After a normal school year and a memorable summer break, it was finally first date of year 9, the final year of secondary school. It was the most important year for us because we needed a good profile for high school especially people that were aiming for a slot at a local high school for the gifted. They have provided a high- standard education system so students at this school are very good in studying and social skills. I was one of those who was aiming for a slot in physics class so it was a big challenge for a lazy person like me. Our secondary school wasn’t a top school at that time I believe because during that time, most of top-perfoming students came from other schools, just some of them belonged to my classmate and 1 or 2 students in other classes at our school.

Before, I broke up with my ex and didn't have much motivation for my final year of school. Things got better when I asked my friends about our homeroom teacher. They knew her, so things seemed promising. The first two months of school went well, and I took extra classes to prepare for a prestigious student competition. I enjoyed my extra math, physics, and chemistry classes while also focusing on improving my skills for the IELTS test. My grades were normal until the day I had a big debate with my homeroom teacher in front of the whole class. It was about the school rules and food allowance during class. Most of us liked eating small snacks, but we had this debate during the 15-minute homeroom section. In Vietnam, this is when the teacher discusses class problems with everyone, so we were expected to be on time. Being late meant getting a bad attitude grade for the semester.

Back to the main section, I brought food into the class and put them under the table so I would have them as a late brekkie later during break. My teacher had had some incomprehensible decisions, which gave a negative impression to some of us. At that time, I expressed my anger and some explanations like a stubborn so I didn’t think much of what I was going to say. At a results, I had no ideas what to said and lost as a disrespectful student because I must leave my respect to her.

After that, I didn’t tell my family or other people but I had become popular since that day. As a results, she started staring at some of my classmates, who she disliked or didn’t have extra physics class with her after school. Then, bad marks occured and many things happened. I finally got the chance to reunite with my favorite tablemate but it didn’t last long.

Before the Lunar New Year holiday, I joined a physics competition for the best students. In the preliminary round at school, I copied my friends' work so I could pass and impress my parents. However, I had already planned to study abroad, so I took the test just for fun. A lot of people thought I would do well on that test since it was simple. I told them I didn't do well and missed some important parts while I was mostly focused on thinking about my future and doodling on the draft papers for the whole time. I told this secret to my best friend and told him that I was going to study in Australia. We had mixed feelings because we were supposed to be in the same class in high school, but it didn't happen.

My family and I started our long-awaited trip. While waiting for my student visa, my dad proposed visiting Europe since it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Being an aviation enthusiast, I also wanted to experience a really long flight with our national carrier Vietnam Airlines. We flew to Frankfurt and started the tour there. In nearly a week, we visited Trier, Luxembourg, Reims, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Koln and of course Frankfurt with a tour so I had met a lot of nice people and known more about European life. After coming home from my trip, I started to feel nostalgic for Europe and going back to school was a pleasant surprise from my friends. I gave them Eiffel Tower keychains and it seemed like more people assumed my family was wealthy, which I found amusing.

Fortunately, we made it back home just before the COVID-19 border restrictions started. When we returned from vacation, a lockdown was implemented, so I had to start studying online like other students. We ended up being in lockdown for three months, and many of us joked that it was the longest Tet holiday ever. Face masks were complusory and I had one of the most forgettable semester in my life although I got well with my friends and other stuff.

When students returned to school, some teachers offered an additional opportunity to earn high grades if a student had a well-prepared version of the online lessons. I was one of them in some subjects so it reduced a little bit of pressure because we used to have 5, 15 and 45 minutes tests where the 45 mins was the most important alongside with exam. These scores affected our GPA too so a bad grade could make a good student lose his/her top-tier students title at the end of the year. I faced unexpected events while waiting for updates on Australia's border, which added to my stress. Along with my homeroom teacher, I started falling behind and losing interest in physics, a subject I previously enjoyed and was passionate about. Some of us were targeted by her, making it difficult to achieve good grades in her classes. As a high-achieving physics student, my poor overall score caused my mom to become concerned, and later on, I lost my motivation to study and went through personal changes.

I can understand why you might be hesitant to comment on your country's education system. Criticizing it can sometimes be seen as illegal, with potential consequences of imprisonment. The lack of freedom in expressing negative views is frustrating. Specifically, I dislike the way teachers treat their students in the secondary school system. The students' academic performance seems to be influenced by their family background and whether they receive additional tutoring from the same teacher after school. My family's background may impress certain teachers so it could be good. However, no one was aware of this, and I was treated like any other person from a regular background.

Note: Good background here is student that has parent works for government departments or has a huge connection, which can affect teachers’ career or other field. Another case here is wealthy family, where children has a better living standards so their studying should be better than others I believe.

A lot has changed since I was in secondary school. The education system has undergone a major transformation, allowing students to choose their preferred subjects. This is a positive development, but I feel regretful about not having the same opportunity during my time and other previous students. My final year of secondary school ended with average grades and bittersweet farewells. From that point on, our paths diverged, as I decided to study abroad while my friends stayed at local high schools.

That’s my little story about my final year of secondary school before moving to Australia for high school. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

What’s your experience? Share them in the comments below.