As someone who has been involved in the career of educating people for many years, when reading the book “Building a happy school, the path I take” by Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa, I was truly surprised by the simplicity, closeness, and authenticity when talking about the process of building a happy school.
I am completely convinced by the ideas that Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa has proposed and the things he has done to turn those ideas into reality.
Currently, Nguyen Binh Khiem School, the school that Dr. Hoa has devoted a lot of effort to build, is a high-quality school, a happy school of Cau Giay district, Hanoi city.
Nguyen Binh Khiem School is also the launching pad for the book “Building a happy school, the path I take”. “This book is dedicated to beloved teachers, and also respectfully dedicated to parents across Vietnam”, quoted from the book’s title.
The book Building a happy school - the path I take by Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa.
He had such heartfelt words to send to readers at the beginning of the book! We would like to respectfully and gratefully thank Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa when he gave us this precious and meaningful gift.
Reading 10 chapters with more than 300 pages of the book “Building a happy school, the path I take”, first of all, I felt the humble attitude of the author, because the author only considered it “personal experiences and reflections throughout his life ineducation ”. When I paused to reflect, I realized that the book has useful contributions to the development of Vietnamese education in the current period.
The book convinces readers with both educational theories and simple stories, very ordinary confidences that seem very small, but have brought great happiness to many people and many families.
The appeal of the book is first of all the unceasing concern about the educational mission of the school. Mr. Hoa advocates that education must be aimed at the majority, he worries that "80-90% of children who do not have the ability to study well to become talented people should be the top concern of education".
The questions kept coming back and forth. “Why is education the pinnacle of training? And for the moment, only looking at the pinnacle to evaluate the achievements of education?”. Finally, he found a very practical answer, which received the consensus of the most people: “Education must look at every student, for every student; recognize each student as a person – a separate individual.
The first goal of education must be to improve people's knowledge, the second goal is to train human resources for the country. Then, along with that, the third goal is to train talented people."
And Mr. Hoa built “Happy School” starting from changing each individual student. The success first came to the students, teachers, the school he built and then spread to other schools, other localities. We can mention a few typical cases that the book has mentioned.
The story of student Doan Thanh Trang, from "a rebellious child... always feeling lost", sometimes pessimistic to the point of despair "there were mornings when I woke up, I just wanted to sleep forever because I didn't want to continue facing the things waiting for me at school"... to the time when Trang completely changed "Coal turned into diamonds". Little Trang became a happy person when "Parents are increasingly proud of their child". Trang's family also enjoyed happiness because "they found their lost child". Doan Thanh Trang herself is proud of the school she is studying at "A happy school. Everyone moves forward, no one is left behind".
Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nguyen Binh Khiem School, was born in 1946.
Students find joy in their school, and surely their teachers and mentors are also happy. Teacher Vu Tuyet Nga has done a miracle, turning a "silent boy", "who did not talk to anyone for a long time,... could get angry without any reason" into a very emotional student, who knows how to share and get along with everyone. I understand that she is also happy from the affectionate gesture of using her finger to "touch the boy's head" like a mother.
Recalling a few small stories (among many stories mentioned in the book), I do not hide my love for a specific school, Nguyen Binh Khiem School, which Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa worked hard to build. But more importantly, I, the writer of these lines, want to promote, encourage, and promote a new educational ideology of “Building a happy school” and the “path” to having a happy school. I believe that when reading this book, everyone will have the same thoughts as me.
The book points out that “Building Happy Schools” is not limited to the successes of Nguyen Binh Khiem School (Cau Giay, Hanoi), but there are also equally successful and touching stories of “Building Happy Schools” in schools in other localities where educational conditions are limited.
Through simple educational stories, the author of the book wants to convey to us a strong belief that any normal school, in any normal countryside, can certainly build a happy school, if the teachers there are determined to change.
That is the story of Mr. Dao Chi Manh, Principal of a public primary school in Vinh Phuc mentioned in the book. Although he is not old (36 years old), he is full of enthusiasm and optimism, but when faced with the work of a Principal, after a while, his friends, teachers and colleagues commented that he was "visiblely worn out".
Not resigned to the impasse, Principal Dao Chi Manh boldly changed, making the educational environment of his school more joyful. The Principal himself also felt more relieved, "looking in the mirror and seeing himself younger and less wrinkled". From that result, the young Principal "has faith in the journey of building a happy school, a place where teachers and students... feel loved, respected, safe, understood and valued". In a happy school, the first person to feel that happiness is the Principal.
