Associate Professor Van Nhu Cuong - the crane has returned to heaven

(Baonghean.vn) - Not only in my heart, but in the hearts of many generations of teachers and students in our country, Associate Professor Van Nhu Cuong is a rare talented and virtuous person in the world.

Many of his sayings have become "mottos" for generations of students and schools. Photo: Internet

Although I was a student at Vinh University, where he used to work, I did not have the chance to study directly with him. In 1976, when I entered the school, he had just transferred to work at Hanoi Pedagogical University. In return, I was able to study indirectly through the Advanced Geometry textbook that he compiled with Mr. Kieu Huy Luan.

It was a highly pedagogical textbook, and for its time, presented in a rather modern style and language. Thanks to that, I got a perfect score in all three Advanced Geometry exams (two final exams and the university graduation exam).

Later, at the request of Hanoi Pedagogical University, he compiled and supplemented it into two books: Affine Geometry & Euclidean Geometry and Projective Geometry. In recent years, I was invited by a Southern university (Dong Nai University) to teach the subject of Projective Geometry, and his book became a handbook to help me complete my task well when "bringing the bell to strike the foreign land".

The Master's life is associated with a treasure trove of anecdotes and his sayings about education and life have become mottos for many generations. I humbly think that if someone later collects and compiles them into a published book, it will certainly be among the best-selling books of the year. However, here I just want to add to the Master's special pedagogical talent.

Associate Professor Van Nhu Cuong is famous for loving his students and having a very special way of educating them. Photo: Internet

After nearly ten years of studying and teaching, I have come to realize that there are many good teachers, but very few good teachers. It is like a heaven-sent privilege that the teacher is lucky to receive.

When I was in high school, I often heard Mr. Tran Duc Thinh - a very talented teacher who transformed me from a boy afraid of shapes into a student who was sick of pictures - tell me how attractive Mr. Van Nhu Cuong's classes were. I was determined to attend his classes.

The opportunity has come. The two Departments of Education of Nghe An and Ha Tinh have jointly opened a seminar for high school teachers. I asked to listen and when the teacher drew the picture, I suddenly realized that no matter how much I practice, I will only be able to become a teacher and cannot imitate the natural talent of the teacher.

Always being close and in tune with his students is the impression that people will always remember about teacher Van Nhu Cuong. Photo: Internet

Being a shy person, I was very shy to communicate, especially with famous people. But on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vinh University, Nghe An Radio and Television Station invited him for an interview and then to a reception. Meritorious Artist Xuan Loc asked me to accompany him, so I could not refuse. It turned out that he was as simple, open and approachable as any ordinary person.

A respected literature teacher confided to me that: as long as we can still write poetry, we should be happy because our souls are still pure. As a person who has entered the world, taking on a heavy task: founding, maintaining and developing the first private education model in Vietnam, Mr. Van Nhu Cuong still reserves a corner of his soul for poetry.

Many people think that the Master's poetry tends towards the traditional verse form, because he is famous for the following poems:

Math and flowers:

I put fresh flowers next to the table.

I wish math was less boring

There are many formulas in math.

Beautiful as a flower that never fades

Happy 70th birthday to Mr. Nguyen Thuc Hao

A hundred years of calculating the square and round life

What name to leave with the country?

No need for fame and profit

No need to apply powder or lipstick

The old school was full of people

Still roaming the land

As long as we live, we must watch the times and the world.

Who will calculate the square and round life?

Teacher Van Nhu Cuong lived a devoted and simple life. Photo: Internet

Personally, I don't think so. Among the poems that the Teacher selected to be published in an anthology of poems called Xom Diem (Hoi Nha Van Publishing House, February 2012) by 5 authors of Quynh Doi origin (Van Nhu Cuong, Duong Huy, Duong Danh Dung, Lam Giang, Ho Phi Phuc), the proportion of Tang Luat poems is quite modest (only 20%). I would like to select some of the Teacher's poems to prove that statement:

PURPLE AFTERNOON

A bird flies across the sky

The wind blows gently, the clouds are nostalgic

The distant mountain is hidden from the sun

The afternoon turns purple, I stand alone sadly

OLD TOWN

I return to the old town alone

The scene has changed, do you know now?

Luckily the tree stump is still there.

Is the place where people used to stand and wait

CARRYING MOTHER TO THE VAN FAMILY CHURCH

Sixty-three year old child carrying ninety-four year old mother

- Oh my god, is mom this light?

- Don't worry about me, son.

Mom is afraid your legs will be tired again.

Poet Le Quoc Han

(Former Lecturer at Vinh University)