The kindness of a teacher in the Ky Son highlands who watches over her students' afternoon naps
(Baonghean.vn) - Winter as well as summer, to keep students awake enough to continue their afternoon classes, a teacher in the mountainous area of Ky Son district volunteers to take the students to class and then sit and watch them take a nap.
We arrived at Ta Ca Primary Boarding School (Ky Son District) when the students had just finished lunch. Quickly eating the bowl of rice that her colleagues had just served, teacher Nguyen Thi Linh Thuy put on a warm coat and hurriedly got on the bus to go to the students' houses. Her colleagues seemed to be familiar with her daily work so they were not surprised.
They said: “That’s Ms. Thuy, her house is nearby but she never comes home at noon. After class, she orders lunch at school so that she can take the students to class to sleep at noon, wake them up on time, and prepare for the afternoon class.”
Ms. Linh Thuy's first class has 28 students, all of whom are children of the Khmu ethnic group in Ta Ca commune. She shared: "Their family circumstances are very pitiful, most of them are poor and near-poor households. Many families have parents who work far away, leaving their children to be raised by their grandparents. Of the 28 students, only more than 10 are boarding students, the rest have to pay for their own food and accommodation."
According to Ms. Thuy, in the first days of school, entering first grade, most of the children were bewildered. After school at noon, the boarding students did not take a nap but wandered around the villages and streams. This was not only life-threatening because of the high risk of drowning, but also greatly affected the quality of learning in the afternoon. Many children studied in the morning and then went home at noon, and did not come to class in the afternoon. Some others who came to class just fell asleep on their desks because they were tired.
“Seeing the students like that, I couldn’t bear it. I talked to the school board so that the out-of-school students could take a nap in class. The blankets, mats, and pillows that were requested were all given to the students staying behind. At first, it was very difficult because the students weren’t used to it yet. Every day, I had to go to each student’s house to persuade them, wait for them to finish eating, then use my car to take them to class. Of course, seeing her do that, all the parents supported her. The parents who work far away were very happy when she sent pictures of their children taking a nap via Zalo,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Linh Thuy shared.
At exactly 11:30, the first graders, without anyone telling them, voluntarily went to the locker room to bring blankets, pillows, and mats to the already cleaned classroom. Each sleeping place had been assigned in advance, and under the guidance of teacher Thuy, the students followed it very seriously. After only a few minutes, the students fell asleep, while teacher Linh Thuy still sat next to them to keep an eye on them. Normally, after 1 hour, the students would be woken up by her to clean themselves and prepare for the afternoon class.
“The hardest part is the hot days. There is no electricity here, so I have to stay up all afternoon to fan the children to sleep. A few months ago, I mobilized philanthropists to get rechargeable fans, so it is much easier. After the children sleep at noon, I take the fans to Muong Xen town to charge them in the evening to bring to school the next morning. After only one month of implementation, the children have become disciplined. Now it has become a habit, I rarely have to remind them, but they are all self-aware,” Ms. Thuy confided.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ngoc - Vice Principal of Ta Ca Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities said: Teacher Nguyen Thi Linh Thuy is from Thanh Chuong, has been teaching in Ky Son for 30 years, is a teacher with good expertise. She used to live in the most difficult areas of this border district such as Bao Thang, Bao Nam. Ta Ca Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities has 230 students this year, of which 129 are boarding students. 100% of the students here are Khmu people from poor and near-poor households. Thanks to Ms. Thuy's efforts, this year the quality of first grade students that Ms. Thuy is in charge of has improved significantly compared to previous school years./.
