Valedictorians and good homeroom teachers are willing to be friends and "follow trends" with their students.

Teacher Tran Thi Thuy - Happy to be loved by students

Teacher Tran Thi Thuy is currently a Literature teacher and homeroom teacher for grade 7 atDang Thai Mai Secondary SchoolHowever, 6 years ago, she had 10 years of working at Do Luong 4 High School with a completely different target group of high school students.

Teacher Tran Thi Thuy and her colleagues at the Competition for Excellent Homeroom Teachers. Photo: PV

Born in 1983, compared to her professional age, teacher Tran Thi Thuy is still quite young. But after 16 years in the profession, since she was a fresh graduate, she had the chance to become a homeroom teacher and became famous as "a teacher with the talent to influence students".

Recalling this, Ms. Thuy said, “I have been a homeroom teacher in many classes with many different subjects, there are selective classes, general classes, classes with many special students and general classes. Of course, I cannot help every student improve, but at least I listen, share and students feel confident when coming to me.”

Born in 1983, teacher Tran Thi Thuy is a Literature teacher with 16 years of experience in the profession, including 10 years teaching Literature at high school level. Photo: MH

Dohomeroom teacher, which means taking on "two roles", both doing professional work and being a bridge between parents and families, being a connector between students...

To fulfill her role, in addition to the role of homeroom teacher, teacher Tran Thi Thuy considers herself a "friend" of her students, so she is ready to accompany her students in all the joys and sorrows, as well as the "unstable and awkward" moments of adolescence.

Students today are under a lot of pressure from studying, life, friends and family. Therefore, they need a lot of sympathy and sharing, and the homeroom teacher needs to understand each student's situation, observe them every day and be ready to help if they encounter difficulties.

Teacher Tran Thi Thuy

Worried about her job, when participating in the competition for excellent homeroom teachers, teacher Tran Thi Thuy chose the topic "building a happy classroom" for the presentation of measures to contribute to improving the quality of homeroom work.

Teacher Tran Thi Thuy has participated in the Provincial Excellent Teacher Competition three times and has achieved outstanding results each time. Photo: MH

In addition to the pressures of school age, teacher Tran Thi Thuy said that the reason she chose this topic is because nowadays, the grading scale associated with specific achievement criteria has become a measure of the quality of a class and the work of a homeroom teacher. In order to achieve scores, many homeroom teachers have maximized, even abused their power to manage the class. At that time, the homeroom class can achieve high competition scores but the classroom atmosphere becomes heavy, pressured, constrained, tense, etc. The gap between homeroom teachers and students is increasingly widening. Students go to school only focusing on following the rules well without having the feeling that "every day at school is a happy day".

Meanwhile, teachers and schools focus on competition criteria and often forget the emotional factors of both students and teachers, including happiness.

How to make the classroom happy, the female teacher who won the top prize at the provincial competition for excellent homeroom teachers said: “The key to building a happy school is that teachers must change. Teachers must be pioneers who step out of their “comfort zone”, must find a new path instead of following the beaten path. Change in thinking, thinking; change in methods; change in perception of educational goals, of people, of students' psychology; change in communication, behavior,... If the homeroom teacher operates and manages the class with the power of discipline, it can help the class become a strong collective in implementing school rules, but the downside is that it can turn that collective into a mechanical, rigid, even cold place.

Building a happy classroom is the wish of teacher Tran Thi Thuy. Photo: MH

In the story about the role of the homeroom teacher, teacher Tran Thi Thuy, in addition to talking about the fact that teachers have to transform into many different roles such as great friends, companions, psychologists, lawyers, etc. to create a happier class with their students every day, she also talked a lot about "respecting the differences of students".

She herself also holds the view that among thousands of students, each student has a different personality. But whether they are good students or bad students, when they make mistakes, instead of looking at their shortcomings, she often looks at their strengths to encourage and motivate them. With this same view, in the practical exam, when choosing the topic "Your characteristic virtue", she tried to design a lecture in which all students, even those who are "quite special, quiet, and always self-conscious", could still express their voices. That boldness and confidence not only surprised her but also convinced the judges.

In 45 minutes, there were situations that were not in the lesson plan, but she handled them smoothly to have an exciting and interesting experience and create excitement for the students.

