Homeroom teacher at Dai Nam University, both difficult and skillful

“Many people may think that university students do not need homeroom teachers because they are adults, have knowledge, skills and a sense of independence. Few people know that homeroom teachers are an indispensable part of universities, especially Dai Nam University - where teachers always consider their students as their children, as their younger siblings and as their friends. In addition to representing the Board of Directors and the Dean of the Faculty in managing and helping students in the classroom to study and practice, homeroom teachers are also the closest companions of students. All circumstances, thoughts, feelings and legitimate aspirations of students, homeroom teachers must be the first people in the school to know, understand, advise and wholeheartedly help. This is a job that is both difficult and skillful. People who work as homeroom teachers need to be truly dedicated and have enough love to be able to "from heart to heart".

That is the sharing of Ms. Cao Thi Hoa - Vice Principal of Dai Nam University and also the general policy of the school on homeroom teachers.

Homeroom teacher is a difficult and selective job.

As usual, before each new semester, Dai Nam University holds a meeting of homeroom teachers of the whole school.

Talking about the importance of homeroom teachers, Ms. Le Thanh Huong - Vice Principal in charge of training shared: “Students are at the age of reaching the full development of human life. They are a group of people rich in determination, dreams and ambitions. However, due to the uneven development of psychology; due to different conditions, living circumstances and educational methods, not all students are optimally developed, reaching maturity in thinking and action. Therefore, family, school, including homeroom teachers, play an extremely important role in guiding and training students to become good citizens.”

The policy of Dai Nam University is like that, so the job of homeroom teacher is difficult and selective because being a homeroom teacher is like "serving a hundred families". In addition to good knowledge and pedagogical skills, homeroom teachers need to have enthusiasm, a sense of responsibility, love, patience and understanding of age psychology.

The meeting is not only to summarize, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses and propose a work plan for the new semester of the homeroom teacher's work, but also an activity for each homeroom teacher to express their thoughts and feelings, share lessons learned with colleagues and leaders so that the next semester will be better than the previous one.

Therefore, before each semester, the Board of Directors and heads of the Departments often have to "have a headache" considering and choosing suitable teachers to take on this job position.

“As soon as students enroll, the Board of Directors must solve the problem of which teacher will be in charge of this class, which teacher will be in charge of that class, in order to match the abilities of the students and teachers, and to help students quickly integrate, have a good learning spirit and stick with the school throughout the course. It can be said that the team of homeroom teachers at Dai Nam are teachers who are carefully selected by the principal according to the principle of “choosing the right person to entrust the gold to”… ” Ms. Cao Thi Hoa shared.

To undertake the task of supervising, managing, and operating a class and acting as a bridge between the faculty, the school, and the students, homeroom teachers must face many challenges. Every time they convey policies, regulations, or simply a small announcement of a change in the school schedule to students, homeroom teachers must always be mentally prepared to receive mixed reactions from students and find ways to resolve and convince them.

Perhaps, the question that always haunts the minds of teachers who are the head teachers of Dai Nam University is: How to create prestige with students? In particular, how to always be a spiritual pillar, the first place students come to and share? These things seem very simple but are extremely difficult and not everyone can do them if they are not prestigious and skillful enough.

Give love to receive love

It can be said that one of the factors that make up the brand of Dai Nam University is the relationship between teachers and students. Teachers always care for, understand the thoughts, feelings, and circumstances of each student in order to advise and help students throughout the course.

Ms. Pham Thi Dung - lecturer of the Faculty of Tourism is always enthusiastic, creative, dedicated in every lecture and is one of the homeroom teachers who is very close to the students.

In reality, very few universities take care of students as well and effectively as Dai Nam University. Teachers and students interact with each other in all aspects (in class, phone, zalo, facebook...) and can interact anywhere, anytime to be close to them from reminding them of their schedules, test schedules, exam schedules; to understanding their thoughts, feelings and circumstances to know why students neglect their studies, why students are late in paying tuition fees, why students are absent from school without reason, why students have negative reactions and actions... In each such case, the homeroom teacher must have the most skillful, reasonable and appropriate way to handle it so that "even radishes will listen"...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy - lecturer of the Faculty of Business Administration is one of the homeroom teachers with the ability to connect the group and is especially loved by generations of students.

“There are homeroom teachers at Dai Nam who have lent students money for tuition for more than 10 years, and in some cases, they don't need to pay it back; there are students who unfortunately have serious illnesses, and teachers have been on duty continuously in the hospital to take care of them with their families; there are teachers who are only 5-7 years older than the students, but they are like second fathers and mothers to the students; there are teachers and students who have dropped out of school to play games, and have traveled all night to all the game shops in Ha Dong to find them; or there are students who are bored with studying and have returned to their hometowns, and teachers do not mind the long distance to their hometowns to encourage them to return to school... Or for example, during the recent Lunar New Year holiday, some students in epidemic areas could not return home for Tet, teachers from different faculties proactively checked, called to inquire, encouraged their spirits, and were willing to let them stay with them for the whole Tet holiday. Each different teacher will have a different way to find the answer to how to "reach the hearts of students". But perhaps the most effective way is still is love, patience and tolerance. When teachers give enough love, students will certainly respond with love and respect…” Ms. Cao Thi Hoa shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan - lecturer of the Accounting department is known as the "mobile ATM" of students.

At the meeting, Ms. Le Thi Thanh Huong - Vice Principal also affirmed: The homeroom teacher is not alone. Besides the teachers, there is the School Council, the Board of Directors, the Faculty Leadership Board and parents. If the teachers encounter difficulties in the homeroom work, please boldly share with the leaders to find a solution together.

The school and teachers are always there for you.

“Be skillful in managing the class with love, handling disobedient students with tolerance and talking to students with patience. Students who are loved will surely listen. Teachers who give love will receive love in return…” is the message the school’s Board of Directors wants to convey to all teachers who have been, are and will be working as homeroom teachers at Dai Nam.

BTT