A female student from Cua Lo achieves the top rank in Literature.
At this year's provincial-level Grade 9 excellent student competition, Literature was the subject with the highest number of participants. Surpassing the province's most outstanding students, Le Bao Thi from Hai Hoa Secondary School, Cua Lo Ward, was one of the two first-place winners and also secured the top score with 17 points.
An unexpected title.
Le Bao Thi isvaledictorianThis was the first Literature exam at Hai Hoa Secondary School. Personally, I was really surprised by the results because Literature (Table A) is the subject with the highest number of candidates. Meanwhile, the entire province only had two first-place winners, a very low percentage compared to previous years.
Personally, I also said that when competing with students from across the province, I didn't have many advantages. My home is far from the city center, so besides school and tutoring from my teacher, I didn't have the opportunity to take extra classes outside of school. I also never attended any extra classes for gifted students, so before the exam, I wasn't very confident in myself.
When mentioning Le Bao Thi, teacher Nguyen Thi Chau LoanButThe homeroom teacher, who has also directly taught and mentored the student for many years, could not hide her pride.
Having been involved in the profession for over 30 years, Ms. Chau Loan said that Bao Thi is one of the students who left a particularly deep impression on her. “I taught Thi from the 6th grade and noticed her from the very first lessons. The most outstanding thing about Bao Thi is her very clear passion for literature. She studies literature not to pass exams or follow a model, but to learn with genuine emotion and independent thinking. Her writings always have her own opinions, her own voice, and demonstrate depth of thought.”
Besides having excellent comprehension skills, Bao Thi also possesses a strong self-learning attitude and a proactive spirit, never giving up when receiving feedback and corrections on her work. “Every time I correct her work, she takes it seriously and shows significant improvement in subsequent essays. It is this receptive attitude that has helped her continuously improve her skills and confidence when taking exams,” Ms. Lan shared.
With over 30 years of experience, teacher Chau Loan said that she had once had a student win first prize in the provincial excellent student competition. However, this is the first time a student has achieved the title of valedictorian. Throughout the teaching and tutoring process, the student's assignments have always been highly praised.
During the tutoring process, Ms. Loan placed particular emphasis on skill development: Initially, Bao Thi hadn't established her arguments or learned how to apply literary theory to support her work. Through grading papers and direct discussions, I often guided her on how to understand the issues, how to reason, and how to develop her ideas. Once she mastered the skills, the student could perform well on any type of question, Ms. Loan emphasized.
Studying for a degree in love.
Sharing her study methods, Bao Thi said that her passion for Literature came to her quite early, starting with her habit of reading books. Reading extensively helped her appreciate the beauty of language and naturally nurtured her love for literature.
When choosing literary works, Bao Thi particularly loves the gentle and subtle writing style of authors like Nguyen Nhat Anh and Thach Lam; she likes the way they tell stories so that readers can draw their own lessons from them.
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During her studies, in addition to fulfilling her teachers' requirements in class, Bao Thi proactively honed her writing skills in her own unique way.
I started by mastering basic knowledge and skills, then gradually improved my vocabulary and refreshed my expression. When practicing, I often replaced familiar words in my essays with more creative expressions that reflected my personal style.
Le Bao Thi
The female student also shared that during her exam preparation period, her teacher, Ms. Chau Loan, was a constant companion, meticulously grading and correcting her assignments. Despite the pressure of exam preparation for both of them, Ms. Loan always encouraged and supported her. Her dedication and responsibility helped her improve and become more confident every day.
For this year's gifted student exam, in addition to the knowledge taught in class, Bao Thi also cultivated the habit of watching news, newspapers, and television to broaden her understanding. Her rich real-life experience was also a secret to Bao Thi's success in answering social commentary questions. During the exam, Thi always spent about 5 minutes carefully reading the question and creating an outline. Based on that, she would develop her arguments to complete the exam thoroughly: "This year's Literature exam was 150 minutes long with many excellent questions. In the social commentary question, when asked to discuss the issue of 'Going away to grow or going away to return,' I related it to the image of a student studying abroad. For me, whether going away or returning, what matters is what one can contribute to their homeland and country," Bao Thi recounted.
Regarding her literary essay, Bảo Thi, using the poem "Conversation" by Ý Nhi as a reference, said that she really liked the poem because of its relatable and gentle nature. The message in the poem is also very relatable, a mother's advice to her child, so Bảo Thi did not encounter any difficulties in developing the topic during the essay.
After completing her 12-page essay, Bao Thi hoped to score 14.15 points. Although she believed she would win, Bao Thi admitted she wasn't confident of winning first prize "because there were many students from specialized schools and some wrote longer essays." That's why, when she received the results and learned she was the top scorer in the province, Bao Thi was incredibly surprised and overwhelmed with happiness.
Speaking about Bao Thi's results in this year's exam season, teacher Nguyen Thi Chau Loan also shared that teachers are only guides.,Furthermore, the results depend greatly on the students' initiative. I often tell them that for success, 30% is the teacher's effort, and 70% is the student's effort. If students don't cooperate and don't proactively practice, then no matter how dedicated the teacher is, it will be difficult to achieve high effectiveness.
I am very happy with the results Bao Thi has achieved, and she deserves it. This is also a beautiful memory in my more than 30-year career, and we are proud to have left our mark in this year's competition.
Teacher Nguyen Thi Chau Loan
