US Ambassador Ted Osius shared his thoughts on the links between students and teachers on Vietnam Teachers' Day November 20.

US Ambassador Ted Osius visited the Temple of Literature

He visited the Temple of Literature in Hanoi with his husband and children to pay respect to all teachers. He cited one of Ho Chi Minh's quotes, "For the sake of 10 years, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years, we should cultivate people," and said that was one of the reasons why he had made a point of visiting the temple on that day.

Could you please share with us your feelings when you visit the Temple of Literature on Vietnamese Teachers' Day?

This huge respect in Vietnamese culture for teachers and I feel that respect too. And I hope one day my children will also respect teachers. They already love books so my hope is that they will also respect teachers and benefit from a good education.

Ted Osius and his family

Are there any differences between the Teachers' Day in your country and in Vietnam?

I think there are a lot of respect for teachers in America also. But for example we don't have the Lunar New Year when you pay respect to teachers on second day. When I taught English here (about) 18 years ago, my students would bring gifts on the second day of Lunar New Year. Some of those traditions we don't have in America, and I think they're wonderful traditions for respecting education.

Please share with us the most interesting memory of the time you were an English teacher in Vietnam?

My students taught me a lot too. One time, they took me out to eat snails and drink beer at Truc Bach Lake. I had a reunion with them a few weeks ago and four of my ten students came to dinner. They changed, grew up a lot in 20 years.

Can you share about your teacher and the most memorable advice?

I have a lot of great teachers. One of the best teachers I've ever had was at Harvard University. He was not, technically, a teacher. He was my college roommate. He taught me about the values of talents and he taught me to be humble.

And 35 years later, he's still our good friend. He and his family visited us in August and they love Vietnam.

Paying respect at the temple

Did you receive any gift on Teachers' Day during your stay in Vietnam as an English teacher and as an ambassador?

When I was here 18, 19 years ago, I received gifts from my students. But today I didn't receive any gift yet.

(But) I have the gift of visiting the Temple of Literature with our two kids and my language teacher here, but I haven't given her a gift yet.

What do you want to share with the youth nowadays about the relationship between students and teachers?

I think the connection between students and teachers is very powerful and that transcend cultures. That would be the case in our culture as well as in Vietnamese culture. From what I can judge from my connection with my students of 20 years ago, it's still very powerful.