A teacher in her 50s shows how to 'entice' Gen Z students to learn math: scold once, coax five times

(Dan Tri) - Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - math teacher at Nguyen Trai Secondary School, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi - shared: "To teach Gen Z students, the first thing is to find a way to adapt to them."

Scolding students also requires "skills"

For more than 10 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen has been assigned to teach grade 9, "rowing the boat" to the most difficult finish line of middle school.

The pressure of entering grade 10 at public schools in Hanoi is not only a psychological burden for parents and students, but also a personal concern for teachers. How to equip students with a complete set of skills to win the rigorous exam while not putting too much academic pressure on them is never easy.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and her 9th grade students (Photo: NVCC).

Ms. Huyen admits that she is a strict teacher, not afraid to scold her students. Even scold "full force". But scolding must produce results, that is, make students correct their mistakes, have motivation to study, not scold them to the point of "losing" them, making them stressed and losing confidence in themselves.

"If you ask me what skills I need to use to scold my students so they don't hate me, I don't have any skills. Children are very sensitive. They can feel and distinguish very clearly between scolding out of love and concern and malicious scolding.

So after she scolded them, the class ended and the students started laughing and joking with her as if nothing had happened.

The children are very tolerant, understand the pressure she puts on them and understand that she is doing everything for them. If you call it "scolding skills", it's okay, it's putting love into your scolding," Ms. Huyen confided.

Ms. Huyen said that for 9th graders, teaching is no longer simply about imparting knowledge. 9th graders need to be trained like soldiers: Standard, precise, disciplined.

Because just one small mistake can decide whether a student passes or fails, achieves or fails to achieve their goals. Teachers cannot be sloppy or lenient. Studying for exams cannot be "easy".

Ms. Huyen is not afraid to tell parents and students that the mentality of wanting to "study leisurely", studying without having to try hard, without spending much time, without any pressure and still achieving high results is greedy and unrealistic.

"In any activity in life, to have good results, you need to try hard. Success only comes to those who know how to learn, persevere, try hard, and if they make mistakes, they do it again until they are no longer wrong.

That journey cannot avoid moments of fatigue, boredom, stress and pressure. But if you persevere to the end, the sweet fruit will appear.

I always encourage my children to try their best. Even though the exam results may not be as expected, they will still receive many values. The greatest value is the habit of doing everything with perseverance, discipline, self-awareness, and not giving up.

That will be a valuable asset for your child throughout his life and help him be steadfast in the future no matter what job he does," Ms. Huyen shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen in a class (Photo: NVCC).

Therefore, during 27 years of teaching, the students that Ms. Huyen loves the most are not the excellent students but the students who gradually move from 3 points to 4 points, 5 points, 6 points. For her, each point that the students reach is a lot of effort and also a reward for the teacher's encouragement and scolding.

Don't be afraid to change and renew yourself every day to adapt to Gen Z students.

For nearly 3 decades of teaching, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen has not had any significant achievements, as she said. But for parents of students at Nguyen Trai Secondary School, being able to study with Ms. Huyen is a blessing.

Ms. Vo Kieu Trang, a parent whose child has been studying with Ms. Huyen for two years, said: "Ms. Huyen is truly a respectable teacher because of her enthusiasm, love for her students, strictness and exemplary character.

The class has nearly 50 students but she follows them very closely. The children are close to her, never afraid to ask for clarification when they don't understand. Her way with the children is that of a teacher and a friend.

My children are very lucky to have been taught by her since 8th grade. She has inspired in them a love of math and learning."

Talking about the secret to making friends with students while still maintaining the authority of a teacher, Ms. Huyen shared: "It is not being afraid to change and renew yourself to adapt to the children, not forcing the children to adapt to her."

At the age of 50, Ms. Huyen pays great attention to her clothes, costumes, and makeup when going to class. She practices yoga every day to maintain her health and keep her figure in shape. All of this is to stay young and radiant in the eyes of her students.

"No student likes a teacher with a stern face and glasses that slide down her nose. Even though I'm only a few years away from retirement, I still want to be neat, active, and youthful in the eyes of my students," Ms. Huyen said.

Portrait of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen (Photo: NVCC)

There were days when two math classes were back to back, and seeing the boredom on the students' faces, Ms. Huyen stopped teaching. She said that no matter how much she explained, it wouldn't get into their heads. Instead, she would entertain the children. She borrowed a female student's hair clip and put it on her head, making the whole class burst into laughter. After laughing "full", she returned to the lesson.

In a class of nearly 50 students, Ms. Huyen did not leave anyone out. She divided the class into 4 groups according to 4 levels of knowledge acquisition, set separate goals for each group, and correspondingly, different tasks.

Therefore, students who are not doing well do not feel pressured to compare themselves with their peers in the leading group. Students in the leading group do not look down on their weaker peers and become complacent, but always have appropriate goals to strive for.

Each group has different "tricks" to motivate students. Some "tricks" are successful with one game but ineffective with another.

"That's when you don't understand the student. Not every student can be scolded. There are students who can be coaxed five times for every scolding. There are students who can only be encouraged, not provoked.

"We must choose the student's personality to have an appropriate way of teaching. We must also understand the student's personal circumstances to know how to "choose words to scold". There are children who grow up in families with divorced parents, or live far away from their parents, or have financial difficulties. We need to understand to avoid topics that remind us of sad stories, unintentionally hurting the children," Ms. Huyen confided.

Recalling memorable memories in her career, Ms. Huyen reminisced about the 90s, when students flocked to their teachers' houses to eat candy every November 20th.

That day, three schoolgirls cycled more than 5 kilometers to visit their math teacher. The old bicycle could only carry one person. One person followed on foot. Every few blocks, they "changed shifts" so that the runner could get on the bicycle and the person who had just been on the bicycle could get off and run. The teacher could not help but go back into the house to get her bicycle and chase after the student to take her home.

The old story made Ms. Huyen think: "We teachers sometimes confide in each other that the more modern society becomes, the more distant teachers and students become. Being a little close will be criticized. So I have to keep my distance from students and parents.

Once, my child asked to come to my house. I had to tell him to try to study hard and after he graduates, I will invite him to my house to play. When I said that, I couldn't help but feel sad.

Dantri.com.vn