Thai female student - valedictorian of History 'reveals' secret to studying well

From the center of Tuong Duong district, we had to overcome a winding, dangerous road of over 60km to reach Dinh Tai village, Xieng My commune, the mountainous district of Tuong Duong.

Ask about the home of Lo Thi Anh Tuyet (born in 2007), a 9th grade studentNga My Secondary School for Ethnic MinoritiesAlmost everyone knows, because in this remote village, very few students have achieved the top score in a provincial excellent student exam like Tuyet, if not unprecedented, especially in History. Becoming the top scorer of a provincial exam is not only a joy for the family but also a joy and pride for the people of this Thai village.

The house of Lo Thi Anh Tuyet's family, in Dinh Tai village, Xieng My commune. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Lo Thi Anh Tuyet was born into a poor farming family in Dinh Tai village. In addition to farming, Tuyet's parents also worked freelance, doing whatever jobs they could find, as long as they had extra income to support their three siblings' education. Aware of such difficult family circumstances, in addition to studying, Tuyet also took the time to do housework or go to the fields to help her parents.

Due to her diligent and hardworking nature, as well as her awareness in studying and training, from grade 1 to grade 9, Tuyet always achieved the title of excellent student and advanced student. Especially, atProvincial excellent student selection exam grade 9In Nghe An province recently, Lo Thi Anh Tuyet achieved valedictorian status in History (group B), with a score of 14.38 points.

In school subjects, besides loving History, Anh Tuyet also likes and is good at Literature, Geography, and Math.

When asked what her dream job would be in the future, Tuyet immediately answered that she would become a History teacher. Tuyet shared, “I have loved and enjoyed studying History since grade 6 until now. This subject has helped me understand the origins of the nation, know what happened in the past of my ancestors, my forefathers and the process of formation and struggle for independence and freedom of Uncle Ho and previous generations. The achievement of being the valedictorian recently mainly comes from my own efforts, diligence and luck. In the future, I will try harder in my studies to become a History teacher, imparting knowledge to children in my hometown.”

Whenever she has free time, Tuyet takes out her books to study. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Sharing the secrets and methods to study History well, Tuyet "revealed" that to study History well, one must first love this subject, must really love it to be interested in studying, because this subject is long and has many events. Every day before class, I usually wake up early to read the textbook in advance, underline the main ideas and events. In addition, in class, I always focus on listening to the teacher's lecture, and I directly meet the teacher to discuss and clarify the issues if I don't understand the content. Thanks to that, I find it easier to understand and remember. In exams and tests, I do the easy questions first to have motivation, and spend more time doing the more difficult questions.

With mixed feelings of joy and pride, Ms. Vi Thi Mun, Tuyet's mother, shared: "The family was really happy and a bit surprised when they received the news that their daughter was the valedictorian of a provincial exam. Tuyet is the second child and the only daughter in the family. Before Tuyet had an older brother, then a younger brother. Knowing the difficult family circumstances, in addition to studying, she also does housework and looks after her younger siblings to help her parents. Previously, due to difficult circumstances, I only studied until secondary school, my family is not well off now, but we still have to try to give our children an education so that we can escape poverty in the future. She said that she will strive to become a teacher in the future, I am also happy partly because she knows how to set goals to strive for, and partly because she chose a career that her family also really likes."

In addition to arranging time for studying, Tuyet also spends time helping her parents with housework. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Commenting on her student, Ms. Tran Thi Hang, the homeroom teacher and also the teacher who directly trained her, said: “Tuyet is a good student with a good sense of learning. Although her family is poor, she has overcome difficulties and strived to study well. She knows how to arrange her time reasonably between studying and housework to help her parents. During the preparation for the exam, both teachers and students encountered many difficulties due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. When the epidemic broke out in the locality, to ensure the safety of students as well as teachers, the school organized online teaching. During this time, in addition to maintaining teaching, I also spent time reviewing for Tuyet online. Realizing that this review period did not bring the desired results, the main reason was the unstable Internet connection, sometimes there, sometimes there, and there were small children at home, which more or less caused Tuyet to lose concentration during her review. When the epidemic began to be controlled, I personally realized that this was "Golden" time to review directly for her to be more effective, so I asked Tuyet's parents for permission to let her eat and stay with me at the teacher's dormitory to facilitate the training."

In addition to being a good student and having a gentle personality, Tuyet is always loved by her friends and teachers. In the photo, Tuyet is wearing a white shirt standing next to her homeroom teacher and classmates. Photo: Dinh Tuan

With her hard-working and diligent nature and her teacher's direct support, Tuyet has acquired more knowledge. Tuyet's achievement as valedictorian was a surprise for both teacher and student, but it was also a worthy reward for the tireless efforts of both teacher and student throughout the past time.

At the Nghe An Province 9th Grade Excellent Student Competition, Tuong Duong district had 32 students winning prizes. Including 01 First Prize, 11 Second Prizes, 13 Third Prizes and 07 Encouragement Prizes. As a group, Tuong Duong ranked 2nd in Group B./.