It is not new for teachers to receive envelopes from students and parents. Since high school, every year I represented my class to go to teachers' houses to congratulate and give envelopes on Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20.
When I entered university in Hue, I was also a class monitor and every year on November 20th, the teachers in the department never accepted envelopes. They only accepted a bouquet of flowers, a small gift.
After graduating, I worked in a province in the Southwest. I felt that the envelope culture rarely appeared here on Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20, because my wife and I are both teachers. My wife teaches at a school in the city, and I teach at a school in a big town.
Fresh flowers for teachers on the occasion of Vietnamese Teachers' Day November 20
Every year, we receive many plastic flowers, and sometimes students give us real flowers or a notebook or a bottle of shampoo. We consider this a blessing in the teaching profession. My husband and I absolutely do not expect students to give us money or any other luxurious gift.
Surprise gift
On the eve of Vietnamese Teachers’ Day, November 20, I remembered last year. At that time, a female student gave me a bouquet of fresh flowers and said that she had written a letter to her teacher. I simply thought that the letter would contain a few wishes and thanks from a student.
Moreover, many former students came to visit, so I was engrossed in chatting and taking pictures with them. When I got home, I was surprised to see a letter and 1 million VND in the envelope with the bouquet of flowers. This was the first time I had received an envelope with money from a student.
This 9th grade girl is the best student in her class in literature and she is also on the school's gifted student review team. She got excellent scores in her recent tests - the highest score in the class, so there is no reason for her to try to please me.
However, I am sure that you asked your parents for this money. That money is the hard work and sweat of your parents. I am your teacher, I have a salary paid by the government, I teach you literature - besides knowledge, there are lessons about life, about daily behavior.
My conscience does not allow me to accept money from students or parents, no matter what the reason. The next day, I returned the money to the students.
Joy of Vietnamese Teachers' Day
Welcome November 20th calmly
In the place where my wife and I work in a southwestern province, I have noticed that it is very rare for teachers to give gifts to the principal and vice principal on November 20 and Lunar New Year. On November 20, teachers almost never visit the principal's house.
The Parents' Association also does not give gifts to teachers, and the school never asks parents to contribute money to pay for activities organized on November 20. Students also rarely give gifts to subject teachers. Usually, they only give flowers and gifts to their homeroom teachers.
Subject teachers must be very precious to students to give them flowers, notebooks, pens, etc. This creates a unique beauty for the culture of people here.
In nearly 20 years of working, I have celebrated November 20th very calmly, and students giving me flowers and gifts has never been a concern. Therefore, the story of a 9th grade female student giving me a bouquet of flowers and an envelope containing 1 million VND surprised me.
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