Tet gifts for teachers are "homegrown"
Dear Professor, there is a folk saying: "The first day of Tet is for fathers, the second day of Tet is for mothers, the third day of Tet is for teachers". When you were a student, what did you usually bring when you went to wish your teachers a happy new year?
About thirty years ago, on the third day of Tet, we also invited each other to go wish our teachers a happy new year. The shy middle school students were taken by their parents; the high school students invited each other to go in groups from the same village and family.
Because my hometown is poor, the gifts I give to my teachers for Tet are often very "home-grown": sometimes a dozen eggs, sometimes a few cabbages or some kohlrabi, sometimes a little coriander and a dozen tomatoes... thinking back, it feels so warm! Now, every time we return to our hometown, we still take the time to visit our old teachers and light incense for our deceased teachers - something that should be done from the bottom of our hearts, no one forces us, not to show off, just to calm our hearts and minds.
Professor Hoang Anh Tuan and representatives of the school's Trade Union visited and wished Happy New Year to Professor, People's Teacher Hoang Thi Chau - Vietnam's leading linguistic expert
When he became a teacher and worked in management, did he still often visit and wish teachers a happy new year on the third day of Tet?
We try to keep that tradition, even though it's an industrial society so there are some differences.flat-te-di!It can be from the week before Tet to the week after Tet, not necessarily just on the third day. The important thing is that we preserve the tradition of respecting teachers, remembering the source of water when drinking, the time to come to wish teachers a Happy New Year can be flexible to suit.
Moreover, after 40 years old, we play different “roles”: as students visiting to wish their old teachers a happy new year, as representatives of the agency visiting to wish veteran teachers a happy new year, as parents visiting to wish their children a happy new year… One of my former students is now my child’s teacher, when he comes to wish his teacher a happy new year, the conversation is as joyful as… Tet! The student thanks the teacher for teaching him; the teacher thanks the student who is teaching his child, and every year he recommends his students to study at the teacher’s university! The teaching profession is truly joyful!
Vietnamese philosophy and learning are very thick and noble.
After many years of visiting teachers, you must have had many good memories with them?
In their schooling life, each person has dozens, even hundreds of teachers for those who have studied at many levels. Each teacher specializes in a different field, has a different personality… but they have in common that they are exemplary, caring, loving and devoted to their students.
When I entered Tong Duy Tan High School (Vinh Loc, Thanh Hoa), the homeroom teacher taught Chemistry; she was young, only ten years older than us, but very exemplary and full of love for her students. In the early 90s, the village was still very poor, there was not enough food, so studying was very general. Most students went to class barefoot, rain or shine, bareheaded, with their pants rolled up to wade through the water to go to school...
Professor Hoang Anh Tuan visited and wished Associate Professor, People's Teacher Pham Thi Tam - History expert, co-author (with Professor, People's Teacher Ha Van Tan) of the book "The resistance war against the Yuan-Mongol invasion in the 13th century"
My teacher was also poor, but she always cared about helping her students: She donated old clothes for them to wear, new notebooks and old books. Our Math teacher tutored students for several months for their graduation exams without receiving a single penny in wages…
Some friends brought some sticky rice as gifts for the teacher, while better-off friends brought a chicken. One time when I went to extra classes, my father gave the teacher a string of perch he had just caught in the net at night. I was embarrassed so I quietly left the fish outside the well and went to the teacher's house to study with my friends. When the teacher saw it at night, the fish were all rotten! Those images were deeply engraved in each of our minds, hard to forget.
Returning to the story of the third day of Tet, there are opinions that the market economy has caused many students to forget their old teachers?
I don't think so! As a former student and now a teacher, I understand and believe in the affection and respect that students have for their teachers, regardless of the level of education.
Basically, before the age of 40, everyone has to work hard to make a living, so they may not see their teachers often, although their hearts still turn to their old school and class. The same goes for our generation of students born in the 70s, we have been wandering around until the 25th anniversary of graduation, when we finally gather together. Teachers and students meet and chat endlessly; teachers confide: Every class is like that, about 20 years after graduation, students stabilize their jobs and personal lives, teachers are parents so we all understand, we all believe that one day you will come back...
Professor Hoang Anh Tuan visited and wished a Happy New Year to Professor, People's Teacher Le Hong Sam - Vietnam's leading Literature expert.
Therefore, we should not look at a few isolated phenomena to have a negative view of Vietnamese education or morality. Let's put our trust in generations of students. Personally, I believe that "respecting teachers and valuing morality" is deeply ingrained in everyone's mind. And with a nation with a culture of valuing education like Vietnam, students always turn to their teachers in different ways and under different conditions, as appropriate.
I still believe that Vietnamese morality and learning are very thick, very high, very precious; they can change in form of expression to suit the social context, but not in essence and noble meaning that have been forged for thousands of years!
Thank you Professor!
According to NguoiHanoi Electronic Newspaper
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