Sowing personality, cultivating the future

Lush green vegetable garden on campus. Photo: GIA KHÁNH

Turn the school yard into a learning garden

Vinh Hau A Primary School used to be located in Area 3, the Eastern bank commune of An Phu district (before the merger), from National Highway 91C, you had to take a boat to get there. Although it is a small school in a remote area, the school's Board of Directors always determined: Education is not only about imparting knowledge but also about training personality, forming a sense of work and responsibility for students. Therefore, the model was chosen to help students learn while doing, experience to grow up.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong - Principal of Vinh Hau A Primary School said: “We build a specific plan and assign tasks clearly. The Board of Directors is responsible for directing, monitoring and removing difficulties; the Team Leader coordinates with professional groups to organize activities and check progress; professional group leaders integrate experiential content into lectures; homeroom teachers are responsible for managing assigned areas; logistics and technical groups are responsible for designing and installing irrigation systems and protective fences. Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 get to experience being farmers at school.”

Instead of just having flower beds and ornamental plants, Vinh Hau A Primary School takes advantage of an empty land of about 50 square meters to make a vegetable garden. Each class is in charge of a part of the area, assigned to take care of it according to a specific schedule.

“The children were guided through each step, first mixing coconut fiber with soil to incubate for a week, then sowing seeds. The class was divided into two groups, one group was in charge of watering in the morning before school, the other group was in charge of watering in the afternoon before leaving. By taking care of the garden directly, the children could clearly feel the vitality of the vegetable garden every day. When they harvested and bundled the vegetables to sell, they understood the joy of completing the assigned task,” said Ms. Bui Thi Hong Thuy, a teacher at Vinh Hau A Primary School.

After 1-2 months of cultivation, the bundles of water spinach, mustard greens, Malabar spinach, and sweet potato leaves are harvested and sold to parents and teachers. Even the street vendors around the commune place orders because people love the clean vegetables grown by the school. Each crop, about 80kg of vegetables are sold. The school uses the money earned to reinvest in seeds, fertilizers, and support disadvantaged students.

From experience to life lessons

Not only growing vegetables for sale, the school also uses the vegetable garden as an extracurricular learning place. Natural and social lessons, experiential activities, etc. are integrated into the model. Students not only listen to lectures, but also observe, take notes, and practice right in their own study garden.

The lessons become more lively and exciting for students who love to learn. Those simple experiences gradually become vivid lessons about perseverance, team spirit and environmental awareness. From taking care of flowers and growing vegetables, the students learn to appreciate the efforts of farmers, to appreciate each meal and each vegetable on the table.

Ms. Thuy said: “Many students do not know how to eat vegetables because their families often focus on eating meat and fish. Since teaching them to grow vegetables, I encourage each student to eat more vegetables grown by themselves, so that they can feel the freshness of the vegetables. Those who know how to eat vegetables like to eat them even more.”

After 1 year of implementation, the school yard seems to have a new coat, full of flowers and green. Not only has the landscape changed, but the awareness and attitude of the students have also changed significantly: They are proactive in maintaining hygiene, know how to cooperate in work, and are more confident in studying and communicating.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong affirmed: “This model of increased production is also a positive educational method. Through labor, children learn lessons about being human, appreciating the value of labor, loving nature and living responsibly. Currently, we are drying the soil, preparing to continue teaching and learning on new vegetable beds.”

In the context of the education sector aiming at the goal of comprehensively developing students' qualities and abilities, the model of "School associated with labor and production" of Vinh Hau A Primary School is a vivid demonstration of that spirit of innovation. From the lush green vegetable beds and the colorful flower beds, the school is sowing the first seeds of love for labor, personality and the desire to live beautifully in the students' souls.

GIA KHANH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/geo-mam-nhan-cach-vun-trong-tuong-lai-a464488.html