Today is every Vietnamese Teacher's favourite day of the year. They may receive flowers, as this earnest young lady in the poster is, from the little outstretched arms in the foreground. Or they may receive other gifts and cards expressing sincere gratitude and best wishes, and will most likely be contacted by some of their former students. Actually, this day used to be a holiday for all teachers, they would just stay at home and old students would visit to pay their respects. These days, it's a day of celebration held at the school.
On this day Vietnamese students always extend their kindness and hospitality to foreign teachers too. As I'm not teaching here anymore, it was a little sad not to be involved in any of the celebrations this year, though I did receive some messages from my old students.
The importance of this day is indicative of the deep respect for this profession in Vietnam. It is a shame though that this reverence could not be reflected in higher salaries. They earn around $100 dollars a month; hundreds of thousands earn less than this in Vietnam, but compared to other professions it is low, so they commonly supplement their income by privately tutoring students after school. Thus, many teachers end up working long hours, and the average class size is about fifty students.
They certainly deserve a day to be honoured!
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