Hanoi-Amsterdam Organization ::

Ms. Bui Thi Hoai Thanh- “ Students is the most important driving force for teachers to do our job”!!

When invited to be interviewed, Ms. Thanh smiled: “ It sounds like a singer’s live-show. Okay, prepare a state-of-the-art audio system!”. Though always impressed by her friendliness and enthusiasm, I understand that she is a passionate and serious person when it comes to teaching.

- Ms. Thanh, do you know many Hanoi-Amsterdam alumni that come back to the school to teach like you?

There are some, about 4 or 5 including 2 in the Literature Department: Mr. Hieu and me. The school welcomes alumni for two main reasons: we are Ams graduates, so the school officers are confident of our ability. Secondly, as we used to study at Ams, it would be easier to join in the community. However, those are only the privileges, the most important thing is ourselves. Even those who did not study at Ams but meet the criteria are always welcome.

- I know that you have just attended the Hanoi Teachers' contest in efficient teaching. What do you think about this contest?

It sounds like a big thing. (laugh)! Actually, I considered it a training experience, because it was the first time I took part in such a contest. one advantage is that my students were very supportive so everything went fine.

- You work both as a teacher and a member in the Youth Union Advisory Board while pursuing a graduate study in Linguistics. Have you ever felt exhausted with the overwhelming workload?

My job is nothing of tiredness. Students in the Youth Union are very active, what I do is playing a guidance and supervision role. Recently, Thanh Ha (Class 10V) got the 1st prize in the District Contest and the 3rd Place in the City Contest of “ Propagandist of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology” though she was the youngest candidate and the only one that is still in high school. Or Nguyet Anh (Class 11P) got the 1st Place in the Ba Dinh contest of “High School Elegant Student”. During the Youth Month (March), Hanoi-Amsterdam Youth Union have organized many activities to welcome March 3rd , March 26th. For example: we gave out 10 scholarships to needy students, organized the Junior High and Senior High soccer tournaments, and March 3rd meetings with the Physics and Chinese classes. There will be an anniversary to celebrate the Youth Union’s birthday on March 24th. All those activities are run by students, and they can always ask us for help. Moreover, Mr. Tuan, the Vice Principal in charge of Activities and Discipline, is an experienced person.

And through these activities, I have a chance to get in touch with more students and understand them more. It helps me a lot because getting to know students is very important to teachers. As for the Linguistics graduate study, though it does not help my job directly but it can be applied in guiding students in their self- study. Thus, this encourages students to develop their creativity.

- Yes, self-study if a very important thing. So what do you think of Hanoi-Amsterdam students’ study method in Literature?

I teach both a sciences-gifted Social Sciences - specialized classes. Students at both classes are talented and have unique personality. Although they haven’t got all the broad knowledge, they have a keen way of thinking. They often pose many interesting questions which can really surprise and make us think. It is an important driving force that encourages us to try our best. For example: when a teacher meets with an excellent colleague, he/she admires him, and of course wants to be that excellent, but it does not urge him/her to read another book to learn more right away at that moment. In class, when asked a difficult question by a student, if I cannot answer it immediately then a temporization may work, but surely I’ll seek other sources for the answer right after. In short, students help teachers find out our own drawbacks and improve to make our teaching better. That is the thing I like best about Hanoi-Amsterdam students.

- An Ams alumni standing on the dais, you must have in mind a lot of comparisons between yourself in the past and today’s students

It is not that long to call it “the past” (smile). Right, there are a lot of things I can compare. Sometimes, I may find a reticent but soulful kid. S/he may like me, my couse but just does not let it out. To be honest, I feel like it were me a few years ago: a shy girl who always admired teachers from afar and teachers might never know what she felt about them. Hence, I always try approaching these kids, for example: encouraging them to speak out, to tell others what they think about the lessons. It is a method to help them express themselves.

Students, in general, have to undergo certain stages of psychological development; therefore, there are always similarities among students of different generations. The difference, if there is one, lies in the fact that our society has been more developed and kids now have more chances to approach the outside world and tend to have a lot more social relationships. It is an dispensable thing and we cannot make them be reticent like kids of the past.

- Admittedly, there are few teachers who have such a deep care for students. Would you mind sharing some of your memories during your high school time?

Probably among the teachers I had a chance to study with, Mr. Tuc, my Form teacher in high school, is the one that has made the most influence on me. I admire his omniscience, his rich life experience and also, his simplicity. His simplicity does not mean anything like thrifty, but it means living without empasizing too much on the outter appearance, and it means living a real you. I can still remember the image of myself during my 10th grade: a suburban timid girl (I lived in Gia Lam) so nervous and scared by the dynamic environment at Ams. It was when I met Mr. Tuc and found him such a simple person that I felt something really close, and started to feel like being trusted.

As for friends, I am very happy to have Mr. Hieu as a friend, also a colleguage in the Literature Department. He was my high school classmate, then college classmate and now we are working together in the same department. We have a nice friendship based on complementing each other. Hieu is good at and also, interested in doing research so I can ask him for advice on the subject. Meanwhile, I can give him advice for everyday life, tips to “deal with” students. As you may know, Hieu is a little bit diffident in social relationships. Many students like him, probably because inside the good-natured appearance is a sincerity.

- If you could evaluate yourself on how much students like you, how many scores would you say? And why?

Optimistically, 8/10. 8 points scored because I am still young, straightforward and never feel satisfied with myself. I lose 2 points as I am not a form teacher and cannot be closer to the kids. But perhaps, who knows, being a form teacher will give me that 2 points but take away the 8 points. (laugh)

- How about the working environment at Ams?

I must say that it is a perfect environment. Firstly, the relationships among teachers ourselves, between teachers and students, parents, between students and parents are all based on the cultured behavior. Hardly can I find this friendly atmosphere elsewhere. Secondly, preceding teachers whole-heartedly help me. They who regard me as a colleague while still treating me as one of their students help me enthusiastically, giving me sincere criticisms. Thirdly, our school always encourages me to complete my work to the best of my ability. And the most important thing, as I have mentioned, is the student body, who are very proactive in giving out their own ideas.

- You must have once heard of HAO, so what do you think about HAO?

Please excuse me as I hardly check the Internet so I have not known anything well enough about HAO. As far as I was told by my students and friends, it is an Hanoi-Amsterdam Student Organization, consisting both current students and alumni. Being an alumni, I am now an Ams teacher so I am always willing to join offline meetings. Wish HAO the best.

- Have you had any plans for your career and yourself in the future?

As for the career, I am going to defend my Master thesis next October and perhaps I will be in charge of a class as a form teacher. I myself want to settle down, so maybe I can “offer you some candies” at the end of this year.

- Yes, I am looking forward to that day. Thank you so much for this friendly talk. I wish you happiness, youth and the best in your future path ahead.

After the talk, I asked her for permission to attend one of her classes, she smiled : “There’s nothing too special” but accepted finally. Sitting in her class, I could feel this young teacher’s enthusiasm and got to understand why she can find such happiness in the career. I hope our Hanoi-Amsterdam High School will have more and more talented alumni coming back to teach like Ms. Bui Thi Hoai Thanh.

Translated by Thanh Huong A1 01-04
Edited by Quynh My
Posted by Nguyen Thu Hien V 98-01