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Vietnam – Hà Ánh Phượng
Hailing from a remote and mountainous province in Northern Vietnam, Hà Ánh Phượng is an exceptionally driven English teacher who is always on the lookout for new opportunities globally. She was born to an ethnic minority and currently serves as a High School English teacher in Huong Can High School. She is also one of the Top 10 Finalists of the Global Teacher Prize who is now working in partnership with Ranjitsinh Disale towards the cause of Global education for underrepresented individuals in the society.
DRIVING FORCE
You can never know when inspiration knocks on your door and there is no looking back. When Hà Ánh Phượng was only 8 years old, her mother took her to see a movie called ‘The Mountainous School’ which was about a teacher who rises beyond her job role. It was set in a mountainous area close to her community, and the teacher tread dangerous paths to meet the parents and convince them to send their children to school.
DRIVING FORCE
The movie was her view into the strife of poor people, especially women who became young mothers or fell victim to human trafficking and other social evils. This was the point where she knew that the role of a teacher is to transform society, to create a safe channel for social change. She decided at such a young age to become an English teacher and help her community. The movie was the starting point of an endless adventure that has now made her popularly known as the ‘4.0 innovative teacher’.
IMPACT
After her Master’s Degree, she returned to her hometown after turning down a well-paying job because she wanted to create change from the ground up. In her classroom, she introduced technology as a way to progress with education. She currently also teaches across 4 continents (Africa, Europe, Asia & Europe) using Video Call through Skype/Zoom. Another step she has taken is introducing her ethnic minority students to teachers across the world so that they gain global exposure. Hà Ánh Phượng also teaches children from underprivileged communities in India and Lesotho.
Reading being one of the best ways to pick up learning, she also introduced a ‘Happy Library’ which is focused on introducing her students to a vast variety of reading materials in English. Having gained a lot of national and international attention from the press, she has been a force to reckon with because of her teaching spirit.
Her “Borderless Classroom” and other such innovative programs have really elevated the educational experience for her students. Last year, all 100% of the students who previously had low grades in English Language passed the final exam.
CHALLENGE
The people in mountainous areas of Vietnam face economical and geographical concerns when it comes to education. At her High School, more than 90% of the students belong to ethnic minorities and hence, have had little to no chance at practicing or learning English with foreigners. This made them coy or even disinterested in some cases to come out of this oblivion and learn a language that would put them on a global pedestal.
Another challenge in such communities is the early marriages of women, them falling prey to social evils and not being able to garner a good education that would make them sound citizens too.
Hà Ánh Phượng took this challenge head on with the Happy Library and Borderless Classroom model. The first program introduced her students to a host of foreign language books to read, for free. In the latter, her students would connect with teachers and students across the world, virtually using Skype or Zoom. She uses a host of tools and platforms to make this possible and a change has been seen at a national level owing to her efforts.
STEP FORWARD
Being a big believer in sustainable development, her efforts will be in the direction of creating school projects for students that require financial assistance and opportunities for accessing global knowledge.
With the first round of funds extended by Ranjitsinh Disale Foundation from the Global Teacher Prize Money, she has used it to refurbish the Happy Library and also spent it developing a project on ‘Anti-Cyberbullying’. This aims to raise awareness amongst students, including students from Indian communities.
She will work closely with Ranjitsinh Disale in order to grow her cause and watch students in need find their path.
Knowledge is powerful when it is accessible. We often forget the latter & RDF wishes to be a changemaker in the education space. With the use of technology & tools, we want to create a student community that has unlimited seats.
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