In recent decades, following news about education in the media, many of us have been pessimistic about Vietnamese education.
People who care about education probably don’t forget that a famous scholar had to exclaim, “If I were appointed as Minister of Education and Training, the first thing I would do would be to write a resignation letter.” Every time I recall this story, I can’t help but feel heartbroken, hopeless, and stuck! Until I held in my hands and read the entire book “Building Happy Schools, the Path I Take” by Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa, I was awakened.
Has the light of faith returned? Yes, that’s right, the author’s experiences and confidences shared in more than 300 pages of the book have given me (and certainly not only me) confidence. I think anyone can create a happy educational environment, not only at school but also in family and society.
The positive changes of the young generation will make the view of Vietnamese education more exciting and optimistic. Closing the last page of the book, I affirm that “Building a happy school, the path I take” is a very necessary book for teachers in every school. And not only that, parents and the community can easily find valuable lessons in educating children.
The novel and unique explanation of everyday, seemingly unspeakable educational issues also creates the book's appeal.
Without being too big or too harsh, “Building a happy school, the path I take” still talks about eternal issues: The goal of education, where to start, the true role - the core nature of teachers, conquering students, building relationships with parents,... the new perspective, the new explanation here is that the author always looks towards the majority, conveying a positive attitude to everyone.
Besides, there are very practical, simple, humorous, interesting explanations about the issues that people often worry about: What is success - failure, the relationship between them or the relationship between money and happiness, the concept of right - wrong, good study - bad study... I think, these are truly the brilliant pages of the book.
Stories about education come naturally to each person and stay with the reader for a long time because the author speaks with all the warmth of his heart without getting lost in the usual rambling stories and discussions. What the reader feels deeply is that each of the author's ideas comes from solid practical foundations illuminated by educational theory towards truth, goodness, and beauty.
I really like a rather figurative view “Every child is a gem” that many people may not pay enough attention to. “Every child is a gem”, yes, that’s right, if you think a little deeper, you will see that this is a very modern, very humane view of the subject of education.
Such a concept would put the child at the center of educational activities, very modern but still not breaking with our ancestors' teaching experience "A gem must be polished to shine".
As a reader, I was completely convinced by the explanation: “Happy School” is definitely not a general concept or a theoretical model but an environment with specific educational activities. There are teaching and learning activities operated by two main characters: students and teachers. What do students come to school to learn? What is the real role of teachers in a happy school?
From there, we can determine the content of "A happy school is a place where every student, teacher, and staff member is safe, loved, respected, understood, and valued. That is when they feel happy when coming to school.
That is also the motivation for students to be interested in learning and being creative". A consistent concept of happiness "Happiness does not come from the outside. Happiness comes from within us". I clearly feel that the concept of happiness seems invisible but can be grasped. My own awareness has been greatly expanded when reading this part.
It can be said that “Building a happy school, the path I take” is the lifelong passion of teacher, Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa. The valuable thing is that he pointed out the secret but did not keep it for himself but wanted the idea of “Building a happy school” to be widely spread, reaching many people.
The author did not hesitate to share the “kitchen” stories of “the path I took”. Stories of “conquering students”; “building relationships with parents”; “active teaching and learning methods”; “how to organize schools towards building happy schools”;... were spoken as heartfelt sharings hoping to resonate with those interested in education.
I would love to talk more about Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa's successes on the issues he presented in his book "Building Happy Schools, The Path I Take", but let the readers contemplate and share happiness with him.
With all due respect, I hope everyone will read slowly and carefully the book “Building Happy Schools, The Path I Take”, a book by a man who spent 14 years of his youth in the army, often facing enemies in the fiercest battlefields, contributing to preserving and protecting the independence and freedom of the country. The entire content of the book is the passion for education shared in the form of heartfelt words of teacher, Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa.
He himself is an example of hard work in studying, dedication, and the struggle to find the most feasible and effective way to operate educational activities in schools.
Reading the book “Building a happy school, the path I take”, I see that Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa is ready to accompany everyone to the shore of happiness in the education career. What are you waiting for, readers, pick up the book, read and ponder. The path to happiness is waiting for us!
Dr. Pham Van Nam (Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences)
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