Teachers who captured the hearts of their students in 2018

The teacher held the student's baby while she took the exam.

That was teacher Nguyen Van Ket (a lecturer at Hanoi College of Technology and Commerce). He held his student's baby for two hours while she took the exam.

Out of necessity, with no one to look after her child, the female student had to bring her baby to class. During that time, the baby cried a few times, and the teacher had to comfort her. The student said she felt lucky.

Many students at the school describe the professor as easygoing, kind, and very enthusiastic. In particular, besides always encouraging academic achievement, he is very concerned about the lives and circumstances of the students.

The teacher celebrated the birthday in a special way.

With just a small amount of money and a unique way of celebrating her students' birthdays, Ms. Du Thi Lan Huong, a math teacher at Chu Van An Secondary School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), made the classroom atmosphere joyful and filled with laughter.

Instead of handing out Lunar New Year money to each student, which would be very expensive, the teacher chose to challenge the students' luck and abilities with a game of throwing and catching money.

After the challenge, only 3 students managed to catch the money. Just 60,000 dong, but both the teacher and students had a good laugh. Perhaps the amount of money wasn't as important as the spiritual gift of the students' joyful laughter that the teacher brought.

Ms. Huong is strict during class time, but outside of class, she is cheerful and sociable with her students.

She always finds ways to encourage students when they do well in their studies, especially those who are struggling but show significant progress at each stage. Now 58 years old and having been in the profession for over 33 years, Ms. Lan Huong shares that her enthusiasm and love for her students have not diminished, and she always wants to be closer to them.

The principal wrote a letter of encouragement to the students who failed the exam.

Knowing that the student was upset because she was the only one who failed the exam, Mr. Nguyen Vuong Linh, the principal of Kim Lien Secondary School (Nam Dan, Nghe An), wrote a letter of encouragement and affirmed, "You were born to do greater things than this; the score on one exam doesn't tell the whole story."

At the Nam Dan district's gifted student assessment exam for grades 6-7-8, the school had 63 students participating, and 61 passed, with only Thuy Duong failing. The little girl was very upset. Duong comes from a disadvantaged background; her father passed away early, and her mother remarried, so she lives with her grandmother.

After reading the letter that Mr. Linh sent, Duong was deeply moved and felt much less sad.

As a school administrator, Mr. Linh believes that excessive emphasis on academic achievement should be avoided, as it can create pressure on students and negatively impact many other aspects of their lives. He argues that children, in addition to studying, need time for play and participation in social activities to develop into well-rounded individuals. Focusing solely on academics is not beneficial.

“For students who misbehave, I invite them to my office. The punishment is to write a well-written essay about family love, or the mother-child relationship, four or five times. From those words, the children will understand their parents' feelings and become more obedient and studious. There have been many times when the children have cried while writing their punishment essays because they were so moved,” Mr. Linh shared.

Letter to students causes a stir during graduation season.

Ms. Nguyen Minh Ngoc (Literature teacher at Dinh Thien Ly High School, Ho Chi Minh City) also wrote a letter to her students that caused a stir during this year's graduation season. Drawing from her own experiences and lessons learned in her youth, the teacher advised her students to live ordinary, decent lives.

Always approachable, engaging, and organizing inspiring activities, Mr. Pham The Manh (Mathematics teacher at Yen Hoa High School, Cau Giay District, Hanoi) is affectionately called "dad," "mom," and even nicknamed "big boss" by his students.

As a math teacher, Mr. Mạnh also plays the role of a "psychological expert" and "wins the hearts" of his students by always evoking positive emotions during class.

In addition to actively interacting in class, this teacher also creates other communication channels such as Facebook and phone calls to be closer to his students.

"I've always believed that the greatest achievement of teachers isn't certificates or awards, but the recognition from the thoughts and hearts of each student. I only hope that when I meet former students, I'll receive a greeting, and that we can sit down and reminisce about happy memories. My biggest fear is students turning away when they see me," Mr. Mạnh shared.

