The 18-year journey of sowing words in rocky mountains
After 18 years of working in the profession, Ms. Vang Thi Dinh - a teacher at Dong Van Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minorities (Dong Van commune, Tuyen Quang) - still maintains her dedication and belief that "if you want to, anything can be done".
For her, teaching in the highlands is not only about imparting knowledge, but also a journey to sow faith and open up new opportunities for students in the border area.
The day Ms. Dinh took up the job, the road to Dong Van school was full of potholes and steep rocks. Most of the students are children of ethnic minorities, many of whom have walked dozens of kilometers to get to boarding school.
"Here, students cannot speak the common language fluently, so acquising knowledge will probably be slower than students in the lowlands. Parents have few conditions to care, almost entrusting them to their teachers. Everything from teaching, caring, and encouraging goes to teachers" - Ms. Dinh said.
Lack of facilities and limited teaching conditions, but she believes that as long as the children attend the classes fully, it will be a success.
In her journey with students in the highlands, the memories are always deeply imprinted in her memory. Once, an 8th grade student was depressed, dropped out of class, and spent time in the room. "I had to wait and talk to him many times, then assign him to be the class monitor to arouse confidence and spirit. After a while, I gradually regained my balance and returned to normal schooling" - she said.
Another time, a student arbitrarily left home more than 30 km from school. "When I discovered it, I quickly took my motorbike to look for it. Luckily, I met him in the middle of the road and was able to take him home safely. If it was a little late, it was dark, the mountain road was very dangerous" - she recalled.
Ms. Dinh added that her joy and motivation do not come from simple memories, but from being able to sow knowledge and knowledge to students in the highlands. "Teaching in high mountains is hard, but seeing the students make efforts every day, I see all the difficulties as disappearing, only faith in their future" - Ms. Dinh expressed.
The journey to bring STEM to the rocky land
In recent years, when STEM education has become a trend, Ms. Dinh decided to self-study to bring this method to the highlands. "At first, I just thought that it was simple to find a way to make students more interested in Math. After that, I learned about the courses of STEAM for Vietnam and the Vietnam STEM Education Promotion Alliance. Learning online, I gradually realized that STEM is not strange, I just need to know how to connect with student life" - she said.
From online classes, she began building the school's first STEM & Robotics Club. Gradually, this model spread: students got acquainted with robots, experimented with programming, and then participated in robot performances.
Not stopping there, Ms. Dinh and her colleagues also organize a STEM Festival at school, turning the schoolyard into a creative space where students can directly assemble, test, and display products.
For Ms. Dinh, teaching STEM in mountainous areas is not just about teaching about machinery or programming. That is also a way for students to see the meaning of knowledge in life. She often associates each lesson with a real situation: teaching negative numbers with an example of winter temperatures below 0 degrees; teaching toan is for students to make their own paper box and hat models. "When touched, done, tried, they understand the song faster and remember it longer" - she said.
She said that what made her most proud was not the excellent student or the award, but the change in their awareness. "In the past, students were afraid to ask questions and make mistakes. Now they are more proactive, programming robots themselves, doing their own experiments, and even arguing very enthusiastically in the club. I clearly see that they are growing up and being more confident every day" - she shared.
Now, the school's STEM club operates regularly every week. Even without a teacher to guide them, students still make appointments to go to classrooms to complete the product. "Seeing students so proactive, I feel that all my efforts are worth it" - she expressed.
According to Ms. Dinh, teaching in the highlands is difficult, but the most valuable thing is the sincere affection between teachers and students. "You consider teachers as family members. Here, we not only teach knowledge but also teach children how to live and nurture their dreams" - Ms. Dinh shared.
