Geographical distance is not a barrier, the cessation of learning by teachers is what causes backwardness

Two paths - one mission

The early years of the 21st century were an exciting time for those who are passionate or simply interested in technology fields: The Internet began to develop strongly in Vietnam, computers gradually became popular... Although she had never been exposed to computers before, the story about the magical machine through the story of her cousin aroused curiosity and made Thanh Huyen crave to learn. In 1999, Thanh Huyen registered to take the entrance exam for the Information Technology major (National Economics University) - a major that people often thought was only for men.

The more she studied and researched, the more Thanh Huyen had an endless passion for code lines and a dream of becoming a professional programmer. However, like many other young people, under the guidance of her family, which has a tradition in the teaching profession, Thanh Huyen decided to choose to further her pedagogical career at Hanoi National University of Education. After graduating with a Master of Computer Science, she officially became a university lecturer. That was an important turning point in the educational career of the young teacher.

"Giving up the existing experience to become a bewildered rookie in a new environment is not easy. But changing careers does not mean changing the goals of life. The two industries are completely different: programmers work with computers, teachers work with people, but in essence, both are expressing, transforming ideas from invisible to visible: for programmers, it is programs, applications; for teachers, it is students' knowledge and skills. The two jobs seem different but are the same in terms of destination: creating "products" through information transmission."

10 years of accompanying and growing up at Greenfield School

While working at a college, Thanh Huyen learned about Greenfield School through a colleague. From the story about the living environment, fresh space and development orientation of the school in the future, Thanh Huyen made a bold decision: changing her workplace, even though at that time the number of students at the school was quite small and the facilities were not complete.

"The first days of working at the new school were unforgettable experiences in my life. The school was newly established, with only 4 buildings A, B, C, D, more than 300 students and nearly 70 staff members. The road to the school was not as convenient as it is now, every day I had to travel more than 40km both ways on a bumpy, rocky road. Returning home at 8 or 9 pm was a regular occurrence, but everyone was full of positive spirit, building and nurturing.

In the early years of establishment, the school did not have many departments, so the teachers took on many activities outside of their professional work. There were many things to solve, from compiling standard lesson plans to training and interviewing teachers, supporting boarding teachers to take care of students... At that time, the IT subject was structured in the Talent Group, along with the Fine Arts, Music, and Physical Education subjects. I and the teachers of the Talent Group were responsible for planning and organizing programs for the students: Music was in charge of arts, Fine Arts was in charge of decoration, IT was in charge of secretary and summarizing the performances. Although each individual in the Group had their own colors and opinions, thanks to the joint effort and solidarity, seeing the children have fun, the smiles of the parents when they saw their children shine on stage after each event, that was the motivation for everyone."

Therefore, 10 years of working at the school with Thanh Huyen were countless memorable memories when people worked together. Until now, looking back on the path she has taken, for Thanh Huyen, Greenfield School has truly been a place that brought her a professional ideal, helping her realize the dream she was looking for.

"Greenfield School has given me many opportunities to challenge and develop myself: being trained and led by leaders; learning from dedicated colleagues; being given opportunities to express myself. That is something that not every school can do. For me, Greenfield School is a time of the most enthusiastic youth, the place that witnessed my growth and made a great contribution to my growth both in person and in work."

The one who dares to teach must be the one who never stops learning

For many people, enthusiasm and the spirit of conquering the peaks only usually appear in the first 5 or 7 years and will gradually cool down over time. But for Thanh Huyen, teaching IT for more than 10 years, the desire to learn new things, explore "areas of knowledge" that the long journey has not yet touched still motivates her every day.

"There are days when I and the teachers in the IT group travel dozens of kilometers to participate in training courses to improve our professional skills. The MOS program in particular and IT in general regularly change and upgrade versions, so teachers themselves must constantly upgrade.

For me, geographical distance is not a barrier, but the cessation of learning by teachers is what causes backwardness. A school, a team of teachers who are always creative and pioneering in technology will lead their students to a wider world. The one who dares to teach must be the one who never stops learning."

The efforts of Thanh Huyen and the IT teachers have brought about many proud sweet fruits. After 6 years of implementing the IT program according to international standards, thousands of students of the School have achieved and been certified with IC3 Spark, MOS. At the World Championship of Office Informatics - the largest-scale IT playground on the planet, attracting hundreds of countries to participate each year, Greenfield School students have achieved very high scores. Especially in 2018, Le Khang Hieu (12A1) became the World Office Informatics Ambassador 2019, representing Vietnam to participate in the World Finals held in July in New York City (USA).

Looking at the days ahead, there are too many things that Thanh Huyen is still cherishing to do and learn. "In the not-too-distant future, machines will replace humans. Artificial intelligence can replace the administrative tasks of teachers, but chatting, inspiring or sharing experiences for students, only teachers can do it. In addition, teachers do not simply teach knowledge, part of the personality comes from education and only humans can bring those things to their fellow humans. The path I am taking is still very long and continuous learning is the only choice to overcome challenges, meet the needs of the 4.0 era."

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