The heart of a teacher in an island commune

SGGP November 24, 2023 08:39

As one of three managers and teachers working in Ho Chi Minh City honored by the Ministry of Education and Training as "Outstanding Teacher" in 2023, Mr. Le Huu Binh, Principal of Thanh An Primary School (Thanh An island commune, Can Gio district) shared many interesting stories about life and career.

debt of gratitude

Having just returned to Ho Chi Minh City after a trip to Hanoi to exchange with 200 outstanding teachers from 63 provinces and cities across the country, Mr. Le Huu Binh hurriedly returned to work. The joy and pride were still evident on his tanned face, but his sense of responsibility did not allow him to rest for a single day. Mr. Le Huu Binh said: "I received a certificate of merit recognizing my contributions to the education cause thanks to the love and companionship of parents and students. Every day I eat rice in Thanh An, drink water from Thanh An, so I always remind myself to live my life to the fullest with the people of the island commune." For more than 18 years of working at the only primary school in Thanh An island commune (Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh City), Mr. Binh has witnessed hundreds of students' different family circumstances and their efforts to improve themselves, so he is determined to devote his youth to contributing to the transformation of this land with many difficulties.

Born and raised in a poor commune of Nghe An province, young man Le Huu Binh brought his youthful enthusiasm and passion for teaching to the island commune of Thanh An to realize his dream. Every day, from the mainland to the island commune, Mr. Binh had to sit on a boat for nearly an hour, not to mention the monsoon season, storms, and big waves, making the way to school even more difficult. However, with his love for his students, the young teacher still goes to class every day, bringing letters and the desire to change their lives to poor children. The school has long been his second home, so even though he had the opportunity to transfer his job to an environment with better conditions many times, he still firmly decided to stay in Thanh An to fulfill his wish.

“Principals in other places focus on management and professional development, while I have to manage more things, including work outside of school such as motivating students to go to class, not letting any of them drop out, and taking care of their spiritual and material lives,” Mr. Binh shared.

Every year, on the opening day of the new school year, parents and students see a big smile on the principal's lips - the person who personally goes around mobilizing each set of textbooks, notebooks, uniforms, bicycles and scholarships for the students at the beginning of each school year.

Parents and students in Thanh An island commune still tell each other about the "principal's free barber shop". It is a barber shop without a sign or rooms, teachers and students sit and get their hair cut wherever is convenient. "Most of the students here have parents who work far away and live with their grandparents, so they don't have the conditions to take care of their clothes and hair. I thought I would do whatever I could for them, but unexpectedly, this concern helped them open up and share more with me about their family circumstances, helping teachers and students become closer," said teacher Le Huu Binh.

Mr. Le Huu Binh, Principal of Thanh An Primary School (Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City), cuts hair for students after school hours.

Want to do more for students

For many years, students in Thanh An island commune have been familiar with the image of the principal wearing a white shirt, caring and meticulously trimming each student's hair. Understanding the hardships and disadvantages of students in the island commune compared to children in the inner city, recently, in the summer of 2023, Mr. Binh came up with the idea of ​​coordinating with Thanh An commune to organize free English classes for poor students.

“In the difficult economic conditions of teachers and students, I collect every little progress of my students to motivate me to continue trying, wanting to do more for them,” Mr. Binh shared.

In addition to taking care of the students' learning conditions, the dedicated teacher also spends a lot of time educating students to be aware of self-improvement in life, not relying on the help of departments and social organizations. Because in addition to knowledge, the more difficult the living conditions, the more students need to strive to improve themselves so as not to drop out of school halfway, to strive to improve themselves to change their lives, and when they grow up, they can return to build their homeland and country.

To realize that wish, teacher Le Huu Binh proactively integrated into the educational program activities introducing good people and good deeds, organizing for students to interact with typical examples of rising awareness, watching skits and video clips to give them more motivation to strive.

In particular, this school year, the school's teaching staff aims to build a happy school, helping students feel that "school is home, teachers are relatives" so that teachers and students no longer have a distance, and together strive to excel in study and life.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tam-long-nguoi-thay-noi-xa-dao-post715500.html