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My name is Pham Thi Vi. I am 38 years old. I teach class 1A at Ngoc Lam primary school, in Hanoi City, Long Bien province. I have been teaching for 16 years, since 2000, at this school. In my grade 1 class, there are 51 students in all. I teach the basic subjects, such as Maths, Vietnamese, moral education, social science and handcrafting. I am also responsible for weekly class meetings, extra curriculum activities and some activities in other classes. To be honest, my favourite subject changes depending on the lesson and time. Generally the current teaching methodology consists of converting various subjects into educational activities. I particularly enjoy teaching moral education. Maths teaches students how to think logically, Vietnamese evokes the love of words and the students’ mother tongue. Social science is about understanding life around us, but moral education is the one subject that can be integrated into all the other subjects to help develop the students’ love of the subject, the country, nature, people, the proper way to behave and to become a good human being. Moral education is generally the subject that we enjoy the most in our teaching careers. I finished high school in 1996 and then applied to the primary education department. I started my training in this school the same year and I graduated in 2000. Since then I have been working in primary schools. I teach grade 1 students and have done so for 16 years. In Vietnam many of our first grade students want to become teachers in the future. Becoming a teacher allowed me to achieve my dream from a little girl especially a primary school teacher teaching first grade students. At this age, the students are at their most natural and unspoilt. Being a teacher, the most interesting thing for me is that I can perform three different roles, as their mother, their teacher, and their friend. I love sharing sadness and happiness with my beloved students. The main purpose of primary education is to establish three elements for the students: the first is the most basic knowledge they need when they enter secondary school. Secondly, we try to develop students’ skills and lastly to nurture their moral qualities. When I teach my students, acting as their mother, their teacher and friend, I want my children to grow up well and achieve two things. Firstly, to have a loving heart to appreciate the beauty of nature. Secondly, to have well-developed thinking. These are two things that I really want my children to have. These will help them to grow up and start working and achieving in their lives. In Vietnam, children normally leave school after they finish grade 12, at 18 years of age. If they study hard and pass the entrance exam to university, they can continue to study. If not, when they are 18, they can enrol at vocational schools and find work in firms, manufacturing companies and so on. In Vietnam the contribution from different organisations, such as parents groups or local committees is very important. Apart from the school, parents and the local community also support us by providing furniture if they can afford it. On special occasions local committees also show their encouragement and support for the teachers and the students. They help to improve and maintain school safety and security around the school. Parent groups help the teachers a lot, also providing equipment for the children. They also take part in educating the children, coordinating with the teachers in case there is any problem with the child - it’s always a joint effort! We work five days each week from Monday to Friday. Saturdays and Sundays are days off so we can prepare lesson plans or spend time with our families. I work an eight-hour day, but if there’s work to do we come in earlier and leave late. Teachers must arrive at school 15 minutes before the start of classes so we need to be here by 7:45. But most of us arrive much earlier, at 7:00 or 7:15 - we are happy to do this if it helps our children. We might have preparation or planning work to do. Because grade 1 students are very young, we come to school early to welcome them and check they are OK. Are their clothes warm enough for the winter, have they opened the windows to get some fresh air in, or do their cups need washing up? Some days are busier than other before school starts. At lunch-time in primary schools we need to manage the children’s meals, so at the end of lessons the majority of the teachers will serve food to the children and look after them. We sit with them whilst they’re eating. After they’ve finished their meals, the teachers can have our lunch with the children. After lunch, we help them have a short nap before lessons start again.