The teacher was dedicated to every single comment.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Huyen (Mathematics teacher at Quang Trung Secondary School, Bao Loc City, Lam Dong Province) wins the hearts of her students with unique and heartfelt comments alongside grades, making tests more relatable and meaningful.

Instead of just grades or curt comments, her tests always included impressive, emotional, and even humorous remarks.

Or, for tests with minor mistakes, the comments might be: "Messiness is never perfect. Remember to write more neatly next time," "If you had read the question carefully, you would have gotten 10 points," "Too bad, be more careful next time."

For students with low test scores, Ms. Huyen would offer supportive comments to help them feel less discouraged: "The path to success always has obstacles, try to overcome them. I believe you can do it," "You need to try much harder," "I'm very sad, you need to pay more attention in class,"...

Ms. Huyen dedicated extra time to providing feedback, hoping to ease the students' stress about receiving their test scores. The students responded enthusiastically and felt more relaxed.

The headmaster is "unlike anyone else".

By encouraging students to use smartphones, organizing gaming competitions, and allowing them a day to wear whatever they like to express their individuality, Mr. Hoang Van Viet (Principal of Bao Thang No. 2 High School, Lao Cai) has driven his students "crazy" with his unconventional rules.

Upon entering Bao Thang No. 2 High School (Lao Cai), one immediately notices that the entire school is covered in Wi-Fi.

Teacher Viet boldly registered for a pilot program allowing students to practice through online learning channels on social media. Students, with just a smartphone, can participate in online classes. Teachers can create their own lectures, build question banks, and even organize 15-minute tests, 1-hour tests, and semester exams right online.

Mr. Hoang Van Viet, the principal of Bao Thang No. 2 High School in Lao Cai, has driven his students "crazy" with his unconventional regulations.

"Facebook has so many great things! Even adults get hooked, so how can we stop students?" Therefore, Mr. Viet is always ready to interact with his students on social media. In this way, the principal is even called "the psychology expert" by his students.

There were also times when students approached Mr. Viet to share sensitive stories, such as collecting tuition fees at the beginning of the year or complaints about inappropriate behavior from their homeroom teacher.

Mr. Hoang Van Viet (Principal of Bao Thang No. 2 High School, Lao Cai)

“I always share equally with my students, treating them like friends. If students need to confide in me, I'm always ready to share. This way, students will trust their teacher. The educational process will therefore be more effective. If a teacher doesn't know anything about their students, they will be blind in guiding their education. Personally, I think that as a teacher, one shouldn't say no to their students,” Mr. Viet said.

For students who frequently skipped school to play online games, Mr. Viet found a way to organize gaming competitions. Besides prizes for the winners, students had to promise never to skip school again. Thanks to these unconventional educational methods, the school has significantly reduced the number of students who are reluctant to attend school.

The village school teacher has changed herself.

It's impossible not to mention the efforts of village school teacher Le Thi Nep to change herself and her outdated educational mindset – the subject of the "Our Teachers Have Changed" program produced by VTV7.

From a young age, teacher Le Thi Nep (a teacher at Bac Son Primary School, Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province) was subjected to a lot of physical punishment. She applied that method of education to her students and always believed it was the right path.

She was very good at managing the classroom, and the students were very obedient, but negative behaviors gradually emerged when she asked the students not to spread their fingers out while doing math; they started to feel scared, stressed, and secretive.

Ms. Le Thi Nep - Teacher at Bac Son Primary School, Hung Ha District, Thai Binh Province.

When students were doing their own thing, she would constantly call on other students to point out their mistakes. When students misbehaved, she would quickly accuse them without listening to their explanations; calling their parents was very tactless. She also frequently asked harsh questions to blame them in front of the whole class.

According to her, this parenting style stems from the strict upbringing she received from her family when she was young, based on outdated educational principles.

After expert analysis and training, Ms. Nep realized that her educational views were outdated and needed to change. The village school teacher believes that a change in mindset and perception is crucial to changing her behavior.

The changes in Ms. Nep's teaching methods, from how she encourages students to her attitude when they make mistakes, have made the classroom atmosphere much more relaxed and enjoyable.