National Outstanding Female Teacher: Loving the Teaching Profession for Simple Things

"Miracle" at the International Chemistry Olympiad

Talking about the achievements of teacher Le Thi Lan in this school year, we cannot fail to mention the Bronze Medal of the International Chemistry Olympiad that she and her student Phan Nhat Duat just won in August in the Czech Republic. The result compared to expectations may not really satisfy the teacher and student, but looking at the journey that both teacher and student have gone through, it is truly a "miracle".

2018 - nearly 20 years, teacher Le Thi Lan has been attached to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Photo: Song Hoang

Previously, among the 4 members selected for the national team to participate in the International Chemistry Olympiad this year, Duat can be considered the most special member. The reason is that Duat was only able to compete in the national competition in grade 12, while the remaining members, who at least had2 years of experience in the team, one of them participated in the International Chemistry Olympiad for the second time.

During his first years at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Duat was also a boy who often “lost” in exams, for the sole reason of being careless. When she learned that Duat’s strengths were quickness and intelligence, teacher Lan also realized Duat’s limitations that were not easy to fix.

Talking about the process of training Duat: "I am a very strict and quite difficult teacher. Even though Duat's papers were done correctly, I never gave him full marks because his handwriting was so bad. Many times when Duat received the results, he wondered, "Why did you grade me so harshly?" - Ms. Lan said.

Teacher Le Thi Lan and student Phan Nhat Duat at the 2018 International Chemistry Olympiad. Photo: NVCC

Then Duat's "strength" of doing the test quickly was also adjusted by her because "fast" often goes with "sloppy": "Every time Duat does the test, I am nervous because I believe in his ability. But to have a good test requires comprehensiveness, just one mistake is failure... After more than two years of effort, in grade 12, Duat was able to return to the school team to participate in the National Excellent Student exam. More surprisingly, despite being a new soldier, Duat won first prize and was selected to participate in the qualifying round of the International Chemistry Olympiad and won a ticket to the Czech Republic to officially participate in the exam."

Talking more about this special memory, teacher Le Thi Lan shared: "The most regretful thing is Duat's Bronze medal. Because before that, after finishing the theory round, Duat had the second highest score in the whole group. But, when it came to the practical exam, because he had no experience, after completing his exam, Duat felt unsatisfied so he asked for more chemicals to do it again. This is also the reason, Duat was deducted 20 points and was in the group with a chance to win the Silver Medal, Duat accepted to win the Bronze Medal even though his score was close to the top students...".

Love teaching because of simple things

Since graduating, this year has been nearly 20 years since Ms. Le Thi Lan has been a teacher and Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Teaching has brought her a lot of benefits up to this point, but in the past, this was not her first choice. Even when applying for university entrance exams, her first priority was the University of Economics and the University of Transport, then Vinh University. Later, she passed all three schools and applied to the University of Economics.

It wasn't until the day she was preparing to go to Hanoi and "eavesdropped" on her father's conversation that she changed her mind because she knew that his biggest dream was to have a "teacher" in the family.

Her choice that day also surprised her friends, because at that time, although she was only studying at Thanh Chuong 3 High School, she had been selected to participate in the National Excellent Student Exam in Chemistry. When entering Vinh University, she was also one of the candidates with the highest scores and the only student to graduate with honors.

Vietnamese teachers and students in the Czech Republic. Photo: NVCC.

During her school days, teacher Le Thi Lan was also a strong-willed example. Her family lived in Thanh Lien - Thanh Chuong, both of her parents were farmers, so when she was young, eating rice mixed with cassava and sweet potatoes was normal. No one expected that, although her mother was illiterate because she was poor and could not go to school, and her father was only a farm worker, teacher Lan's 5 siblings all studied very well.

The only regrettable thing is that among the 5 people, only the youngest daughter was able to study properly, the rest were all unfinished. That is also the reason, when entering university, teacher Le Thi Lan always made tireless efforts because for her, studying is not only for herself but also for her whole family.

Upon graduation, with her excellent degree, she had many opportunities to teach. However, only once when she went to Phan school to compete in the national excellent student competition in high school, she set her dream of becoming a teacher at the school. And, the new graduate did not hesitate to apply, even though she knew that the opportunities were very limited.

Talking about the teacher selection exam for Phan school, she shared: "There were 5 of us taking the exam. Among them, I was the only new graduate, the rest were experienced teachers selected from the districts. Yet, I don't know why I was confident enough to do well in a written exam, teach two specialized lessons with only one day of preparation."

The joy of teacher Le Thi Lan, her colleagues and students on the day of welcoming home the students who won prizes at the International Chemistry Olympiad. Photo: SH

With the same determination, after entering school, even though she had to stay in a rented house and ride an old bicycle every day, in the first two years, she completed her master's program and was completely independent in her life.

At that time, Ms. Lan also surprised everyone with her talent in training social science students to become excellent students in Chemistry. Later, when her skills were solid, the school trusted her to teach specialized classes and for many years, Ms. Lan had students who won high prizes in provincial exams, national exams and international exams.

In teacher Lan, everyone also feels the perseverance, integrity, daring to do, daring to challenge... the true qualities of a natural teacher. She only cries when seeing her students standing on the podium of glory, receiving awards. Then there are times when she cannot hide her emotions when suddenly her students organize a birthday party for her, seeing her former students flock to her house every November 20th, calling her "teacher, teacher"...

Joy with students at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Photo: NVCC.

Those genuine emotions are also what teacher Lan feels most clearly after nearly 20 years of working with the blackboard, chalk and generations of studious students. And then, even though it was only her “second choice”, she stuck to this job with all her passion, responsibility, and intelligence and became a dedicated and passionate “ferryman”.