Principal invites students with 'unsatisfactory' rating to drink milk tea and sends message: You don't have to be excellent

TPO - On August 4, Ms. To Thi Hai Yen, Principal of Giang Vo Secondary School (Hanoi), invited 18 students with "unsatisfactory" academic results in the 2024-2025 school year to drink milk tea and encourage them before they took the test to decide whether they would be promoted to the next grade. She advised that students do not necessarily need to be excellent, but need to work hard to be better than they were yesterday.

When meeting with students, Ms. To Thi Hai Yen said that at this time last year, the principal invited students with excellent summer achievements to breakfast to encourage and boost their spirits before starting the new school year. This year, she and the teachers want to pay more attention to students who are "slower than" their peers.

For those who have completed their studies well, the summer vacation is truly a time of rest and relaxation, but for the 18 students who are classified as "unsatisfactory" in their studies, they will have to continue studying for the next test in August.

Ms. To Thi Hai Yen, Principal of Giang Vo Secondary School ( Hanoi ) shares with students. (Photo: Ha Linh)

According to Ms. Yen, since the beginning of July, when the results of the academic rankings were available, the school has asked teachers to create a detailed and meticulous review outline, in which they instruct students on how to study and how to do the exercises, and send it to each student so that they can proactively review during the summer without feeling too difficult.

To be more careful, the school has scheduled and arranged for teachers to tutor and tutor the subjects so that the students can grasp the knowledge more firmly.

“Testing and evaluating after a learning process is necessary for teachers and schools to know that students are responsible for their studies and have really tried, but they should not be stressed or pressured. The test will be much less difficult than the semester test and the test time will be shortened to only 2/3,” Ms. Yen told the students.

The knowledge requirements in the test for the group of students who "have not achieved" will stop at the level of recognition, understanding and application, if any, at a low level, in order for teachers to praise and acknowledge the students' efforts.

During the conversation, the principal of Giang Vo Secondary School shared with the students in a friendly way that, as students, when coming to school, they have the responsibility to study hard and seriously. Whether they are good or not, they still have to make an effort, although students have the right not to be leaders, not to stand out and not necessarily to be excellent.

Teachers do not force students to be excellent, as long as they work hard every day and improve tomorrow than they did today, that is already very good. What I want is for students to be confident and proactive in their studies, not only at school but also at home.

Students were invited to drink milk tea and given gifts including pens and notebooks by the school principal before the new school year. (Photo: Ha Linh)

The principal added, you should know that being good at math or literature is not the only thing that is good. Being good at swimming is also good, being good at playing badminton, being good at music , being skillful... all are very valuable. A student, today sitting here retaking Natural Science with teachers, but tomorrow, he can become anyone, thanks to his efforts. A student who is not really good at math or literature but is very skillful, can later become a skilled worker, supporting himself and his family, is also very valuable.

“ Teachers do not need to support students in terms of grades but rather in terms of spirit. Every day, during class, teachers should pay more attention, linger at the corner of the students’ desks for a few more minutes to see how they take notes and ask: “Do you understand the lesson?” - Ms. To Thi Hai Yen.

The school does not put any pressure or burden on the students. We only hope that they will always be healthy and happy to go to school, fulfill their obligations and at the same time develop their strengths and abilities.

Regarding teachers who guide students, this Principal believes that the students' academic classification as "unsatisfactory" or having to retake the test during the summer is not due to poor ability or some kind of deficiency. It is simply because the students have not focused, have not paid attention to lectures or reading books, so teachers and students should review together, emphasizing the role of teachers to stand side by side and encourage students more.

“Teachers do not need to support students in terms of grades but in terms of spirit. Every day, during class, teachers should pay more attention, stay at the corner of the students’ desks for a few more minutes to see how they take notes and ask: “Do you understand the lesson?”. I believe that when teachers pay warm attention, they will definitely feel a great transformation. And so, our education has been successful,” said Ms. Yen.

The new school year does not set targets for excellent students.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Giang Vo Secondary School has 2,626 students. According to Ms. Yen, at this time, the school is reviewing all facilities, cleaning, spraying insecticide, and students have practiced a welcoming performance... to prepare for the new school year.

Giang Vo Secondary School is a school with a long history of academic achievements, with a number of excellent students and students winning city, national and international awards every year in the top group of schools in Hanoi.

However, for the new school year 2025-2026, Ms. Yen said that in the meeting of the pedagogical council at the beginning of the year, it was agreed that the new school year will have two parallel paths: imparting - forming capacity and paying attention to, transforming students who have not focused.

One highlight and important change in the coming school year is that the school will shift its focus from being busy with scores and achievements to focusing on core, authentic values such as the satisfaction index of parents and students.

School students in a competition.

The school also sets very detailed goals in addition to strategic directions.

“For example, teachers need to have their own teaching methods so that students feel happy when they come to school, love the subject, and from there want to improve. This year, the school does not set a target of how many excellent students will be at the end of the year, how many students will win medals or awards. We do not talk about achievements, do not set a target that next year will be higher than the previous year, but I believe that when teachers teach well and inspire well, they will “reap sweet fruit,” according to the principal.

Giang Vo Secondary School is a public school in Giang Vo Ward (Ba Dinh) that annually enrolls students in large numbers according to the enrollment route. This is also the first public school in Hanoi to implement the "Google Digital Classroom" model from 2025-2026.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hieu-truong-moi-hoc-sinh-xep-loai-chua-dat-uong-tra-sua-va-nhan-cac-em-khong-nhat-thiet-tro-nen-xuat-sac-post1766291.tpo