Being a teacher is a noble job, a work that brings to society the general workers, politicians, directors, athletes, movie stars and also a work that is often away from the limelight. The Vietnamese has had a long history of paying respect and gratitude to educators dating back from the time of Confucian and way into the present.
Every year, on November 20th, millions of people all over Vietnam celebrate the National Teachers Day with flowers gift and gratitude, for the quiet yet greatly significant contribution that teachers in particular and anyone who work in the education field in general, have been making to the society with their career.
Vietnamese Teachers’ Day origin
On January 1946, an organization dedicated solely for educational employments called FISE (Féderation International Syndicale des Enseignants) was established in Paris, France.
In 1949, at Vacsava international conference, the FISE organization officially announced a charter regarding teachers and educational employees that included 15 chapters in total. The charter’s content mainly revolved around the fight between modern education systems against its bourgeois and feudal counterpart; protecting the legitimate substantial and mental rights of everyone involvements in educational field.
On September 28, 1982, the Ministerial Council (now the Government) made an official decision to select November 20 as Vietnam Teacher’s Day. So far, each year, Vietnam celebrates Teacher’s Day on November 20.
Related: The dark days of foreign teachers in Vietnam will be over?
Form the 26th to 30th of August 1957, FISE had 57 countries in total participations, including Vietnam. In the end, Vietnam decided to choose November 20th annually as its Teachers’ Day.
“So this Teachers’ Day – forget the bad, horrible, mean teachers and pay your respects to the people who make your lives richer with knowledge, smarter with skills and wiser with good words about life and how to become the person you are destined to be.” Said Stivi Cooke – an English teacher based in central Vietnam.
How foreign teachers in Vietnam celebrate National Teachers’ Day?
Not just for Vietnamese teachers, the students of both local and international schools in Vietnam celebrate National Teachers’ Day for their foreign teachers, festivities aimed to honor foreign teachers as well as to enhance the relationship between students and their teachers.
“We want our teachers to have great memories of their students and to remember Vietnam as a very friendly country where students have a lot of respect for their teachers,” said a Vietnamese student.
Also read: Vietnam’s schools struggle as foreign teachers remain stuck abroad
In Vietnam, National Teachers’ Day may attract many foreigners as it is not a traditional holiday in their home countries. “I heard about Teachers’ Day when I came to Vietnam, and it was a surprise to me because we don’t have anything like that in Australia,” a lecturer who engaged in four Teachers’ Day celebrations in Vietnam told Vietnam Insider.
“I think it’s great and wonderful that the students are doing all this for the teachers, recognizing the teachers. It’s always nice to see so much effort from our students. I think all the teachers look forward to this day,” asserted Melvin Fernando, a foreign lecturer who has lived in Vietnam for nearly ten years.
Before the event, students also gave their beloved teachers wooden paintings carved with calligraphy, cup cakes, and chocolates to show their appreciation.