Love for work and students helps teacher Tran Thi Thuy overcome difficulties in life. Photo: MH

With a score of 19.5 for the practical exam and a dedicated teaching method, teacher Tran Thi Thuy also said that she was quite confident in her exam and this seemed to be the "happiest" result after three times she attended the Provincial Excellent Teacher Selection Exams.

10 years ago, when she was a high school teacher, she was the valedictorian of the practical exam and was one of the teachers with the best results in the exam. Transferring to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, teacher Tran Thi Thuy also came in second in the Provincial Excellent Teacher Competition and is now the valedictorian of the Excellent Homeroom Teacher Competition. After tireless efforts, this is a worthy result and is recognized by colleagues, students and the organizing committee...

Teacher Tran Thi Phuong - "Living" and "passionate" with students

Teacher Tran Thi Phuong is a Physics teacher and has just recently transferred to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School. Assigned to be the homeroom teacher of grade 8, for general education students, she devotes a lot of effort to her students. That is also the reason why she chose the topic of Measures to contribute to developing critical thinking for students through class activities. The measure is all her effort in 2 years and has been implemented in practice in the class she is in charge of and has brought positive results.

Teacher Tran Thi Phuong is a young female teacher, born in 1986. Photo: MH

Sharing more about this, teacher Tran Thi Phuong added: The psychological characteristics of secondary school students are a leap in both physical and mental aspects. They are gradually separating from childhood to move to a higher stage of development (adulthood), which creates a difference in physical and intellectual development. They always have the need to express themselves, especially in situations where they are motivated, encouraged, and interested. They do not like passive thinking, dependence on others, and do not want to be imposed by other people's understanding.

There are even students who like to find their own arguments, bold thinking, and go beyond the framework. But due to traditional concepts, we have hastily denied new arguments or, more seriously, "condemned". That has not stimulated the development of critical thinking needed by today's students.

The solutions implemented by teacher Tran Thi Phuong help students develop their abilities, gain confidence and make progress in their studies. Photo: MH

Going into the reality of the class she was in charge of in the 2020-2021 school year, most of the students were still shy and lacked confidence. Many students in grade 9 were oriented towards the Social Science program, but they were still limited in skills and critical thinking, leading to passive learning.

“Students mostly trust and accept the knowledge that teachers give them, and only occasionally ask questions. Many times, when faced with a new unit of knowledge, students rarely or never give their own opinions. This also shows that students are still passive in learning and are not passionate about exploring new knowledge.

Teacher Tran Thi Phuong

As a homeroom teacher, she has had many solutions to stimulate critical thinking in students by changing class hours, spending 2/3 of the time for students to organize collective activities to form and develop important qualities and abilities to perfect the personality of a "new student".

She also organized activities such as "dialogues" with many topics so that students can debate with each other, and implemented "Love Box" so that students can share their feelings and thoughts... Through the implementation process, teacher Tran Thi Phuong shared: As a homeroom teacher, I feel very happy because through my activities, the students have made remarkable progress.

As a young teacher, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong accompanies students in their studies, hobbies and extracurricular activities. Photo: MH

Many students who were shy and lacking in confidence have become bolder and more confident. Many problems in their studies, emotions, and daily activities have been resolved in these open, sincere, friendly, and joyful activities.

As a young teacher, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong believes that “her advantage is being close to her students and understanding their thoughts.” But to become a good homeroom teacher, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong must also change herself, regularly learn about youth trends, listen to music, watch movies to know her students’ interests and mingle with them to find a common voice.

The female teacher who has just transferred to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School for 3 years also said: I put a lot of passion into my job because I love my job and my students. Therefore, although being a homeroom teacher is very hard, I consider it a part of my job and I always try to fulfill my role and be ready to be a support for my students...

The joy of teachers Tran Thi Thuy and Tran Thi Phuong with students of Dang Thai Mai Secondary School. Photo: MH

Although she was quite surprised to receive the valedictorian result, the teacher born in 1986 also said that she was satisfied because it was the result of her efforts and hard work. Also at the 2020 Provincial Excellent Teacher Competition, teacher Tran Thi Phuong was the valedictorian of Physics.