Showing respect and gratitude to teachers

The Vietnamese people have a tradition of “remembering the spring when they drink from the stream”. Every year, on Vietnam Teachers’ Day (November 20), students across the country are busy with plenty of activity to express deep gratitude to their teachers.

On this occasion, local Party and people's committees in coordination with mass organizations hold meetings to honour outstanding teachers for their active contributions to the education sector.

Vietnam Teachers' Day is also a good occasion for all people, either old or young, to refresh good memories of the time they shared and enjoyed with their former teachers.

Since early October, many programs of literature and art have been launched for students and teachers to perform and compete together as in flower arrangement, postcard designing and cooking contests.

Students also like to visit their former teachers at their homes or invite them to go on a field trip back to their old schools.

There’s a popular saying “Khong thay do may lam nen” (a young ox learns to plow from an older one) to emphasize the important role of teachers in ensuring the success of students. Teachers are compared to a candle that burns itself to light the way for students to follow.

Teachers are known as people who have broad knowledge, rich experience and good philosophy. They are respected by not only students but also their parents. So, it is said that “Muon sang thi bac cau kieu. Muon con hay chu phai yeu lay thay” (if you want to cross the river, you must build a bridge; if you want to be good, you must follow your teacher). Many parents express their gratitude to their children’s teachers on November 20 for having helped their children a lot in both study and career.

For some reason, parents feel they are tied to teachers by an unspoken bondage to the extent that they manage to send under-the-table “bonuses” to teachers, often in the form of a brown envelop stacked with cash on festival or wedding occasions. They hope their children will be treated with some favour in one way or another at school. However, this kind of thinking has invited widespread criticism.

In a civilized society, appropriate rewards can be simply seen in parents’ efforts to encourage children to study well and behave respectfully towards their teachers.