The touching story behind the miracle of student O Du

Talking about Lo Giap Than, teachers and friends are surprised and respectful of a student from a very small ethnic minority with a lot of personality and determination. Along with that, there is admiration for the teacher-student relationship, for the homeroom teacher who is willing to become a solid support to help him get up after his failures and difficulties.

The sprint when transferring blocks in senior year

After completing the high school graduation exam, the O Du Lo Giap Than student (born in 2004) had to go to Hue city to work part-time in the hope of having more money to cover his family's living expenses.

Although far away from their son, Lo Giap Than's parents and relatives have received great comfort from the scores he brought home in the recent High School Graduation Exam. Than's small house in Vang Mon village, Nga My commune, Tuong Duong district is filled with laughter these days as many relatives and villagers come to congratulate him on his impressive achievements in the three university entrance exams.

With 8 points in Literature, 8.5 points in History and 9 points in Geography, Than had a bright ticket to enter the university he had chosen.

Lo Giap Than is an O Du ethnic student, born in Vang Mon village, Nga My commune, Tuong Duong mountainous district. Photo: NVCC

The small house of Lo Giap Than's family in Vang Mon village, Nga My commune, Tuong Duong district. Photo: NVCC

Talking about Lo Giap Than's achievements, Mr. Tran Van Son - his homeroom teacher at the provincial Ethnic Boarding High School said: Although his starting point was more disadvantaged than his classmates, from the first time I met him, I had a special impression of his quick, confident and intelligent behavior.

Than is not only smart in studying but also very creative in daily life. For example, the teacher's chalk box has long been ignored and neglected. Many times the box is broken, causing the chalk to roll around on the table or the boxes are often not very aesthetic. Than noticed that and used plastic bottles to make a car-shaped chalk box for teachers, which is very convenient and beautiful.

Or during the school's Stem Festival, I also demonstrated my outstanding abilities when I made a product with my friends and took on the role of presenting. The model that Than and his friends built was a hydroponic model, quite new to my classmates. However, right in the dormitory, I also experimented with this model by growing onions, garlic, and spices in water bottles. Those little things made me more impressive in the eyes of everyone.

Lo Giap Than with his homeroom teacher Tran Van Son. Photo: NVCC

Talking about Than's learning journey, one special thing is that he decided to change his university entrance exam block when he entered his final year of high school.

Than shared that since middle school, he has loved block C subjects, especially Geography. However, he chose block B for his career goal. It was not until grade 12 that he realized his love for block C was growing that he decided to change to block for university entrance exams.

In the remaining sprint months of grade 12, I had to make a detailed review plan. Even though I was quite lazy before, when I decided to change my major, I felt like my passion for studying had multiplied. And I thought: "I can't be lazy anymore, I can't let down my teachers and family". Therefore, the determination to overcome myself helped me complete the sprint plan during the review process. The knowledge and lectures are diagrammed to make it easy to learn and remember. The data are systematized in relation to time and scope of influence. From there, the knowledge becomes logical, easy to understand and much more vivid.

Holding the transcript in his hand after the exam, the happiest thing for Than was that he had overcome the inferiority complex of an ethnic minority candidate to assert himself. More importantly, he did not disappoint the care of his teachers, because according to him, if it were not for his teachers, especially his homeroom teacher, he would have dropped out of school in grade 10. The story of the teacher-student relationship was told by him in a very emotional way...

Lo Giap Than (first on the left) is one of the23 Nghe An youths attend the 2019 National Congress of the Vietnam Youth Union. Photo: Archive

Teachers - a solid support

In his story, Lo Giap Than talks a lot about Mr. Tran Van Son - his Geography teacher and homeroom teacher.

She said that in 10th grade, she often slept a lot during class. She was even very mischievous in class. This made her study results and conduct quite low. However, what surprised her was that her homeroom teacher never looked down on her qualities. He was sad, reprimanded, reminded, but then he encouraged her to strive to improve in her studies.

Even when I intended to quit school, the teacher himself stood up to advise and assured the school's Board of Directors that with his prestige and experience, he would revive the brave person in Lo Giap Than. Step by step, he helped me create my new value.

After that incident, Than changed a lot in his thinking and actions. And then, after knowing that Than had decided to transfer to grade 12, Mr. Son and the teachers at the school also supported him a lot.

Because class 12A4 has students from other grades, it is very difficult to review. After a period of consideration and calculation, the school decided to have a group of grade C students to review for the students, including Lo Giap Than. From here, the students' learning efficiency has improved significantly. And the proof is that Than's exam result achieved a total score of 25.50 - the highest score ever for an O Du student at Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School.

Talking about his young student, Mr. Son said that he always kept in mind: Give love and you will receive love. A good teacher is someone who knows how to inspire rather than impart and knows how to inspire students and themselves. Thus, each teacher not only has the responsibility to impart knowledge but also to let students see their own abilities, to inspire them to develop their hidden abilities.

Results of 3 university entrance exams of 7 O Du students at Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Together with other teachers in the school, Mr. Son understands the lack of affection of the students when they have to study far from home, so he has devoted a lot of attention and care. The joy has come when this year the results of the students in the whole school are high. Among them, 7 O Du ethnic students have quite good results in the university entrance exam with 6 students above 20 points and 1 student achieving 19.5 points (excluding priority points). That is an important premise for the students to have a good start in the future journey ahead./.