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ISOSU: Teacher's day in Vietnam - Different way of learning
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: Forum
To express the respect for teachers, on Teacher's Day, we bought flowers, gifts and went to visit them.
Not only our current teachers, but we also visited all teachers we had before.
Let's imagine: if you had been a teacher for 10 years, you would have thousands of students come to say thanks on this day.
That is why in the week of Teacher's Day, the price of flowers always goes up.
There was a time when we called the Teacher's Day "Flower Giving Day."
Many teachers later expressed they had a very hard time dealing with their house being packed full of flowers.
The trash company complained that they had to work ten times harder than on normal days.
Traffic jams were everywhere because children don't know where their teachers' houses are, and end up just blocking the streets. A few years later, the students changed their minds to express respect for teachers by buying "gifts" for them.
However, there were not many things we could buy, as our parents barely made enough money for the family because they were spending a lot of money on our schooling.
November in Vietnam is the season of oranges, so we chose to buy them oranges. The Teacher's Day then became "Orange Giving Day."
For many years, teachers in Vietnam had trouble because they had too many oranges in their house that week.
Of course, they could not eat them all, but would give some to their neighbors, relative and even friends before the oranges went bad.
Nowadays, children in Vietnam are smarter than us. They talked with their teachers about what to give them, and the thing they would like - the things students usually wouldn't think of.
If you were a teacher in Vietnam, believe me, you would be treated very respectfully anywhere you go.
I remember one time I wore Ao Dai - a Vietnamese traditional costume - on Teacher's Day, just because I had something to do in the company.
But, when children on the street saw me in Ao Dai, they thought I was a teacher.
They ran after me and asked, "Are you a teacher?" They did not wait for my answer and said, "Happy Teacher's Day!"
Well, that was a very nice surprise to me. I replied to them "Thank you, you are very good students," then walked away with a very satisfied smile.
If you are a teacher and have Vietnamese students in your class, you would find them very quiet, but very hard-working.
This is just because we don't have the custom to question or challenge our teachers. Since I came to the United States and started studying at OSU, I have learned that I should ask more questions to be considered a good student. It still will take me years to practice this.
Phuong Nguyen is a graduate student in college of business and a part of ISOSU. The opinions expressed in ISOSU's column, which appears every Tuesday, do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Barometer staff. Nguyen can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.
Not only our current teachers, but we also visited all teachers we had before.
Let's imagine: if you had been a teacher for 10 years, you would have thousands of students come to say thanks on this day.
That is why in the week of Teacher's Day, the price of flowers always goes up.
There was a time when we called the Teacher's Day "Flower Giving Day."
Many teachers later expressed they had a very hard time dealing with their house being packed full of flowers.
The trash company complained that they had to work ten times harder than on normal days.
Traffic jams were everywhere because children don't know where their teachers' houses are, and end up just blocking the streets. A few years later, the students changed their minds to express respect for teachers by buying "gifts" for them.
However, there were not many things we could buy, as our parents barely made enough money for the family because they were spending a lot of money on our schooling.
November in Vietnam is the season of oranges, so we chose to buy them oranges. The Teacher's Day then became "Orange Giving Day."
For many years, teachers in Vietnam had trouble because they had too many oranges in their house that week.
Of course, they could not eat them all, but would give some to their neighbors, relative and even friends before the oranges went bad.
Nowadays, children in Vietnam are smarter than us. They talked with their teachers about what to give them, and the thing they would like - the things students usually wouldn't think of.
If you were a teacher in Vietnam, believe me, you would be treated very respectfully anywhere you go.
I remember one time I wore Ao Dai - a Vietnamese traditional costume - on Teacher's Day, just because I had something to do in the company.
But, when children on the street saw me in Ao Dai, they thought I was a teacher.
They ran after me and asked, "Are you a teacher?" They did not wait for my answer and said, "Happy Teacher's Day!"
Well, that was a very nice surprise to me. I replied to them "Thank you, you are very good students," then walked away with a very satisfied smile.
If you are a teacher and have Vietnamese students in your class, you would find them very quiet, but very hard-working.
This is just because we don't have the custom to question or challenge our teachers. Since I came to the United States and started studying at OSU, I have learned that I should ask more questions to be considered a good student. It still will take me years to practice this.
Phuong Nguyen is a graduate student in college of business and a part of ISOSU. The opinions expressed in ISOSU's column, which appears every Tuesday, do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Barometer staff. Nguyen can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.
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