"Leader of Change" Club: When female students not only study well but are also "guided"

"Where small things make big changes"

The "Leader of Change" Club is not a place for formal training, but a spiritual safe zone where students can listen, share, act and change from the smallest things.

Kieu Ngoc Bao Chau and Dinh Thanh Truc are the most active members of the club.

Kieu Ngoc Bao Chau and Dinh Thanh Truc (9A students), Muong ethnic group, are two of the most active members of the club. From being shy and lacking in confidence, they gradually became confident when participating in the Team, English Club and cultural and artistic activities. Chau won the Encouragement Prize in the 2025 district-level IOE competition, and together with Truc led the modern dance group to perform in school and commune exchanges. These activities not only helped the two students shine, but also attracted the enthusiastic participation of the female students in the class.

Dinh Thi Dung has had outstanding achievements.

Also a Muong ethnic female student, Dinh Thi Dung (class 8A) stands out for her determination to overcome difficulties. Coming from a difficult family situation, Dung has made great efforts to study and continuously won awards from excellent student at the district level to second prize in the 2024 summer book storytelling contest. She is also a "young leader" who made a strong impression at the district-level exchange.

One of the most touching memories of the Club is the story of Nguyen Ngoc Linh Dan (a 6A student) who was shunned by her friends because of her wrongdoings. Thanks to the listening, sharing and encouragement of her homeroom teacher Dang Minh Duc, the Head Teacher and her friends in the Club, Linh Dan wrote a letter of apology and pledged to change. It was not only a personal turning point, but also a vivid testament to the transformative power of friendship and understanding.

The "Leaders of Change" Club was established in 2023 with 22 members from grades 7, 8 and 9. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, Team Leader, founder and operator of the Club, the reason for its establishment is to meet the requirements of educational innovation and comprehensive development of students' abilities and qualities.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, Team Leader, founder and manager of the Club

The club organizes many creative activities: The "Listen to understand" discussion helps students sit in a circle and talk honestly about friendship and family. The "What I want to say" activity allows students to send anonymous letters to the sharing mailbox, from school and family matters to problems with friends, choosing a school and career. In particular, in the "Leader discovers himself" experience, students write their own scripts about gender equality and participate in plays to prevent domestic violence, which previously seemed to only exist in books.

Dinh Thi Dung shared: "Joining the club, I can be myself. Before, I was afraid to speak up because I was afraid of being teased, "girls don't talk much", now I know how to speak up, listen and dare to be different".

Where students can be themselves

Ms. Thanh said that the club not only creates changes in awareness, for example, students eliminate the prejudice that "being a class monitor must be a boy", but also changes in actions: Students share fairly when working in groups, know how to speak up when being harassed or teased, and proactively participate in social projects. There are girls who used to not dare to speak up, but now host art shows; there is a group of boys who used to smoke, but after learning life skills, they quit smoking and spread the word to their friends.

The club has activities with diverse content.

However, the journey of change is not easy. Maintaining the club is difficult in terms of time, resources, as well as creating sustainable bonds when students change levels. Some students are still hesitant and not bold enough to share. "However, every time I read a letter from someone asking for career advice, or simply asking for help with family matters, I feel that everything I do is meaningful," Ms. Thanh was moved.

Not stopping at initial successes, the "Leaders of Change" Club at Thang Son Secondary School is expanding its operating space day by day, becoming a platform for students to develop comprehensively, in terms of awareness, skills and civic spirit. According to Ms. Thanh, the journey ahead will be challenging but also full of promise.

The “Leader of Change” Club is not a formal training place, but a spiritual safe zone, where students can listen, share, act and change from the smallest things.

"We hope that the club will not only stop at leadership skills or gender equality activities, but will expand to more practical topics, related to the lives and future of students," Ms. Thanh shared.

In the upcoming orientation, the school and the club focus on three major pillars, first of all: Developing programs on school mental health. This is a relatively new but extremely important area. "Healthy to study for a bright tomorrow" will be the slogan throughout.

This is both a useful playground and a place to share information and knowledge about age psychology, gender, communication skills in family, school, and society for students.

The second is to guide students towards a green lifestyle, sustainable development and preserving national cultural identity. The experience sessions will not only be superficial activities such as planting trees or cleaning the school, but will integrate environmental protection into every corner of the school, every small task such as sorting garbage, saving electricity and water.

Third, it is to equip students with knowledge and skills about digital safety and ethics, a very new area but currently a "lowland" in education. Ms. Thanh emphasized: "Students need to be guided on how to use social networks safely, know how to distinguish between fake and real news, know how to speak up against cyberbullying, and behave responsibly in the digital world. This will be the foundation for them to become civilized digital citizens, knowing how to protect themselves and their friends."

The "Leaders of Change" Club was established in 2023 with 22 members from grades 7, 8 and 9.

She added: "The club is not only a place for students to learn to be leaders, but also a place where they can be themselves: dare to think, dare to speak, dare to act, and dare to dream. We want each small change from the club to spread throughout the school, and then spread further into the students' lives."

Leaders of Change Club of Thang Son Secondary School

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/clb-thu-linh-cua-su-thay-doi-khi-nu-sinh-khong-chi-hoc-tot-ma-con-duoc-dan-loi-2025051021563865.htm