The hearts of teachers in the border area of ​​Cao Veu

(Baonghean) -Cao Veu is a village located on the Vietnam - Laos border, in Phuc Son commune (Anh Son district). The village currently has 4 hamlets with more than 300 households, most of whom are Thai ethnic people. For the students here, the journey to literacy is very difficult, but with enthusiasm and love for the students, the teachers here are determined to stick with this land.

Since 1999, after graduating, teacher Tran Van Ngan in Long Son commune (Anh Son) volunteered to work at Cao Veu Primary and Secondary School. In the early years, he and many other colleagues encountered many difficulties. At that time, the road was not convenient, had to cut through bamboo bushes and reeds to make a road, moreover, the school was makeshift, the facilities and teaching equipment were still lacking and most of the people here were very poor so the children's education was almost left to the teachers. Those difficulties could not overcome Mr. Ngan's enthusiasm for his students. He decided to stick with this land with a very simple wish, which was to bring the students knowledge as provisions for life. Now, 12 years have passed, Mr. Ngan has devoted all his energy and time to professional research, innovating teaching methods to convey knowledge to the students. From the love for the students, he has achieved commendable achievements: 5 consecutive years as a Basic Level Emulation Fighter, in the 2010-2011 school year he won the title of Excellent Homeroom Teacher...

Cao Veu Primary and Secondary School currently has 26 teachers, of which only 8 are Thai ethnic, while most of them came from other places to work such as: Hung Nguyen, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky... Mr. Lang Van Khun - from Tan Ky district, used to teach in the lowlands but later volunteered to come here and became a daughter of Cao Veu; Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa from Nam Dan graduated in 1992, came here to teach and now has a family in Cao Veu village. In addition, there are Ms. Lang Thi Huong, Mr. Dang Dinh Son, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga, Mr. Le Van Cam...

The entire Cao Veu village has more than 200 students, including 176 primary and secondary school students in 10 classes, the rest are preschool students. Because the village is separated by high mountains, most of the students are ethnic minorities, so teachers face many difficulties in teaching. In addition, in Cao Veu, many students in Chau Tam and Bop hamlets have to walk 5-7 kilometers to get to school. Difficulties range from the road to the physical conditions, books, learning tools... The most difficult problem in maintaining the classroom for teachers here is to persuade students who have dropped out to return to class, especially secondary school students in Chau Tam, Bop and Trong hamlets. In those cases, teachers have to go to each house to persuade them. Thanks to the efforts of all the teachers, the dropout rate in Cao Veu last school year decreased to 4.5%. This can be considered a remarkable achievement of the great efforts of the local government and teachers in propagating and mobilizing the villagers.

To encourage the students to study with peace of mind, the teachers in the school voluntarily used part of their salary to help the students, buying them more notebooks and pens. Or at noon when the students had to stay at school, the teachers donated money to buy instant noodles, rice and food to cook for the students. The teachers' affection was reciprocated by the students' hard work in studying. Many students in the school are good students, well-behaved like Luong Thi Hiep, Dinh Van Nguyen, Dinh Thi Thuy, Ha Thi Xuan Thuong... this is a gift, a great encouragement for the teachers.

Teacher Nguyen Thuong Hien shared: "In the career of educating people in this poor border area, teachers encounter many difficulties and obstacles. But in return, with the love and enthusiasm of teachers, with compassion and responsibility, teachers will help students in the border area of ​​Cao Veu have a better future."

Thai Hien