiastic, responsible, flexible and creative in her work. For example, she has applied information technology to design computer games to help students get acquainted with and operate computers; created new toys to teach students more effectively. Especially, in her role as President of the school's Trade Union, Teacher Hang has quickly promoted her role and duty to protect the legitimate rights and interests of union members; advised the school to organize meaningful activities such as mobilizing union members to pick up pebbles to assemble and paint stone paintings to sell, earning over 7 million VND as gifts to support poor students in the commune...
As a shining example of spirit and will to rise, teacher Vi Thi Hang was selected by the Tuong Duong District Labor Federation to attend the 2023 Outstanding Female Teacher Overcoming Difficulties award ceremony.
Talking about her own wishes, teacher Vi Thi Hang shared: I grew up in a situation lacking love. My father and mother separated when I was only 2 years old. I was raised by my grandparents. Now that I am a mother and a teacher, I only wish that no one should lack love. Therefore, my wish is to strive and try harder to fulfill my duties and responsibilities, to foster more love for my children and students.