Dương Minh Anh, the principal, with his "Wishing Tree". — Photo VNA/VNS

THANH HÓA — Dương Minh Anh, Principal of Cù Chính Lan Secondary School in central Thanh Hóa Province has transformed his school’s bodhi tree into a “Wishing Tree”, to encourage his students to hope and dream.

As the principal, Anh always wondered how to improve the school’s education quality. He then realised that, for the results to go up, his students must be inspired to learn. “I was intrigued at the bodhi tree, which would cover more than half of the schoolyard,” said Anh, “I proposed an idea to the school board, to transform and redecorate the tree into a 'Wishing Tree'".

Anh added colourful ribbons and attached them to the branches. The students and teachers will then staple their messages on these ribbons. The messages are varied, but mostly follow a monthly theme from the school board. The first theme, for example, is a tribute to the frontline workers fighting the pandemic. Thousands of wishes were written with heartfelt respect and hope for a better future.

This month’s theme pays respect to teachers ahead of Vietnamese Teacher’s Day. “The Wishing Tree made our schoolyard lively, and so are we! I love to write and decorate my wish notes,” Trịnh Lê Minh Châu, a sixth-grade student said, “Every time I walk by the tree, I feel empowered to make my dreams come true.”

Another student, Trương Minh Nguyệt in seventh grade, said: “My goal is to get good results at the City Students’ Literature Contest. Furthermore, I want to be admitted to a specialised school in the future.” Nguyệt has these wishes written and tied to the tree, in hopes that they come true.

“The Wishing Tree has bridged the gap between students and teachers,” said Trịnh Thị Hải, a literature teacher. “Whenever the students have ideas and confessions that they cannot speak out directly, they can always write them anonymously on the tree. We teachers would always read them to better understand our students, and improve their learning experience.”

It is surprising to hear that Cù Chính Lan Secondary School was not one of the top schools in Thanh Hóa, rather, one that sits at the bottom of the table. Minh Anh and his colleagues had a plan to improve the quality, and the Wishing Tree is just one of them. Another idea in the plan is the “Healthy Schoolyard”, which hopes to improve the well-being of students after school, and connects students and teachers all over campus.

Free tutoring for students after school and a scholarship fund for excellent students are ideas that Minh Anh is also implementing so that his school could stay true to the motto: “Every student is a sunflower, growing stronger under the sunlight.” — VNS