At a special boarding school in Bac Ninh, students who were once labeled "bad" are having the opportunity to study, work and gradually "improve", correct mistakes in a disciplined environment.
When talking to reporters, recounting the days of "wandering" - leaving home for months, sinking into the world of games, online gambling... children often bow their heads, claiming to be "bad children".
This boarding school currently receives and screens records of students aged 16 to 18, mainly those with excessive mischievous behavior, phone addiction, indulging in online gambling, racing or causing public disorder.
The boarding school currently has more than 400 students from many provinces and cities. When parents brought them here, the students were all in a state of dropping out of school, running away from home continuously, organizing racing with friends... Boarding school teachers said that they have witnessed so many life experiences, have seen so many times the images of fathers and mothers hugging each other and crying when bringing their children here, asking school teachers to have educational methods to help their children re-examine themselves, go the right way.
According to statistics, 50% of boarding school students come here because of game addiction and online gambling.
Talking to Lao Dong reporters, a warden shared that the job here is not only teaching literacy but also teaching the most basic things in daily life. "There are many things we have to correct for the children, from how to greet, clean the room to personal hygiene. In addition to training from teachers, the children also learn from their peers. Every morning, the children practice greeting each other, gradually forming a disciplined habit, starting from the smallest things," the teacher said.
Regarding preventing violent acts, the school applies martial arts training methods for students. According to the invigilator, students who tend to use force to resist will be put into a controlled competition environment.
100% of students here are taught martial arts but not for fighting but for self-defense and health training. Every collision must be within the framework of competition. With more than 400 martial arts team members ready to participate, they understand that causing trouble will not bring any benefit," a teacher said.
From a management perspective, the Vice Principal believes that collective punishment is one of the effective measures to raise awareness of responsibility. "Education is to make students think for others. If one student does not copy the lesson, the whole room will stay until it is completed. When one person is wrong, the whole collective takes responsibility, students will be forced to think and act for the collective.
For many students here, the biggest sadness does not come from discipline but from separation, detachment from family. "There are times when I see other friends being visited by their parents, but I am not, their eyes at that time are very longing. Only when they are away from their families do they clearly feel the value of family affection. Of course, some students come home and still re-offend, but when they are here, they have started to realize that," the teacher confided.
There have been students attached to this school for many years. When asked about their feelings after more than 5 years of living and operating here, one student only answered briefly: "I am used to life here...".
In boarding schools, there is a camera system to monitor all activities of students.
The gate is always locked, almost "unleashed". Students are not allowed to go out, when they need to go out, teachers and supervisors will accompany them.
The learning environment puts discipline first.
Behind the closed gates, reform schools are not only places where discipline is put first, but also spaces for children who have been lost to learn to live slowly, understand the value of responsibility, family affection and learning opportunities, and stand up from mistakes.
