A dream into reality

By Katie Nguyen 

When we look at teachers, we often think that teachers have always been good at school, and had everything put together since the beginning. This is not the case for Phuong Hoang. Ms. Hoang is a very hard-working teacher who works at two schools, and to get here she had to work extra hard due to English being her second language.

Ms. Hoang teaches English at YB and Vietnamese at Overfelt. She loves teaching both schools because she loves both subjects and the students want to learn, so she makes her class fun.

Hoang: “I like the student population and demographic at both schools. They’re very, you know, they want to learn, so I try to make it fun and engaging for them.”

As a student, she had to work double, triple hard compared to students who already speak English. From the beginning, she knew she wanted to be a teacher, and she had to work hard to get where she is today.

Hoang: “When I was a student I wasn’t the smartest one. And like I said I was an EL learner so I knew I had to work double, triple hard then students who already knew English. You know, I had to work extra extra hard and I had to motivate myself so I can catch up. Because I knew I wasn’t the smartest or brightest kid in school I just had to work harder and you know, to get, you know, where I wanted to be and I knew I wanted to be a teacher so in order to be a teacher I had to motivate myself first, succeed, and then so I could make a difference in other people’s lives.”

School was hard for Ms. Hoang, especially math, but she still enjoyed school due to other parts of it. 

Hoang: “Math wasn’t my strongest subject so it was a challenge for me to learn math, but you know, it’s called perseverance.”

Ms. Hoang always knew she was going to be a teacher. Thanks to one of her teachers, her urge to become a teacher grew. 

Hoang: “Oh I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Ever since I was a little girl, it’s like I don’t know how to describe it, but my personal calling, like I knew I was going to be a teacher. My teacher made a difference in my life and I want to make a difference in other people’s lives.”

Ms. Hoang loves teaching, and here is her reasoning:

Hoang: “What I like most about it is to see students grow, and how they mature over the year, and what they were able to accomplish by the time they graduate.”

Her favorite memory of being a teacher is students coming back and visiting. It makes her happy when they have fun memories of her class.

She wants to inspire her kids in taking the teaching path(if they like it), like how her teacher inspired her. She has a 5 year old daughter and is expecting one more by December.

Hoang: “If she wants to be a teacher or my future baby wants to be a teacher, oh yeah, 100%, 110%.”

And of course, there is the downside of being a teacher also. Here is the hardest part for Ms. Hoang:

Hoang: “The planning part because it takes a lot of love and dedication to plan a lesson that can be followed curriculum and also make it enjoyable and fun for the students so they’re more inclined to engage in class.”

And of course, not everyone believes in school. Ms. Hoang has her own way of dealing with students who doesn’t want to succeed in school. This is how she does it:

Hoang: “I try to talk to them 1on1 to see what I can do to support them and then if anything I’ll contact parents to see what we can work together as a team to, you know, encourage students to go and fulfill the A-G requirements so that they can be college and career ready.”

Ms. Hoang doesn’t believe in teaching one group of students only. She believes in teaching everyone equally. 

Hoang: “I try to cater my lessons to everyone so that everyone can relate to the lesson, everyone has equal access to the curriculum, you know, equal opportunities for all students.”

Ms. Hoang grades based on project based learning and here’s the reason why:

Hoang: “I feel that’s how students get to be creative and they get to work with their peers, their partners, you know, to complete a task, and it’s a collaborative effort.”

Ms. Hoang has been teaching for 10 years in total. She taught high school for 8 years, and elementary school for 1-2 years, as a 5th grade teacher. And to improve throughout these years she does this:

Hoang: “I listen to student’s feedback and you know, I try to work with other teachers, my colleagues, to find creative ways to make the lesson more engaging and effective for my students.”

As much as teachers do for students, they don’t get appreciated as much as they should. As a teacher, Ms. Hoang agrees with this. 

Hoang: “Oh yes! Teachers should be more appreciated because I’m also a parent, and I’m also a teacher, and I know that I treat my students like I treat my own children, and it’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of love, it takes a lot of dedication, and you know, I think teachers need to be more appreciated for the work that they put in.”