Green library

(Baonghean) - Colorful tubes with fairy tales, educational comics, or general science books inside, hung with colorful cloth strings on shady tree canopies, have created a unique green library model at Huu Kiem Primary School (Ky Son).

Arriving at Huu Kiem Primary School during recess, we were surprised by the fact that in addition to the bustling atmosphere of the fun activities, many students came to the colorful tubes, gathered in groups of three or five around the tree roots, and happily shared their storybooks. Books, stories, and paintings such as: Collection of Vietnamese fairy tales, Grim's fairy tales, Maybe you don't know... or Thieu nien tien phong, Toan tuoi tho, Tuoi hoa... were rolled up and arranged very cleverly in long plastic tubes, hanging from high branches of trees. During recess or extracurricular activities, students only need to choose their favorite seats, with their hands within their reach, to easily choose interesting and attractive books. Luong Thanh Mai, a student of class 5B, showed us a comic book called Than dong Dat Viet, showing us off: "There are many good storybooks, I like this series the most, there is a friend named Ti sun who tells many funny stories!"

Students are excited about the green library model.

Teacher Dao Cong Quang - Principal of the school, said: "Not only students, but also many delegations visiting the school are interested in this model. We call this the green library, which has been implemented for the second year and is a practical activity in response to the program "Friendly school, active students". The idea of ​​this model comes from the concerns of teachers about the reality, nearly 400 students of the school are children of Thai, Mong, Kho Mu ethnic groups..., with many limitations in awareness. The conditions for accessing books, newspapers and general science are not many, leading to disadvantages in terms of life and worldview compared to students from other regions. Before the green library model, Huu Kiem Primary School had created and tested many other reading models to encourage students to have more contact with books, but it was still not attractive enough to eliminate the habit of indifference, neglect, and even "fear" of reading! Not discouraged In order to achieve this, the teachers and staff of the school's board of directors were assigned to search for, study, and refer to typical models in some schools in the northern mountainous region - with terrain characteristics and cognitive levels similar to those in Huu Kiem - and finally, decided to choose the green library as a breakthrough point in thinking about books for students. "We chose the green library model because our school landscape has many green trees, with wide and sturdy canopies, and many stone benches placed around the tree roots - gifts from benefactors and the school's daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law, completely suitable to create a reading space close to nature" - Teacher Dao Cong Quang confided.

The green library of Huu Kiem Primary School sounds very simple, but to achieve today's success, the teachers of the school have also gone through many difficulties. They had to worry about finding enough plastic tubes of the same size to fit the books and create a common aesthetic, and they were also worried that the students, who are at the age of mischief, would not be aware of keeping the books intact. "The biggest worry is adding books for the students. If they read the same number of books and newspapers every day, the students will get bored very quickly. But to innovate regularly and continuously, the school's budget is limited, while in this special area, socialization from parents and local people is almost impossible. After much consideration, the school finally overcame difficulties to do it," said teacher Vi Thi Tuyet - Music - Art teacher and Team Leader.

That dedication has also been rewarded, when now, the familiar image at Huu Kiem Primary School before class or every break time is the attentiveness and interest of students with useful books. More excitingly, the habit of reading books has partly positively affected the learning results and communication skills of the students. Notably, in the 2013-2014 school year, the school's students won second prize in the district-level Vietnamese Language Exchange Contest. Those sweet fruits must have warmed the hearts of dedicated teachers in the mountainous region with many difficulties and the green library model is worth paying attention to and expanding to other schools in the province.

Article and photos:Phuong Chi