The blue classrooms

I arrived at the Thanh Nhan Village Cultural Center at 2 PM. The slanted sunlight streamed through the faded wooden windows, illuminating the glimpses of blue uniforms in the distance. The sound of children reciting their lessons seemed clearer and louder in the sunny afternoon.This is a class organized and taught directly by volunteer students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Thanh Xuan commune (Soc Son district, Hanoi). Although it's intended for all children in the commune, due to transportation difficulties, the class mainly attracts students from Thanh Nhan village and neighboring villages such as Trung and Na. The class has nearly 50 students, mostly primary and secondary school students. The "teachers" have to divide the community center into different areas: some are diligently doing primary school math, others are reciting secondary school English, and still others are diligently practicing spelling and reading Vietnamese. Therefore, maintaining a stable class while ensuring quality education for the children is quite challenging. "Teacher" Tuan (K54 Political Science) looked at me and smiled: "The students are quite mischievous; sometimes they're still running around, laughing, and chatting loudly even when it's time for class. It takes quite a while to get them settled." However, once they're in class, they're quite focused, diligently doing calculations and copying letters. They especially seem to enjoy learning English. When I asked them to read the numbers from 1 to 10 in English, they eagerly competed to read aloud for me: "One, two, three…" Then, when taught the most basic sentences, they enthusiastically read them aloud clearly: "Good morning, Good afternoon." Not being a teacher myself, seeing this lively atmosphere, I suddenly wished I could be a teacher… In the far corner, students were engrossed in doing math and dictation. Due to limited facilities, elementary school students have to sit together to study Math and Vietnamese. Teachers hold each student's hand, diligently guiding them as they write. Binh (K55 Political Science) is grading the math problems the students have just completed. The children eagerly stand around, even "requesting" that the teacher use red pens instead of blue ones so they can "show their parents when they get home." When I asked which was better, studying at school or here, a 7-year-old honestly replied, "I like studying here better because the older students don't scold me and I can play freely!" Each lesson lasts two hours, but it usually doesn't end there. At the end of the session, the children bring up advanced math problems, unfinished English assignments from class, and ask for help with the solutions and presentation. Sometimes, they simply ask innocently and sincerely, "Will you come back here to teach us again next year?" Some students who live nearby even rush home to bring cool drinks for the older students. The distance between them gradually narrowed. “I don’t know when it started, but I’ve come to see them as my own younger siblings. I miss them when I go home in the evenings,” shared Chi (K54 International Studies). Next year, other “teachers” in blue uniforms will come to teach them, but no matter what, these days will surely become a beautiful memory in their childhood. All the “teachers” are looking forward to the day they can see the students in blue uniforms again…