The Faculty of Management Science was formed from the merger of its two "parent" faculties: the Faculty of Sociology and the Faculty of Philosophy.
Over nearly 20 years of establishment and development, countless generations of students have graduated! Among them are us – the generations nurtured and developed to become teachers today – who have never ceased to remember the gratitude we owe to our "teachers"!
Respect your teachers and uphold moral values!
Remember the source of the water you drink!
As Vietnamese Teachers' Day approaches, we – the current generation of students and young lecturers – would like to share our heartfelt thoughts on "the teacher in me"We would like to extend our best wishes to all teachers and those working in the field of education on this occasion!"
I grew up in the beloved Faculty of Management Science. Since the Department of Management Science was still under the Faculty of Philosophy, generations of students have passed down stories about a professor whose words were so powerful that even crabs would crawl out of their holes. That professor was Associate Professor Bui Thanh Quat.
Throughout my first year of university, I didn't see Professor Quat. I even boldly stated in class, "Professor Quat's Logic textbook is more difficult to understand than the textbook from the Teacher Training University." I don't know if my comment reached him, but I did get a perfect 10 on the oral exam – what a relief!
The introductory lessons on social management taught by my professor remain vividly etched in my memory – stories about the role of the queen bee/worker bee in a bee colony; about the lead animal of a herd of wild buffalo protecting the entire herd; and even abstract concepts like "institution" and "structure," etc.
Later, during a vacation organized by the Faculty, they went to a restaurant where many bowls were chipped. The professor called a restaurant employee over and dropped a bowl on the ground to break it as a reminder. After that, all the chipped bowls were replaced.
Now that he has retired, we rarely get to see him. For me, Teacher Quất has left an indelible impression that will last through the years.A teacher who was simple and kind in his demeanor; erudite and firm in his scientific work; and always demanded high quality in his management..
Associate Professor Bui Thanh Quat
Perhaps no emotion is more genuine than our thoughts about our teachers, especially when we ourselves have experienced and chosen the profession of those who carry the ship of knowledge. The thoughts and feelings from our student years to our time as lecturers represent a long and expansive journey filled with reflections and challenges:How to become a proper teacherWe feel fortunate to always have the inspiring presence of our teachers behind us, helping us to be confident and steadfast in our profession. Living in a humane academic environment, where generations of students are nurtured to become teachers in university classrooms, we deeply understand the first lessons on the path to becoming a teacher.
If someone says that being a lecturer is a stable job, working "eight precious hours," then they truly don't understand the university environment – where the boundary between "teaching" and "research" is inseparable. The first lesson our professors taught us, no longer as "teacher and student," but as "teacher and students who become teachers," was this one saying:Is science just a game for young people?"...The arduous process of hard work and numerous setbacks, the tears shed for our first failures in the lecture halls, when we started doing science—perhaps the professors were the ones who witnessed it most. Their strictness regarding scientific standards and the standards of the teaching profession sometimes made us doubt the career path we had chosen… But after reaping small successes in research, after lectures that were loved and appreciated by students, we understood that: In doing science, in teaching, there is no place for the word 'satisfaction'. Knowledge is always an ocean, while the experience we have is just a few drops of water – it can quickly evaporate as science out there is constantly changing, and a whole generation of young people in the 4.0 era, with countless 'technology teachers,' will need and want to learn new things (and they must be new to the world).
Teacher Vu Cao Dam
The dedication and passion for science and the teaching profession shown by our professors seems to have helped us mature in our understanding of failure and rise again after each setback through relentless effort. We have forgotten the question, "How old am I when I become a teacher, when I become a scientist?" and only care about "What have I accomplished, am I accomplishing, and will accomplish as a teacher and as a scientist?" We have learned our first lesson, Professor!
The story of Tang Sanzang and his disciples' journey to obtain the scriptures, each with their own personality, made us burst into laughter as we thought about the times we had to rush to meet monstrous deadlines, the days of "brainstorming" to find 7749 ideas just to successfully apply for one task, the harsh and exhausting fieldwork sessions where we forgot about breakfast and lunch for the masters and their disciples on their journey to becoming masters. We worked together and shared successes, but we also cried together many times because of our first naive failures in science and in the lecture hall. There's a saying...Giants are not those who trample on others, but those who lift others on their shoulders."Our teachers – the giants who carried the team – have guided us, connecting us and complementing each other without us even realizing it. Deep down, we believe that behind every success, big or small, lies the collective effort of an entire group – where one person works for everyone, and everyone works for one person. Strength isn't about competing to see who's better, but about creating even greater and ever greater strengths. Especially when that strength is passed down through generations of teachers and students who become teachers. The second lesson we've learned on our journey of self-improvement is that no one succeeds alone in science or teaching."
Teacher Dao Thanh Truong
During an international interdisciplinary scientific conference, our research group was invited to present our ideas and results. The biggest surprise was that our professors designated and encouraged us to represent them, confidently and proudly introducing us as "Vietnamese scientists"—not "Vietnamese PhD students"—in the scientific forum, rather than a "language competition." Our presentation that day wasn't perfect, although our ideas, methods, and research results were recognized. The scientists acknowledged the growth of each of us throughout the research process and up to that conference presentation. However, in that moment, the respect our professors showed us as students stepping out of our comfort zone to integrate into a larger scientific community moved us deeply; it's difficult to express in words. The third lesson – “Learning by Doing"We now truly understand the meaning of those words, Teacher!"
It would be impossible to write and express all the emotions of being students of our esteemed teachers. We truly respect and are deeply grateful to the "Patron Saint of the Profession" for helping us find and receive such precious guidance. The inspiring lessons they imparted remain vividly and profoundly in our minds, just as they were in our early days as students, and even now as university lecturers.
Becoming a teacher is incredibly difficult; it's no joke! "Without a teacher, you can't achieve anything" – learning to be a teacher is perhaps the most arduous path, requiring teachers who not only possess dedication and vision but also open hearts. Such hearts hold rigorous lessons about the standards of the teaching profession and the scientific community, yet also carry the hopes and belief that the next generation of students will become genuine and professional teachers in the future.
Source:Faculty of Management Science
