In the place where lesson plans are prepared by flashlight

(Baonghean.vn) - On sunny days, the stream dries up, on rainy days, the mini generator cannot operate, so teachers here have to prepare lesson plans with flashlights. When the batteries run out, they have to use oil lamps. After preparing lessons, they look up and their noses are covered with soot. Furthermore, they have to "advance" their meager salaries to buy books and school supplies for students without even thinking about compensation.

Over 100 km of forest road every day

Teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Thanh (born in 1989) is an art teacher at Luong Minh Primary School (Tuong Duong District, Nghe An), working here for 5 years. Previously, the school had 2 art teachers, recently one teacher transferred, so Ms. Thanh has to be in charge of art for 38 classes at 9 schools. Therefore, this subject must be taught in a rolling form, after teaching at one school, she will move to another school.

The way to school of students in mountainous district of Tuong Duong

At the time we visited, Ms. Phuong Thanh was teaching at Minh Tien village school. This school mainly has Thai and Khmu ethnic students from 4 villages: Minh Tien, Dua village, Minh Thanh and Cham Puong - the most difficult areas of Luong Minh commune.

Ms. Thanh and her husband live outside Cua Rao, it is 50km to get to this school. If the weather is favorable, they go in the morning and return in the evening, which is 100km of forest road each day. There are many days when they come home when it is already dark. Looking at that small, skinny teacher, it is hard to imagine her riding alone over mountain passes and through forests at dusk.

My classat Minh Thanh village school, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong, Nghe An)

“Once, on the way home, I lost control of the car and rolled down a shallow abyss. The car ran over me, causing excruciating pain. I pulled my legs out but couldn’t pull the car up and my phone had no signal. I was both scared and sad, so I just cried, thinking I would have to stay all night in the forest. Luckily, a teacher on his way to the commune discovered me and pulled me and the car up,” Ms. Thanh recounted that incident.

The accident made Ms. Thanh think about quitting her job, but when her leg was no longer swollen, she drove nearly 100km round trip to pursue her dream of teaching drawing to students in the highlands. “The students’ common language is limited, so teaching subjects with many specialized terms like fine arts is very difficult. There are terms that students do not understand, I have to explain, find appropriate ways to express, and lack of colors, drawing paper... Sometimes I have to teach by rote or use my own money to equip the students,” Ms. Thanh confided.

Luong Minh Secondary School, Minh Tien village

Prepare clothes under flashlight.

On rainy days, the road would collapse, many sections would be buried under the earth. On one side was a ravine, on the other side was a landslide. Only the experienced drivers dared to go, but the teachers had to stay at school. Sometimes they had to stay for a whole week. The food was poor, needless to say, the most frightening thing was that there was no electricity, no clean water to use.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Thanh is preparing lesson plans under flashlight.

It was raining, the stream was flowing, the turbine (mini hydroelectric plant) could not operate. The teachers here had to use flashlights to prepare lessons. When the flashlight ran out of battery, they used oil lamps. When the battery ran out, they had to use oil lamps. After preparing lessons, they looked up and saw their noses covered with soot..The official residence only had two individual beds in each room, the bed slats were almost all broken, and a damaged, rotten wooden cabinet. In the flashlight light, the teachers used their personal trunks as tables, sat cross-legged on the beds to prepare lesson plans.

Advance salary to buy books for students

Ms. Cut Thi Xao (born in 1994) is the newest teacher at the Xop Chao hamlet school (Luong Minh Primary School) and is also the only female teacher at this school. "I got married and moved to Xop Chao hamlet, so the school's Board of Directors created favorable conditions for me to work near my husband's house," Xao confided. Although her husband's house is near this school, in fact, this is considered a remote place in Luong Minh commune. From the commune center to get here, you have to go 3 stages: motorbike, boat and walk for more than 1 hour.

Being a woman and a new teacher, Xao was given “priority” to teach one class, while the other two teachers had to teach a combined class. Xao is currently teaching a second grade class with more than ten students. Fewer students does not mean less hardship, especially since this is Xao’s first time teaching a class.

Teachers' beds at Xop Chao village school

Most of Xao's students are Khmu. "They don't speak Kinh fluently yet, which greatly affects their ability to absorb knowledge. Fortunately, they are very well-behaved and obedient," Xao said. Therefore, the lesson program often exceeds the regulations on the number of periods because there are parts that teachers have to persistently teach over and over again until the students can absorb them. "Here, we cannot follow the program. Based on the Ministry's program framework, we have to flexibly adjust the duration to ensure both time and students can absorb the lesson content," Xao shared about his work.

Teacher Cut Thi Xao said:"No matter how difficult, we can overcome it. I just hope the students can continue to go to school."

“Most of the students here are children of Khmu and Thai ethnic groups, and their circumstances are extremely difficult, so it takes a great effort from their parents to let them go to school. Many children go to school but do not have enough books and school supplies,” Xao shared about his students.

Like other colleagues, Xao used his salary to go to town to buy books, notebooks and pens for his students. When asked what he would use to make up for it, Xao just smiled because letting the students continue to go to school was not his only wish. If because of lack of books and notebooks, students had to stop going to school, Xao would be very sad.

“No matter how difficult it is, we try to overcome it, just hoping that our students will have better learning conditions and progress,” Ms. Xao confided. That is not only the sentiment of Ms. Thanh and Ms. Xao, but perhaps of all teachers in remote areas, teachers working in remote areas…

Vu Thai Quang