The single mother's eyes stung at her teacher's words: "Our class supports the school the least..."

Ms. Le Thuy Ngan, whose daughter studies at a secondary school in Hanoi , said that recently the school mobilized support for flood victims.

Although she was the one who directly called on students in the class, only once did her child's homeroom teacher send information about group contributions to the parents.

Her message read: "This support is voluntary, not mandatory. Parents should consider their own circumstances to participate or not, it's okay."

Raising a child alone, Ms. Ngan is under pressure with many expenses (Illustration: AI).

The mother revealed that she contributed a small amount of 50,000 VND on behalf of her child. At that time, she was somewhat worried about whether such a contribution was small, and what she and the other parents would think...

Amid the devastation caused by storm No. 3 to the people of many northern provinces, Ms. Ngan did not want to count the support. However, she divorced her husband, raising two children alone, she had to shoulder all the monthly expenses by herself. Especially at the beginning of the school year, she had to borrow money to cover a series of expenses.

Regarding supporting flood victims, she also contributed a little through the company, through the locality... So, when the school launched the campaign, the mother had to consider it more or less.

However, during that fundraising week, Ms. Ngan said that unlike other classes, the homeroom teacher did not update the donation list, nor did she remind, suggest, or urge parents to support.

When the notice of support time is over and no more donations are accepted, the teacher will send statistics of parents' contributions to publicly announce the amount of money contributed.

In this list, she only wrote the names of the contributing parents, without including information about which student's parents.

When counting the amount, she said: "My class donated the least amount to the school, but that's okay. I'll contribute whatever I can, so I don't let volunteering weigh me down. I myself only contributed 50,000 VND to the class. I thank all the parents."

Reading her message, Ms. Ngan's eyes stung. Tears just kept flowing out of her eyes because of emotion. Since having a child, she became easily moved to tears by such small happiness and emotions.

A case of a teacher publicly posting a list of students who have not contributed to the "Pink Smile" voluntary fund that parents previously reported (Photo: HD).

She does not compete, does not pressure her to contribute, and does not put pressure on her parents. She also does not hesitate to share the modest amount she has contributed. Her way of doing things helps her sister and many other parents feel relieved.

Ms. Le Thuy Ngan said that she was often pressured by voluntary donations and mobilization. Not to mention the school fees for her two children, there were also piggy banks and pink smiles to support disadvantaged students and those affected by natural disasters. Then in the neighborhood, organizations... also knocked on the door to call for support for this or that.

She has also witnessed cases where teachers list students who do not contribute to the fund even though it is voluntary.

According to Ms. Ngan, the campaign to support charity must be done in the spirit of volunteerism. The implementation must be tactful so that participants do not feel pressured with their own money.

Through activities or the way of implementing voluntary programs at schools, the thinking, courage and heart of those working in education are clearly demonstrated.

In recent days, public opinion has been stirred up by the incident of a school in Ho Chi Minh City only giving certificates of merit to students who donated 100,000 VND to flood victims. In this case, the kindness of students and parents is put on the scale of the school to measure.

Besides this "scale", many schools organize voluntary activities true to the word "voluntary".

Le Quy Don Primary School, Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City awarded certificates of merit to students who donated 100,000 VND or more (Illustration: Hoai Nam).

Ms. Tran Thu Quyen, whose child attends primary school in Thu Duc city, Ho Chi Minh City, said that at her child's school, the school did not announce about donations and support.

But on the last Mid-Autumn Festival day, there was a small donation box in the corner of the school yard. Students and parents who wanted could contribute some money to join hands with the school.

She saw 2,000 VND, 5,000 VND, and 10,000 VND bills in the donation box. Quyen's daughter also took out 20,000 VND from the 100,000 VND her father's company gave her on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival.

In contrast to the case where the school awarded certificates of merit to students who donated 100,000 VND or more, in Hanoi, in the announcement launching the movement to support donations for flood victims, MV. Lomonosov Secondary and High School stipulated that students could not donate more than 30,000 VND.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Tung, Principal of MV. Lomonosov Secondary and High School, the school launched a fundraising campaign to support flood victims in the Northern provinces on the basis of ensuring education, arousing the spirit of mutual support and sharing in students, but at the same time helping them feel happy and joyful with giving, avoiding showing off or comparing among children.

The amount of 30,000 VND, according to the school representative, is within the students' ability to support. They can use their savings or pocket money to support without having to ask their parents for money. Supporting is really the students' job instead of the parents'.

The clearest decision in this regard is the request for schools not to solicit sponsorship from parents from the Hai Phong Department of Education and Training due to the impact of storm No. 3.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/me-don-than-cay-xe-mat-truoc-loi-co-lop-minh-ung-ho-it-nhat-truong-20240926104416537.htm