A male student in Do Luong district is determined to win the first prize in the provincial excellent student contest to give to his late teacher.

The teacher "supports" the students

Kieu Dinh Nam's First Prize in Mathematics at the Excellent Student Competition for the 2023-2024 school year is a "rare" First Prize in Mathematics of Do Luong 2 High School in many years. Even the entire Do Luong district this year has only oneFirst Prizein this highly competitive subject.

Sharing about this special achievement, teacher Tran Van Trung - Principal of Do Luong 2 High School added: Do Luong district has strengths in Mathematics, but most of the excellent students often choose specialized schools or first-class schools in the district. Therefore, for schools far from the center like ours, creating resources is very difficult. Therefore, in recent years, the school has rarely had students achieve high scores in provincial competitions for excellent students, especially in Mathematics.

Kieu Dinh Nam was a student at Ly Nhat Quang Secondary School. Despite having a favorable starting point, Nam said that during his secondary school years, his achievements were quite modest, as he only won third prize in the district's excellent student competition and was far short of the points needed to get into the province's specialized school. Nam said: "I think that the results of my secondary school years reflect my true abilities, because at that time I was not diligent, did not have clear goals and did not have the motivation to strive."

Entering grade 10, Nam would hardly have been able to make a breakthrough if he had not met teacher Cao Tien Trung - who directly taught Math at Do Luong 2 High School.

Nam said: When I first entered grade 10, the teacher was very interested in me and always encouraged me to try. I myself was attracted by the way he imparted knowledge. What's more interesting is that the teacher taught Math but was considered an "Encyclopedia". Therefore, his lectures were not rigid or dry, they did not stop at numbers but often integrated into many other subjects, so we both learned Math and learned a lot of new and interesting knowledge.

Accompanying the students, teacher Cao Tien Trung also fuels the passion, puts faith in and constantly encourages students to overcome difficulties to rise up. He himself is also an example of constantly improving his expertise and skills to be able to impart a lot of knowledge to his students. The 12th grade Math team of Do Luong 2 High School competing was also built by him during that process and Nam is always a typical factor that the teacher places trust and hopes for.

Gift of gratitude

Nam and the team of excellent students could have finished their journey as planned if the health of teacher Cao Tien Trung had not suddenly taken a turn for the worse at the end of the first semester of grade 11. At first, during class, students saw him having a stomachache while teaching, and everyone thought it was just a normal pain. But then, his health gradually weakened, and one day, because of the pain, he collapsed on his desk.

Later, in order to continue teaching and accompanying the team of excellent students, the teacher had to use supporting devices to complete the lecture. The peak of anxiety and insecurity in the students' hearts was when the whole class received a message from the teacher: "My health is not good anymore, I have proposed that the school replace someone to teach you."

Remembering his teacher, Nam said that even in the most difficult times, he still encouraged “our class, try your best” and hoped that the students would continue to love Math. As for the team of excellent students, he was always worried and promised “to make up for the lessons when he is well and continue to support the tutors”. However, his promise could not be fulfilled, because after a very short time, Nam’s teacher passed away forever, at just over 40 years old.

It was a big shock for Nam and his students. But besides the sadness, Nam and his friends told each other to try hard not to disappoint their teacher's expectations. Nearly a year after the teacher passed away, under the guidance of teacher Nguyen Thi To Nga and teacher Nguyen Huy Khoi, the team members really accelerated to focus on the Provincial Excellent Student Competition for grade 12.

Telling more about this, teacher To Nga said: Our school's Math team initially had 3 students, but in the end it was reduced to only 2 members, so the school put all its trust in the students. The students themselves also tried very hard and during the training process, I saw their determination and desire to win.

Expressing her respect for her former colleague, teacher Nguyen Thi To Nga also said that she was lucky because with the solid foundation that Mr. Trung had built for his students, Ms. Nga did not encounter many difficulties in reviewing later: I am only a guide, a person who supplements documents and guides the students. Most of the time, the students study and research documents by themselves. As for Nam, who has a more solid knowledge, during the learning process, he also tutored and supported his teammates.

Another quality of Nam that the teachers who directly trained him noted was his diligence, hard work, and never giving up on the homework that the teachers asked of him. One of Nam's memories before coming to the Provincial Excellent Student Competition was that 2 weeks before the exam, Nam had severe pneumonia and took medicine but it did not get better. Before the exam day, partly because of taking a lot of medicine and partly because of anxiety, Nam's body was uncomfortable and he could hardly sleep.

Although not in the best health and form, Nam still won the first prize. To reach the finish line, Nam shared a very simple secret, which is to master the knowledge in the textbook, practice exercises regularly, and do from easy to difficult exercises. During the review process, if he encounters a problem he cannot solve, he will ask his teacher or refer to other lectures online. Along with Nam, the remaining member of the team, Nguyen Khac Trong, also won the second prize in this year's competition. This is also considered a miracle ofDo Luong 2 High Schoolin the 2023-2024 school year.

Nam said that this was an unexpected result and a special mark in 12 years of high school. However, the award is even more meaningful because he and his friends want to show their gratitude to their teachers, their school, especially to the teacher they cherish so much. In a far away place, Nam believes that the teacher can rest assured and share the joy with his students...