In the 11 years since graduation, I have returned to school 2 times. On my first return to Lê Hồng Phong School for 20.11, nobody knew who I was. This is what the second return looked like. In any case, I was able to share a few things with the students. And I also met a brother who shares my passion for education.
Actually, the audience I communicate with most effectively is entrepreneurs. Since 2011, I have chaired chapters of the world's largest business associations operating in Vietnam (not “homegrown” associations), so I speak with entrepreneurs regularly; the more you do something, the better you become. Back then, I only spoke with people who had experience and depth, whereas what I said to school and university students somehow did not “sink in.” Entrepreneurs would nod along with everything, while with the youngsters I could immediately sense how effective it was. With them, you have to speak differently and make it fun, but do not let it “degenerate” into “pointless comedy,” as I have seen a few times when an “expert” visited a school. In the end, nothing stayed with the students, and it even harmed them by introducing distorted “prejudices” for laughs. Many people are unaware of what “comes out” of their mouths.
Over time, I have become more ‘well-rounded,’ sharing more with entrepreneurs, then university students, then school pupils, from North to South and from the Mekong Delta to Central Vietnam. The older I get, the… younger my audience becomes. I become more ‘teenage’ every day.
Returning to school still makes me deeply nostalgic. Where is my girlfriend from the math class? Where is the teacher I thought I would visit when I grew more mature? Those school days! Who will “sell” me 1 day as a student, with all that devilish mischief? Would LHP's school leadership make an “exception” and let me study for 1 day? I would liven up the whole school.
