On November 20th 2007, Vietnam will see celebration throughout many of its kindergartens, schools, colleges and universities for it is the day which has been dedicated to the nation’s educators, the danh t?, and named as national Teacher’s Day.

Education and self-betterment are very much valued in Vietnamese culture and resultantly, those who teach are treated with utmost respect throughout the community. Students can choose to show their teacher appreciation and respect in a variety of ways – some of which are employable on other Teacher’s Days throughout the rest of the world and some of which relate to the national culture, lifestyle and heritage.

To involve the culture of Vietnam in celebration has the potential for wonderful consequences. Although not particularly famous worldwide, Vietnam has a rich musical background, particularly in the national classical genre. Whilst this type of music from the North could be considered as formal and highly structured, Southern classical music is lively and would certainly be suitable for any celebration. A fitting suggestion for Vietnam Teacher’s Day would be for a class or small group of students to compose a stylistic classical piece of music, in honour of their favourite teacher. This activity would also function as a team building exercise, promoting a happier classroom atmosphere.

Similarly, the class could cook together. Vietnamese gastronomy comprises an interesting mix of flavours - from the extremely sweet to the extremely sour, the range of flavours allows for plenty of creativity and innovation in the kitchen. After pupils have designed and made a Vietnamese dish, or prepared something following a culturally typical recipe, the teacher can then enjoy it as a gift of appreciation.

As well as education and self-betterment, Vietnamese culture promotes respect meaning that something as simple as telling a teacher how much he/she is appreciated, on a gift card for example, really would be considered as a great gesture on Vietnam Teacher’s Day – 20th November 2007.