The teacher who ignites passion.

When mentioning Mr. Duong Trung Khuoc, many generations of students at Phuoc Long High School (Phuoc Long Ward, Dong Nai Province) will immediately think of the image of a dedicated, exemplary teacher who wholeheartedly devoted himself to his students. With his passion for the profession and his diligent research and learning, Mr. Khuoc transformed Chemistry lessons, often considered difficult and dry by many students, into engaging and interesting learning sessions.

Teacher Duong Trung Khuoc during a lesson for the gifted chemistry team at Phuoc Long High School. Photo: Hai Yen.

Not only did Mr. Khước inspire a passion for scientific discovery, but he also nurtured many students to achieve outstanding results in Chemistry at the provincial level. The achievements of this dedicated teacher have contributed to improving the quality of education at Phước Long High School.

An example of overcoming oneself.

This year marks 20 years since Mr. Duong Trung Khuoc dedicated himself to teaching. His journey from a poor student in a remote area, overcoming a serious illness to attend university and become a teacher, has been arduous. But it is precisely these difficulties and hardships that have made this teacher in the mountain town love life even more, cherish the teaching profession, and wholeheartedly dedicate himself to his students.

Recalling his high school years, student Duong Trung Khuoc's home in Binh Thang commune (now Da Kia commune, Dong Nai province) was 30km from Phuoc Long High School (then Phuoc Long Junior and Senior High School). At that time, very few students from Binh Thang commune went to Phuoc Long to study at the high school level. Because of the distance, Khuoc and his friends had to live in rented accommodation, take care of themselves, and help each other study. At the end of each week, he would cycle home to get rice and food for the new school week. Khuoc was the fourth child in his family and the first to attend high school. Therefore, the young Khuoc was very aware that pursuing education was the best way to escape poverty.

That determination motivated Khước to study diligently and achieve high academic results. However, in his final year of high school, a tragedy struck Khước. In the second semester of 12th grade, Khước was diagnosed with a severe kidney disease. From then on, he spent more time in the hospital than at school, sometimes at Binh Phuoc General Hospital, sometimes at Cho Ray Hospital ( Ho Chi Minh City). Yet, his indispensable companions when going to the hospital were always his books. While hospitalized for treatment, Khước continued to study on his own, determined to pass his graduation exams. On the day of the graduation exam, a friend carried Khước to the exam room despite his swollen body. Thanks to his solid foundation, Khước scored 10 points in Chemistry, boosting his scores in the remaining subjects and allowing him to graduate.

After that, Khuoc spent a year recovering from his illness and studying for the university entrance exam on his own. As a result, in the 2001 university entrance exam, Khuoc was accepted into two universities simultaneously: Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Ho Chi Minh City University of Education.

“After much deliberation, I decided to study education, both to suit my family's economic situation and to follow in the footsteps of the teacher who instilled in me a passion for chemistry, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung,” Mr. Khuoc recalled.

Mr. Duong Trung Khuoc is a highly skilled teacher with many achievements in preparing students for gifted student competitions, and has many innovative ideas and experiences in professional activities, especially in implementing educational reforms. In extracurricular activities, he is an energetic trade union official, paying close attention to the circumstances of each individual and staff member of the school to provide timely support and assistance.

Principal of Phuoc Long High School, Nguyen Van Van

The journey of supporting gifted students.

After graduating from university in 2005, young teacher Duong Trung Khuoc returned to teach at his alma mater – Phuoc Long High School. Aware of his lack of teaching experience, Mr. Khuoc invested heavily in preparing his lesson plans. For each type of exercise, he strived to find the shortest and easiest solution to convey to his students.

"The more investment and care put into lesson plans, the more effective the teaching will be," said Mr. Khước.

Twenty years have passed, but Mr. Khước still vividly remembers the feeling of happiness standing on the podium, looking down at the obedient faces of his students, their eyes attentively listening to his lecture.

Teacher Khước confided: "Back then, the salary was low, but I was still passionate about the profession. When I saw my students being well-behaved, loving their teacher, and striving to learn, I felt even more love for the profession, passion for it, and happiness in it."

In 2008, young teacher Duong Trung Khuoc decided to pursue a master's degree. In 2011, after successfully defending his master's thesis, he was assigned by the school's administration to coach the school's gifted student team.

According to Mr. Khước, teaching gifted students isn't difficult; teachers only need to briefly explain the material for the students to understand. The challenge lies in finding exercises that are appropriate for their level and help them improve and achieve better results. To do this, teachers need to invest time and effort in preparing lessons, which is more time-consuming than preparing a regular lesson plan. Therefore, in addition to researching materials and learning from colleagues, Mr. Khước also takes advantage of his free tutoring sessions when he doesn't have classes at school to "summon" students to his home for free extra tutoring.

Thanks to his guidance, the gifted student training teams under Mr. Khuoc's supervision have achieved many commendable results. For example, in the 2018-2019 school year, Mr. Khuoc directly coached the 19/5 Olympic team for 11th graders, consisting of 5 students, with 1 student winning a gold medal and 3 students winning bronze medals at the provincial level; in the 2023-2024 school year, Mr. Khuoc directly coached the gifted 12th grader team, winning 1 second prize, 2 third prizes, and 3 consolation prizes at the provincial level.

Tran Vo Thuy Lam, a student in class 11A1 at Phuoc Long High School, is a member of the school's Chemistry gifted student team. Thuy Lam commented: “Mr. Khuoc is meticulous in every lesson, creating a comfortable atmosphere for students. He knows how to convey difficult concepts in the clearest way possible. When teaching, he often organizes many games for students to earn points. When students achieve good results in exams, he rewards them.”

Meanwhile, Quách Thanh Trụ (also a member of the gifted student training team for Chemistry at Phước Long High School) expressed: “For me, Mr. Khước is not only a teacher but also like a father. He instilled in me a love for Chemistry, helping me to enjoy it more and delve deeper into exploring this subject. For students who are weak in Chemistry, he also has a very good teaching method, which is to ask simple questions and always create opportunities for them to score points, helping them become more confident and avoid feeling discouraged about this subject.”

Mr. Khước is also a teacher with many highly-regarded innovative teaching methods. These innovative methods are the culmination of his teaching experience. Writing these innovative methods helps him reflect, ponder more carefully, and verify his findings to make more appropriate adjustments in his teaching practice, thereby improving the quality of his teaching. Evidence of this includes the fact that the percentage of students achieving good or excellent grades in Chemistry, taught by Mr. Khước, is consistently higher each year than the previous year and always exceeds the school's targets; the percentage of students passing the Chemistry exam in the high school graduation exam is always higher than the provincial average (formerly Binh Phuoc province); and the quality of Chemistry consistently ranks first among all subjects at Phuoc Long High School…

For his contributions to education, Mr. Khước has received numerous awards from the education sector and various levels of government. Notably, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Prime Minister for his achievements in education and training from the 2013-2014 to the 2017-2018 school years, contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland. In 2024, Mr. Khước was awarded the Third-Class Labor Medal.

Sea Swallow

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/giao-duc/202511/nguoi-thay-truyen-lua-dam-me-38a041e/