Study Encouragement Society Newspaper

Written by Ho Ngoc Khanh - 10/9/2000

"The time my grandfather teach"

My grandfather is the person who like Vietnamese film very much. Some times he watches a film two or three times, film “River-side village” is an example. That day when we were watching the film for the third time, he turned into me to say: “please listen to what teacher in the film was talking”.

When that episode passed, he asked and I answered:

- The teacher asked the monitor: why didn’t you know that there is one pupil absent for some days? And she blamed the monitor: I could not really understand you!

- Does it mean that the teacher herself did not understand why her pupil did not go to school?

- Yes, grandfather.

He nodded his head and sighed:

- It would not happen like that when I taught.

The time my grandfather was a teacher? It is when he was 20 years old. He voluntarily went to teach in mountainous areas. In the village of H’Mong ethnic group, he had to build school with local people. Particularly, he persuaded and organized children to go to school. He was happy as if he got dropped property when one child went to school. If there was one pupil absent, he was worried, climbed mountain and crossed stream to come his house to ask the reason. He would find solution if there was any difficulty. He would explain if parents did not understand benefit of study. He spent his salary to buy maize and rice to help pupils if his family was poor to afford meal.

The time my grandfather was a teacher, there were four teacher at Man Mon school of Bac Ha district, Lao Cai provice were devoted to their pupils, they came to visit pupils’ families though it was in remote and isolated areas. Even they met wolves and tigers on the road but they were not afraid.

The time my grandfather taught, there is teacher Trinh Ngoc Trinh - war invalid man breaking one arm - spent all his monthly salary to help pupils in the small village of Son La province for months. Once, there is heavy flood, Teacher Trinh grappled with big waves to bring each pupil across the stream to school.

The time my grandfather was a teacher, teachers knew well about situation of each pupil, and were whole-hearted for their pupils.

Finally, he asked me:

- Or does school become a market? Does teacher become a letter seller like in the market and does not know who is the buyer? If yes, we have become ancient and backward people.

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