Green-uniformed teacher Lo Van Thoai and his students fight against illiteracy. Photo: NVCC.

Mr. Lo Van Thoai is a Lao ethnic, born and raised in Muong Va village, Muong Va commune, Sop Cop district, Son La province.

Dual Mission

These days, the first cold winds of the season have begun to blow across the villages, but every evening, teacher in green uniform Lo Van Thoai (Nam Lanh Border Post, Sop Cop District, Son La Province) still goes to class, bringing letters to the Mong ethnic people.

Mr. Thoai graduated from Border Guard College 1. In 2003, he was assigned to work at Muong Lan Border Guard Station, working in the Mass Mobilization Team. In 2021, he was transferred to Nam Lanh Border Guard Station.

21 years after graduating, he has also been directly teaching literacy classes for Mong people in the border communes of Muong Lan and Muong Va.

Mr. Thoai confided: “People here do not have the opportunity to go to school, so their knowledge and farming techniques are limited, leading to low productivity, so life is very difficult. Seeing that, I want to contribute a small part of my efforts to help people learn to read and write, know how to apply science and technology to production to increase productivity and income to improve their lives.”

Being both a soldier of Uncle Ho's army and a teacher "carrying" the responsibility of bringing knowledge to ethnic minorities, Mr. Thoai did not mind the hardship of climbing mountains and wading streams to get to class.

However, the literacy class of the teacher in green uniform did not start smoothly.

Mr. Thoai recalls: “In 2003 and 2004, when I went to people’s homes to encourage them to attend literacy classes, they refused and even refused to talk to me because they did not understand the importance of learning and knowing how to read and write. In addition, the language and cultural differences somewhat distanced them from me. In some families, both parents and children were illiterate, so motivating them to attend classes at the same time was a difficult problem.”

After many times of campaigning without achieving the desired results, Mr. Thoai decided to change his "combat tactics". He applied the 4-together principle including "eating together, living together, working together, and speaking the ethnic language together".

Thanks to the same 4 principles, Mr. Thoai has created intimacy, closeness and eliminated the gap between culture and language. During the campaign, Mr. Thoai persistently explained to the people to understand the letters to get rich, escape poverty, chase away hunger and develop the homeland.

“As soon as this worry is over, another worry arises when I try to motivate students to come to class. I have to try to build a program and class hours that are interesting and attractive to students. If it is boring or too difficult, they will drop out, and the task of motivating people to come to class is considered zero,” Mr. Thoai confided, adding that for parts that are too difficult, I often teach more slowly and ask each student.

Or when I feel the classroom atmosphere is tense, I don't try to cram but organize games; tell funny stories for everyone to listen to, so studying becomes easier.

After many years of sticking to the letter, with a sense of responsibility and regular ideological work, the students of the green-uniformed teacher graduated regularly and were loved by the people.

“By 2017, people finally understood the meaning of the letters the soldiers brought them. People asked each other to come to the literacy class to study,” Mr. Thoai excitedly shared.

Students attending the literacy class taught by Mr. Thoai are mainly Mong ethnic people. Photo: NVCC.

Motivate students

During his 21 years of teaching, Mr. Thoai has been involved with many classes of different ages, including the elderly and the young. Many people, after learning to read and write, have returned to propagate and teach those who do not know how to read and write so that they can understand more about the value of going to school.

Teacher Lo Van Thoai said: “I will always remember my student Giang Pa De, her family was poor and she could not afford to go to school. When she came to the literacy class, she showed a spirit of learning and eagerness to learn. After completing the first stage, she continued to study the second stage. Now, she has grown up, is trusted by the villagers and elected as the Head of the Women's Association of the village.

“After finishing school, I actively promoted and encouraged people to attend literacy classes. As someone who has experienced and understands the value of literacy, the process of mobilizing people to attend classes was more effective,” said Mr. Thoai.

Not only in the work of eliminating illiteracy, teacher in green uniform Lo Van Thoai also spends time to help people understand and abandon feudal customs such as early marriage that have existed for many generations; popularize laws, Law on Marriage and Family...

Sharing about her teacher, Ms. Giang Thi Mi (in Muong Lan commune, Sop Cop district, Son La province) emotionally said: “Before, I was very shy about going to school, because I was too old to learn to read and write like a first grader. However, teacher Thoai was very enthusiastic, patient and motivated. During the teaching process, he was always dedicated. On many cold winter days, the cold in the mountains was like cutting skin and flesh, the road was muddy and rainy, but he still went to class regularly.

Going to school, I learned to read and write, how to use technology like phones or research farming documents to increase production efficiency. If I didn't know how to read and write, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Mr. Lo Van Thoai is one of 60 exemplary teachers honored in the "Sharing with Teachers" Program in 2024, jointly organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union, the Ministry of Education and Training and Thien Long Group.

According to: giaoducthoidai.vn