Child given 'H' grade, parents threaten to cut funding for school

At the end of May 2024, when holding the year-end parent-teacher meeting for his child, a student at an elementary school in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Q. was very upset. His child was one of three students in the class who did not achieve the title of excellent student. The reason was because the music teacher "rated" the child as H in the results of his year-end study and training.

Many parents, when they see their children are rated H, start to sue and make a scene with the teacher. Some parents ask the homeroom teacher to ask, some call the school, and some even demand to change teachers. I am very discouraged.

An elementary school music teacher in Ho Chi Minh City

Most fall into music.

It couldn't be like that, Mr. Q. was determined to do it to the end and immediately called the school principal. As a result, the music teacher was "touched" by the principal.

"The board of directors asked me to explain why I gave that student an H and not a T (Good Completion) like the other students. I explained that I evaluated the student's entire year of study, not a single point in time, and that I had discussed the student's study process with the parents about music. But at the end of the year, if the student could not sing a song with the lyrics clearly, how could I give him a T?

However, the school board still asked me to review it and said that the parents were very angry. They said that if their children were evaluated like that, they would no longer support the school and would cut off funding to the school," Ms. H., an elementary school music teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, indignantly recounted.

Such stories of misery because of H are not uncommon in elementary schools after the end-of-year evaluation results. Ms. D., a music teacher at T. Elementary School in Ho Chi Minh City, also said that she feels that parents nowadays are "indignant" and "disdainful" of music teachers' evaluations if they do not like them.

"In a class of 40 students, there will definitely be about 7-8 students who cannot sing a song or read a note. And this is normal, because it is impossible to expect all students to be able to do well in all subjects, especially music.

Normally, teachers would rate students who cannot sing a song as C (Incomplete). But because C is very rare in primary school assessments, we only rate H," said Ms. D.

Safe when the whole class is T

Ms. M., another music teacher, said that a few years ago she still evaluated H, but now with such pressure, she has chosen to evaluate all students as T.

"Actually, some students from the beginning of the year to the end of the year could not memorize a song, did not bring books to class, and did not practice any songs at home as required by the teachers, but we did not dare to give them a C or H grade anymore. Because the parents were too harsh, and the school made the teachers run around every time, we had to give the whole class a T grade.

If there is a student in the class who is integrated, then we can even give him or her an H. The rate is often very funny: up to 99% of music students are rated T. But everyone is satisfied, so sometimes the teacher has to bite the bullet and do it" - Ms. M. shared.

Ms. L., a music teacher at another elementary school, said that she was not only pressured by parents when evaluating H, but also by the school. Because the school also gave a rate of students completing the evaluation of good performance up to 90% in some years.

"Actually, before the music test for elementary students, we spent several weeks giving students practice time, but many of them still couldn't sing a single part of the song. I couldn't let the whole T class do it because that would make their learning not be real.

When I test music, I ask the homeroom teacher to sit next to me so she can see how the students sing and understand music. That way, if there are any problems later, I can use that evidence to defend myself," Ms. L., a teacher in a suburban district of Ho Chi Minh City, said sadly.

To not be stressed

I have a student tracking book from the beginning of the school year, so when evaluating students, I am very objective, accurate, and do not feel pressured to evaluate and classify them as H. When evaluating, students who sing the correct melody and the nature of the song will be classified as T. For students who do not cooperate or do not know the lesson, I will give them H. For example, in a class of 50 students, about 35 - 40 students will get T, the rest will be H.

(Music teacher at an elementary school in Ho Chi Minh City)

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-bi-xep-loai-chu-h-phu-huynh-doa-cat-tai-tro-cho-truong-20240527224551338.htm