Paul Van-Tam: Difference between revisions
m (→Before BGS) |
(Left December 1980) |
||
| Line 28: | Line 28: | ||
| education = [[Wikipedia:University of Nottingham|University of Nottingham]] (BSc 1967) | | education = [[Wikipedia:University of Nottingham|University of Nottingham]] (BSc 1967) | ||
| roles = | | roles = | ||
| years_at_BGS = 1970-1980, and as a supply teacher in the late 1990s and early 2000s | | years_at_BGS = 1970-December 1980, and as a supply teacher in the late 1990s and early 2000s | ||
| departments = Mathematics; Physics | | departments = Mathematics; Physics | ||
| subjects = Mathematics; Physics | | subjects = Mathematics; Physics | ||
| Line 52: | Line 52: | ||
| box_width = | | box_width = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Paul Nguyen Van-Tam''' was a teacher of mathematics and physics at [[Boston Grammar School]]. | '''Paul Nguyen Van-Tam''' was a teacher of mathematics and physics at [[Boston Grammar School]] (1970-December 1980, returning later as a supply teacher into the 2000s). | ||
[[File:PaulVanTam2.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Paul Van-Tam in 1964]] | [[File:PaulVanTam2.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Paul Van-Tam in 1964]] | ||
Revision as of 19:09, 7 December 2020
| Paul Nguyen Van-Tam | |
|---|---|
 Paul Van-Tam | |
| Nicknames | Tojo |
| Born | 31 August 1935 |
| Died | 21 May 2015 (aged 79) |
| Education | University of Nottingham (BSc 1967) |
| Years at BGS | 1970-December 1980, and as a supply teacher in the late 1990s and early 2000s |
| Departments | Mathematics; Physics |
| Subjects | Mathematics; Physics |
| Known for | "Tea parties" (his own system of detention), Tuck Shop |
| Notable work(s) | Leader of CCF naval section, second in command CCF, later leading the CCF |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Thompson |
| Children | Jonathan Stafford Nguyen Van-Tam, Dominic Nguyen Van-Tam, Monica |
| Parents | Nguyễn Văn Tâm (father) |
| Relatives | Nguyễn Văn Hinh (brother); L Thompson (father-in-law) |
Paul Nguyen Van-Tam was a teacher of mathematics and physics at Boston Grammar School (1970-December 1980, returning later as a supply teacher into the 2000s).
Before BGS
Paul was educated at primary level in South Vietnam before moving to France where he completed his secondary and higher education. He became pen-friend with Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of Mrs and Mr L Thompson of Boston and started to visit her around 1957. By 1964 Paul and Elizabeth were married and had a son Jonathan. They were living with Elizabeth's parents in Church Green Road, Fishtoft, near Boston. Paul was teaching mathematics and games at Kitwood Boys School while Elizabeth taught at Butterwick School. His intention was to become a college lecturer but he couldn't do that without a British qualification and so he studied for a BSc at University of Nottingham which he received in 1967.
His main interests in sport were football (he once played for a team in Paris - sailing and physical culture. During his first visits to Boston before he moved there permanently, he became an "enthusiastic spectator" at Boston United matches.
He developed a method of teaching at Kitwood Boys School: "I try to make lessons a competition, so that one set of boys is trying to beat another. This way they are interested in what I am saying about mathematics without knowing that they are learning. They look upon it as a game, and it keeps their attention on the subject." He considered his time at Kitwood Boys School as a learning experience with the boys teaching him colloquial English while he taught them mathematics.
Obituary
Paul Nguyen Van-Tam, former teacher of mathematics and physics at Boston Grammar School, died on 21 May 2015.
Paul, a French citizen by birth, gained his BSc at the University of Nottingham. His father, Nguyễn Văn Tâm was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam in 1952/3. His brother, Nguyễn Văn Hinh, who died in 2004, was appointed the Vietnamese National Army Chief of Staff by Emperor Bảo Đại.
He taught at Kitwood Boys School, Boston, and Carre's Grammar School, Sleaford before arriving at BGS. He took charge of the Naval section of the CCF (the school's Combined Cadet Force) and, on the death of Norman Haworth, took overall charge of the CCF.
In 1979* he left BGS to take up the post of Senior Mathematics Master at the City School, Lincoln, though he later returned to BGS as a supply teacher in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Paul leaves two sons and a daughter. His sons both attended BGS: Jonathan Stafford Nguyen Van-Tam and Dominic Nguyen Van-Tam. Jonathan is Professor of Health Protection at the University of Nottingham and Dominic is Manager Pharmacovigilance Data Reporting & Analysis at GSK.
While Paul was a firm master, tending towards strictness, he seems to have been well respected by many of his students, and is reported to have made mathematics "click" for several who were otherwise uninspired by the subject.
* While Floreat Bostona gives his year of leaving as 1979, it seems to have been 1980, as suggested by the report on the CCF Royal Naval Section in the 1980 issue of the Bostonian.