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| Tu Cong Thanh (on the right) received the Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People's Committee |
Depositing a Dream
“Everything Happens for a Reason”. Many people have high expectation of math as this subject used to be the strength of Thua Thien Hue province, where there is the first school for the gifted in the South after the liberation. At that time, when it came to Quoc Hoc, generations of people were proud of its fame for the top-notch subject - the math.
In just 7 years (1978 - 1983), students of Quoc Hoc school won top awards, including Ho Dinh Duan (the bronze medal, 1978), Le Ba Khanh Trinh (the gold medal and the special award, 1979), Ngo Phu Thanh, Nguyen Van Luong (the silver medals, 1982), and Hoang Ngoc Chien (the bronze medal, 1982).
Back to the proud achievement of Tu Cong Thanh, he was likened to a “shower rain” after “many years of drought” by winning the high award for math. Born in Tan Ninh commune, Quang Ninh district (Quang Binh province), Thanh went to Hue by himself to study as he became the highest rank entrance examinee in math for the 2020-2021 school year. He was sixteen years old at that time.
Thanh said that his family is only a “middle-class” one. His parents are teachers but they respect his decision to choose Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted to nurture his dream. Since the 10th grade, Thanh was “targeted “by the school math section with his intelligence, diligence, and passion for math. Thanh can study math anytime and anywhere.
Hoang Phuoc Loi, the form teacher of Math 1 class, grade 12, said that the specificity of math requires patience. Some math problems take 2-3 days, even weeks to be solved. Thanh is different from others in that he is not discouraged, yet he has the diligence and patience to solve problems. Thanh always keeps his phone beside him to solve his geometry problems.
Compared to his teammates, Thanh excelled in geometry. He got answers pretty quickly every time he read problems. Mr. Loi joked that he often gave Thanh a lot of problems, and Thanh solved them so quickly that he didn’t even have time to pose more questions for his students. As a quick learner, the teacher provided him with some software to exploit learning materials, but he also employed dozens of others to facilitate his learning.
While his teachers translated foreign-language materials for him, this visionary student also worked hard to translate materials and solve problems by himself. The teachers were completely assured that Thanh has quite good English, that is also an advantage in international math competitions.
As Mr. Loi confided, his biggest worry is choosing talented students. Without a sharp eye, a bright mind, and skills to choose good students to train, there would be hardly students who could win high awards at the national level. While other students are completing the learning program of the 10th grade, the national team must complete that of the 10th to 12th grades.
With the sophistication of teachers who specialize in teaching good students, Mr. Loi and his colleagues in the math section have their own way to give students a lot of tests. Sometimes, it took them 7 to 8 tests to choose a student for the team.
Preparing for the teams, the teachers often select the good, intelligent, calm and careful students. Thereby, they will convey their own teaching methods. Passing through that narrow door, students have to face a series of exams for good students. The more they get into the inner rounds, the more they have to try, not mentioning the pressure from friends, family and especially from the teachers who are training them every day.
Teachers and students practice together
Recalling Thanh’s case, many people still think that the team’s teachers “diagnosed problems” well. Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Huy, head of the math section, said: “We discovered that he lacked skills, so he applied his knowledge to the test with inappropriate methods, minor errors, wrong numbers... Teachers and students had days of working hard together. Thanh was more trained in how to do tests while his teachers pointed out his mistakes to overcome.
Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Huy and Mr. Hoang Phuoc Loi both were born in 1982 and 1983, respectively. They are considered “veteran” teachers in the teaching staff of the math team.
For a long time, Quoc Hoc High School for the Gifted did not recruit teachers. Many old teachers were about to retire and there was no replacement. The oldest teacher was just over 40. Therefore, the school had to invite leading professors to teach and foster the teams.
As Mr. Huy said, in addition to the teachers’ experience, students could listen to those who won national and international awards, and those who they considered to be idols in their subject, they would be well motivated for their learning.
This means that having the qualifications to teach professionally is an obligation, but the experience of young teachers is still not considerable enough to train the students for the examination. Therefore, the teachers must accompany the students. They both look for materials together, and search online at any time to find reasonable solutions. In each lecture, the teachers “transform” complicated problems into simple ones, helping their students understand quickly and thoroughly.
“What I always aim at is to apply theoretical lessons into practice to inspire and promote students’ self-study abilities and creativity. Teachers can’t solve specific tests and problems as quickly as students do, but students really need them for a macro-orientation on all kinds of tests, types of questions, and knowledge coverage,” shared Mr. Loi.
For this year national exam, the math team included 6 students who all won awards; in which, there are 1 first prize, 1 third prize and 4 consolation prizes. According to Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Huy, this result is not really good as our team has a good and equal academic performance. But we can’t say anything for the exam. It is understandable that they will lose their points and ranks with just a little mistake.
The project “Developing Quoc Hoc Hue High School for the Gifted in the period of 2022-2030, with a vision to 2045, and a number of policies for students and teachers of Quoc Hoc Hue High School for the Gifted” was approved with satisfactory policies for the school’s students and teachers for their learning and practice.
For example, the level of rewards and scholarships for students and teachers has been increased. The school has funds to invite better teachers and create the best conditions for students to access top-notch subjects. This is also the basis to attract good students in neighboring provinces to choose Hue to try their talents.
Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Huy said that about a quarter of math students from neighboring provinces chose Hue to study. That is also an advantage for Hue, since those students have attended specialized schools right from their junior high schools. Therefore, they are no longer overwhelmed with the learning environment at Quoc Hoc high school.