“At Nang Khieu, we call you a legend” is the phrase written by colleagues and parents on the backdrop during the ceremony to honor Dr. Le Thanh Hung - Head of the IT Department of Nang Khieu High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University), former Vice Principal of the school - who officially retired.
The trio of Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung and Dr. Tran Nam Dung performed the song Imagine by John Lennon (Clip: Hoai Nam).
Dr. Le Thanh Hung retired at the same time as Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh, both of them were recently awarded commemorative medals by the Director of Ho Chi Minh City National University.
At the Gifted High School, both teachers are called legends, symbols, or as affirmed by Dr. Tran Nam Dung, Vice Principal of the school: "The names of the two teachers are associated with the brilliant achievements of the iron fist called mathematics - information technology of the Gifted High School and more than that, the achievements of the Vietnamese team participating in the IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad) and IOI (International Informatics Olympiad)".
Director of Ho Chi Minh City National University Vu Hai Quan presents a gift of gratitude to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung (Photo: NT).
Dr. Tran Nam Dung said that Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh has left the position of Head of the Math Group since March, and Dr. Le Thanh Hung will leave the position of Head of the IT Group from this August. However, with their love for students and attachment to the school, the two teachers will continue to accompany the Gifted High School as advisors in the work of nurturing excellent students.
Mr. Vuong Trung Dung, a young colleague of Dr. Le Thanh Hung, shared that Mr. Hung is not only a teacher but also a second father to him.
From the first days when Mr. Dung first set foot in Ho Chi Minh City, it was Mr. Hung who supported and guided him to adulthood. There are many memories with him, but what he can never forget is the first years away from home, he really craved family meals, and every time he did, he would stop by his teacher's house to "beg for rice". One time, he ate all of his teacher's food...
“Then one year when the Central region was very hot, I wanted to buy an air conditioner for my parents in the countryside but at that time I didn't have money. The teacher took out 8 million VND from his pocket and gave it to me and said: "Buy it for your parents in the countryside, when you have money, you can return it, if you don't have money, then forget it, no need to think about it.
And he was also the one who always urged and encouraged me to study, giving me many "problems" that "must be solved" but I still couldn't complete them," Mr. Dung emotionally recounted.
"At Talent, we call him a legend" is the sentiment of colleagues and parents towards Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung (Photo: PHCC).
Winning the Olympics through self-study
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung is a former student of Lam Son High School for the Gifted (Thanh Hoa).
After graduating from Lipest State Pedagogical University (Russia) in the field of mathematics and physics, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung pursued a teaching career when he returned to teach at Thanh Hoa Pedagogical College.
Mr. Hung also does not remember why, even though he is a math and physics major, he was known as “Mr. Hung is good at IT” even though he had never studied IT. Everything was self-taught, self-reading documents and knowledge.
In 1991, when Lam Son High School for the Gifted opened an IT major, Mr. Hung was invited to teach at the school. A completely new subject, no books, no curriculum, and he himself had no professional training... At that time, he could be called "empty-handed", learning by himself to design lesson plans and lectures to "transmit" to his students.
Colleagues pay tribute to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung and Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh (Photo: Hoai Nam).
In the first course, all four of his students participated in the national competition for excellent IT students and all four won prizes. One of them won first prize nationwide and was one of the students participating in the International Olympiad in IT.
Mr. Hung’s students, along with a student from Ho Chi Minh City, are the first students “outside of Hanoi ” to participate in the International Olympiad in Informatics. Previously, only students from Hanoi participated in this subject at the International Olympiad.
The more he studied computer science by himself, the more he realized that he still had many things he didn’t know, many things to explore and struggle with. With this urge, he decided to go to Ho Chi Minh City to pursue graduate studies and teach at several schools.
After that, he worked at the Gifted High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University) during the so-called "golden" period of the school with outstanding achievements not only domestically but also in international competitions, especially in information technology.
During the period when Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung was Vice Principal (2007-2018), he contributed to the development of the school with nearly 540 national awards and 27 regional and international Olympic medals.
He then resigned from his management position to focus on teaching. As the Head of the Information Technology Group, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung led the team to win 155 national awards and 17 regional and international Olympic medals.
"Without students, there would be no teacher Hung"
Leading and accompanying hundreds of students of different generations in the IT team, but when talking about them, Mr. Hung does not only remember their achievements and awards.
“The best thing I do is remember all the names of the players on the team and even know their love stories,” he said.
Then he read out the full names of all the students from generations in the recruitment process since the time he taught in Thanh Hoa in the early 90s. Then where do they live now, where do they work, how are their families...
During the teaching process, we must discover and nurture talented students, and accompany them to participate in national and international competitions. Each time, teachers and students stay together for months, not only studying but also taking care of the students’ food, health, and emotions.
Teacher Nguyen Thanh Hung with students and colleagues (Photo: FBNV).
The teacher knows which students on the team are in love. Instead of stopping them, he is happy that they study without forgetting about their love life or themselves.
The teacher encouraged his students to “use love as motivation”. Many of his students fell in love in high school and later became a couple and lived happily ever after.
When you guys graduated, teachers and students still kept in touch with each other. To Mr. Hung, you guys are like his family, helping him live a life full of aspirations, seeing himself and understanding himself.
Mr. Hung confided that teaching gifted students is very… stressful, especially with computer science – a subject of the times. Teachers must constantly study, research and always have the mindset to learn from their students. They are the teachers of their students but their students are also their teachers.
“Without students, there would be no teacher Hung,” Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung shared.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/nguoi-thay-duoc-goi-la-huyen-thoai-ve-huu-tay-khong-bat-giai-olympic-20250731080624013.htm
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