November-11-2008
ThanhNien News.com
Reported by Dang Ngoc Khoa

After making some VND10,000 (59 cents) as a motorbike taxi driver each morning, Phan Van Huot settles in for an afternoon of teaching math, for which he makes even less.

But he’s not complaining.

Everyone around Cho Ba (Lady Market) in the central province of Quang Nam’s Thang Binh District knows and respects Huot.

He’s been driving his motorbike taxis and tutoring local students for 17 years.

He’s taught nearly 1,000 students practically for free.

Sometimes, students don’t pay with money at all, they just give a chicken or a duck, Huot says.

“They’re poor but keen on studying,” he says.

It began when some of his neighbors asked him to tutor their children in math, remembering that in high school, he had a local reputation as an excellent math student, Huot says.

The group of students grew larger and larger until some were coming from outside the district, even rowing boats across the Truong Giang River to attend his class.

Older brother, not “teacher”

Though he earns little money, Huot still rewards his best students with free books and notebooks.

Teaching is more challenging than driving a motorbike, but also more interesting and rewarding, he says.

“At the end of every school year, over 80 percent of my students pass their school graduation exams,” he says, noting that many had terrible grades before seeing him.

It’s worth noting that though many of Huot’s students move on to higher education, the teacher never attended college or university himself.

Twenty-two years ago, Huot traveled from his hometown to Ho Chi Minh City to take the People’s Security University entrance exam.

“It then was a big event, at least in my hometown,” Huot said.

Not having enough money for the bus, Huot hitchhiked along National Highway 1, but it was three days before a truck picked him up.

“The road was rough, but I felt happy when I thought about reaching Thu Duc District [in HCMC] to take the exam,” he said.

But after a day and night stranded in Khanh Hoa Province, and several other setbacks, Huot was still an hour from HCMC in Dong Nai Province 30 minutes before the exam was to begin.

“It was too late!” Huot says. He then worked construction and as a part-time teacher in Dong Nai for two months before returning home.

He’s been in Thang Binh ever since. “I don’t have a really strong will,” he says. “If I was determined, I would have taken the exam later and I would have a good job like some of my former classmates.”

Huot says he decided to stay in his hometown because he couldn’t stand leaving his old parents alone.

Though he just scratches by financially, he keeps teaching local children and encourages them to study hard for a better future.

Even so, Huot says he doesn’t like them to call him “teacher.”

“It is difficult to be a teacher. I only wish to be a family figure or an elder brother helping them.”