People often say: “A teacher is like a lenient mother”. But probably she is not that kind of person. In fact, she is more like a strict mother - a petite young mother who has to shoulder great responsibilities. She is the beloved mother of “Physics 2 1417”. She is Ms. Pham Thi Phuong.

On being asked to express her thoughts on Ms. Phuong, one of my classmates said: “She is such a perfectionist.”  Perhaps it is the deepest impression all of us, 34 members of Physics 2 (14-17), have about her after spending 2 months at  high school. Despite that small figure and adorable smile, she is an incredibly strict teacher. Not only is she strict in “dealing” with troublemakers like us when it comes to discipline, but she is also strict in supervising and reminding us to study regularly. At school, our teacher has two roles: being both a homeroom teacher and a leader of the entire grade 10 at the same time. Therefore, she is constantly snowed under. But still, Mrs. Phuong does every single thing very carefully, thoroughly and accurately. In Physics, such things as uncertainty of measurement while solving exercises or “leave it for tomorrow” attitude are out of the question - that is what we have learned from her.

Our homeroom teacher always has high expectations of us. Nevertheless, we are not afraid of it; we admire her rather than fear her and love her as she loves us a lot in return. I understand that all those “perfectionism” and “scrupulousness” come from the affections she has for her pupils. Although two months is not a long period of time, Physics 2 is starting to feel that affection, too. Her passion is neither ambiguous nor expressed loudly, but very warm and plain instead. It does not always pour out like waterfalls but in a calm and silent way as does the magma in volcanoes, deep down inside fostering these pleasantly warm and simple feelings. I reckon if her love somehow resembles Physics - both physically and emotionally. This love is expressed from the fact that she wants the whole class to study well and support each other  to the times when she needs to give warnings to students who cause troubles but still gives them a second chance. It is often said that love comes from the kind words you say, the things you do, and the care for other people concealed within yourself. Mrs. Phuong may not be a teacher who tends to have close conversations with students, but I know she is sympathetic and thinks for the good of our class. Perhaps, since she is too busy thinking about us, time for having these kinds of conversation is rare. She might not have those tight bonds with students, but we are all able to feel the immense affection she gives us – the childish and mischievous high school students.

Ms. Phuong often smiles. She usually tells us short yet interesting stories and after each story she gives us a bright smile. When she laughs it seems like everything is illuminated. However,  we have also seen her anger. At these moments the stern look on her face and her words of criticism make everyone nervous. Only when we are nervous are we able to make progress, since being afraid prevents us from repeating the same mistakes. However, what we are most afraid of is when our teacher is unhappy. We have seen her sadness and her tears. I hugged her slender figure and told her : “It is okay, teacher”, that is when I certainly knew that I would never want her to be depressed again. And it would be awful, if the reasons for her sadness were our class, the kids whom she extremely trusts and expects from, and if we are indeed her children, then what kind of children want to let their mother down? No, we do not, we wish to see her smile in every lesson she gives, every time she returns our tests, or even on field trips and celebrations. We desire to behold that shiny smile, to see her cheerful and proud of us – her children who are not from the same lineage. Because whenever Ms. Phuong is happy and contented, the whole family of Physics 2 is.

More than two months is not a very long period of time indeed, but it is enough to form within us a boundless love for this class and an immeasurable admiration for her. I assume that if we could travel back in time, no one would regret the insufficient scores to get into Physics 1, nor would anyone regret having been classified into Physics 2 for the reason that we are a solidarity, and we have Mrs. Phuong as our mother…

On celebrating Vietnamese Women’s Day October 20^th, we wish you to become more beautiful, more youthful, more attached to your students and receive a lot of love from them. We promise that we will try our best to make you smile more and to feel that “ Each day at school is a good day”. Physics 2 loves you very much !

Representing class Physics 2 1417: Mai Trang

Translator: Hoang Trung 10A1