22 years of sowing letters in Cor village

And I also have a teacher who, although not “pretty” in appearance, has a beautiful heart, a passionate love for her students and a devoted love for her job. And another beautiful thing is that she has taught us students and been attached to our Cor village for the past 22 years.

That is the story of teacher Tran Thi Kim Cuc. She was born and raised in Dien Ban, Quang Nam and graduated from Pedagogical College in 1999. At that time, she could have applied for a job in the delta or where she lived, but she chose Bac Tra My district as the place to lead and bring many classes of students across the river to the shore of knowledge. She was assigned to teach in Tra Kot commune, Bac Tra My district. Tra Kot commune is a remote commune and is home to the Cor people. At that time, this was an especially difficult area, with no roads or electricity. She had to take a bus to Tra Duong intersection and walk more than 23 kilometers, wading through many rivers, streams, and passes to get to school.

Climbing mountains and wading streams to encourage students to go to class

The lives of the people here are difficult in every way, so they only care about working hard to earn food and clothing every day, and few people care about their children's education. And the students are not interested in going to school. Therefore, the students often skip school to wander around the corn fields, rice fields, and streams to pick vegetables and catch snails to help their parents. Whenever the students skip school, on the weekends, the teacher has to climb mountains and wade through streams all day (because the houses in the village are often far apart) to go to each student's house to persuade them to go to class. If there are no students or parents at home, she has to continue walking to the student's family's fields. The walk is long, hungry and tired, but she does not give up, she still tries to meet the students to advise them to go to school, to remind them that they must go to school to hope for a better future.

I myself was her student and she visited my house many times to persuade me to go to school. And the image of her wet hair, muddy sandals, and cold hands standing in front of my house during the rainy season is an image that I will never forget even when I get older.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Cuc (left) and the author - her student and now also a teacher

Photo: TGCC

For her, the happiest thing is to see the children in our village grasp knowledge after each day of going to class. She left her youth in the village with a heart full of love for children and her job. She left her parents to her siblings in the countryside to take care of, and she took care of us students. She confided: "In the first years, I missed my parents and family so much, but the road was so far, how could I go back? Sometimes I could only go back to my hometown 2 or 3 times a year."

When I became her colleague, I once asked her: "Why didn't you move back to your hometown when things were so hard?" She shared: Back then, it was difficult to travel and she missed home. Her parents advised her to move back, but every time she saw our innocent, honest, and natural eyes, she couldn't bear it. And especially, she wanted to see all the children in our village go to school, gain knowledge, and have a brighter future. To me at that time, she was not only a teacher but also a sister and a friend. Because after class, she often caught lice and gossiped with us students. On weekends, she also picked vegetables and caught snails with us to improve our meals. And when I became her colleague, she always helped me with my work, just like how she loved me in the past.

Many of her colleagues have come to our village but have left after a few months or years of work, but she still stays, still regularly comes to class to impart knowledge to generations of students. She has been attached to our village for more than 20 years and has also witnessed our village change day by day. One must have a deep love for us children and a dedicated, noble love for the profession to be able to stay for so long in such a minority area. Her love and affection for our students and our village is a complete, noble affection.

Living beautifully means that when we encounter obstacles and challenges in life and work, we always happily find a way to overcome them and never give up. Living beautifully is being devoted and devoted to work. Living beautifully is giving sincere love to our students. Living beautifully is helping colleagues sincerely and without asking for anything in return. And she is exactly like that.

I myself was her student and now a teacher, more than anyone I understand that if it weren't for her and teachers who love their students like her, I certainly wouldn't be where I am today. And to me, she is a beautiful person, always spreading positive things for me to learn, strive for today and tomorrow.