Major Ho A Thanh is the class’s teacher. He is an officer from Muong Leo Border Post under the Son La provincial Border Guard Command.
Special class
Muong Leo Border Post in Muong Leo mountainous commune, Sop Cop district is among the ten posts on the Vietnam-Laos borderline. Muong Leo commune is home to mostly H’Mong, Thai, and Kho Mu ethnic people.
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Major Ho A Thanh teaching students |
Knowing that most of local people are illiterate, the border post has decided to open a literacy class for them. The class is open five evenings a week. Its learners are at different ages. Some trainees have to bring along their small children. The learners are divided into two groups based on their literacy levels; thus the board is divided into half too, one for math and the other for the Vietnamese written language and literature.
Major Ho A Thanh applies different teaching methods to suit each trainee, helping them gain knowledge easily. Besides basic knowledge, he also organizes cultural and artistic programs, updates them with new policies, new laws, civilized lifestyle. As a result, the trainees attend the class more often and step-by-step abolish backward customs.
Good results
According to Major Ho A Thanh, the class is opened in a 40sq.m house of a local living faraway.
He recalled that at first some did not know the meaning of learning and some felt embarrassed because of their old age, so they did not take part in the class. Thus, border guard officers had to go to each house, work in the fields with locals to explain, disseminate and encourage them to attend the class.
Since 2019, with the support from the border post’s Party committee, chain-of-command and local authorities, Sop Cop district’s Division of Education and Training, five such classes have been organized for more than 100 people. Almost all of them are able to read, write, do simple calculations now and have positive changes in their awareness and actions.
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The border guard officer enthusiastically instructs the learners to review their lessons. |
Vu Thi Xe, aged 52 from Sam Quang village, excitedly said that she used to be shy and afraid of going to market. Participating in the class with Major Ho A Thanh as instructor, she now can spell, read fluently and write names and know how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, go shopping and calculate. “Thank you very much, teacher Ho A Thanh and Muong Leo Border Post.”
With the assistance from officers and soldiers of Muong Leo Border Post in general and Major Ho A Thanh in particular, many literacy classes have been launched annually, contributing to reducing the illiteracy rate in the commune, helping improve local people's knowledge, and developing local socio-economy, said Giang A Denh, Secretary of the Party Cell and Head of Sam Quang village.
Together with knowledge provided in the class, Major Ho A Thanh also joins hands with local authorities to guide people to apply scientific and technological advances to cultural, socio-economic development.
Source: baobienphong
Translated by Mai Huong