Attractive project "Learn Literature to Live" by a former student of Phan school

(Baonghean) - Since 2011, students of Dinh Thien Ly Secondary and High School (Ho Chi Minh City) have been learning literature in a new way through the Learning Literature to Live Project. This project by teacher Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc (born in 1982) won first prize for teachers applying IT in teaching by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2015. Ms. Minh Ngoc was a student of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Nghe An.

Think of yourself as a student

The Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc I knew was a friend from another school, studying together at Nghe An Provincial Library. Ngoc was my idol at that time, not only because of her national excellent student awards but also because Ngoc had a soulful poetry recitation voice that captivated the audience.

After nearly 10 years of no contact, Ngoc is suddenly the character in my article. Graduated from Hanoi Pedagogical University 1, then started a career in Ho Chi Minh City and affirmed his ability by winning the First Prize for Creative Teachers on Information Technology Platform twice organized by the Ministry of Education & Training and Microsoft.

Teacher Minh Ngoc (third row from right) and students participating in the Learning to Live Project.

Ngoc has quickly applied IT to a seemingly contradictory subject: Literature. Applying all the advantages of technology: multimedia, connectivity, responsiveness... and even sharing lessons and information via Facebook between teachers and students to learn literature is something that seems impossible.

From idea to implementation is a long process with many difficulties. And surprisingly, the result is that Ms. Ngoc's literature lessons are always filled with enthusiasm and respect from students and parents. Ms. Ngoc's students can create their own stories, articles, social films - reports, logos, and comics full of humanity.

The project “Learning Literature to Live” is the result of Ngoc’s work and is now being applied in teaching by teachers of many different subjects in Dinh Thien Ly Secondary and High School and many other schools. Many provinces and cities such as Bac Lieu and Binh Thuan also learn from teacher Minh Ngoc’s project.

Compared to the passive way of teaching literature, which students are bored with, this project makes them excited when approaching a new way of learning. In this project, teachers are companions, guiding students to create their own products and works without being able to copy from any sample essay.

“I used to be a literature major, so I understand what students need and lack when studying literature. That’s why I teach them what they need,” Minh Ngoc shared.

"Want to be a good teacher"

Minh Ngoc likes Gian Tu Trung's view on education in the book "Right job - A perspective on enlightenment" (Tri Thuc Publishing House 2015). In this book, the author boldly divides teachers into 5 types: A teacher is considered an enlightened person when he has the ability to bring education to change society, which is very rare; a great teacher can provide students with the motivation to go fishing, a fishing rod and a fish; a good teacher provides students with a fish and a fishing rod, a normal teacher only provides students with a fish and a bad teacher - a craftsman.

A great teacher is someone who can change people’s perspectives through education, but a teacher is just someone who lectures with great inertia. There is no emotion or impression in the lecture. It is no wonder why students are inert, doze off, and bored with such lectures. “If I cannot become a great teacher, I will always try to become a good teacher and will never let myself fall into the trap of being a “teacher”.

"The skills that I can guide students to learn and practice in the project are the skills that they can use to create their own fishing rods in the future." - Minh Ngoc confided.

In the eyes of her students, teacher Ngoc is not only a “good teacher” but also someone who can share with them humane stories, happy and sad stories or sometimes simply a perspective on life. On the Facebook page “Learning Literature to Live”, one can see the affection and love that students have for Minh Ngoc through the very honest sharing.

“Learn literature to live”

With this project-based learning method, students escape from the confined learning within narrow walls and instead connect diverse educational environments: Teachers – students – parents – society.

Not only stopping at studying literature, “Learning literature to live” guides students towards the criteria: Love – Practical learning – Growing up – Experience. With this way of learning, students have the opportunity to be creative in learning, at the same time develop life skills while still ensuring close adherence to the requirements of the subject.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc.

From textbook lessons, Ms. Ngoc has brought the subject of Literature closer to life. When learning about journalistic language and literary language, students are connected by her to talk and learn from the experiences of experienced journalists and writers. And from the knowledge learned, students are forced to go out into society to practice and create their own works to demonstrate the lessons learned.

Some of the impressive projects in “Learning Literature to Live” are: I Choose Kindness; When the Environment Speaks; Craft Villages… These are practical and vivid lessons that any student of Dinh Thien Ly School who has studied the project can enthusiastically share about their lessons.

In addition, having access to attractive and creative art subjects such as photography, filmmaking, experiencing the work of writers, journalists, advertising designers, social activists, etc., along with sharing high-level applications of information technology knowledge always creates excitement for students, different from the usual way of learning to read and write.

Nguyen Quy Hoang - grade 12, Dinh Thien Ly Secondary and High School shared: Through the project "Learning literature to live", I have learned many lessons about responsibility, leadership, work organization, cooperation skills and realized one thing: There are always people to support you in the most difficult times and there are always people ready to give you advice. These are truly lessons that we have never heard in 12 years of schooling".

Up to now, Ms. Minh Ngoc’s “Learning Literature to Live” project has been shared with many teachers in many different provinces and cities through project training sessions. At Dinh Thien Ly Secondary and High School, the project does not stop at “learning literature”, it also combines different subjects: Literature – Civic Education, Literature – Biology… through implementing topics that students and society are interested in. Ms. Minh Ngoc shared that she is still constantly developing her project, so that students can increasingly feel more deeply that learning literature is not just for studying but “Learning literature to live”.

Vo Thu Huong