The Ministry of Education and Training has just announced a list of 60 outstanding teachers with outstanding achievements in management and teaching on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day (November 20) and towards the 8th Patriotic Emulation Congress of the Education sector (2025-2030).
Ms. Tran Thi Tuong Giao - Principal of Truc Xanh Kindergarten (Rach Dua Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) is one of them.
Up to now, Ms. Giao has worked in the education sector for 34 years, including 32 years as a manager.
Ms. Giao said that she started her career in 1991 when she was assigned to be a preschool teacher at Ward 6 Kindergarten (formerly Vung Tau City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province).
Two years later, she was transferred to Ward 5 Kindergarten as the position of operator. In the following years, she worked at many different kindergartens. From 2017 to present, she has held the role of Principal of Truc Xanh Kindergarten.
According to Ms. Giao, coming to the profession is somewhat a family tradition. Her family has four generations of teachers: her grandfather, parents, grandmother and now her daughter.
"I think it's simple to just be in class. Only when I started working did I realize that children had a way to keep people around without having to say much," she recalled.
During more than three decades of teaching, what I miss most is not the big achievements, but the very small moments.
One morning, when she was wearing an ao dai to prepare for a meeting and passed by the school yard, a child ran over and held her hand: " since the wedding, I've invited you. I miss wearing the beautiful ao dai I wear today". The innocent words made her happy until now.
She said: "Children are truly loved. Such things are the driving force of this profession".
Management in the preschool environment is under a lot of pressure. There are times when teachers are stressed, worried, and even want to quit their jobs. She did not choose to analyze or intervene much. Instead, she often let teachers tell them all the things they are struggling with.
In some cases, she just gently said: "I just need a week's leave. Go home, take care of your children, do housework, and rethink. After a week, if I find the holiday still valid, I will sign it."
Many people returned to class after that period of stagnation. She said: "Whoever does this job is not tired. But when people realize that they still love young people, they will come back to themselves."
Her daughter also came to the profession of her own choice. Initially studying accounting, working for a while, then decided to change direction and study pedagogical. Now her daughter is a primary school teacher.
Sending a message on November 20, she said she did not expect anything big, just hoping that when the young teacher was tired, he could take a break for a moment, to look back at the reason why he started.
" Any job is difficult. But if I feel happy when I hear children calling me "am", and feel sorry when I see children holding my hand, that is still my job. I have never thought about quitting my job. Every day at school, just listening to children laughing is enough," Ms. Giao confided.
