"Moral values are being... underestimated"!

Dan Viet reporter had an interview with Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung - Senior Lecturer, former Head of the Faculty of Culture and Development, Academy of Journalism and Communication on this issue.

Dear Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung, in recent days, public opinion has been continuously stirred up by a number of incidents related to teachers, such as a teacher in Ho Chi Minh City asking parents for financial support to buy a laptop; or a teacher and a student in Hanoi having intimate gestures right in the classroom… What is your assessment of these incidents?

- I have been following recent press reports related to the education sector, of which the two incidents mentioned above stand out. One is related to economics (a teacher asked parents to support buying a laptop), the other is related to emotions (a teacher and a student were intimate in the classroom). I think these are extremely regrettable incidents, worthy of criticism. These phenomena have violated the professional ethics of teachers.

In the case of the teacher asking for support to buy a laptop. Although the relationship between the teacher and the parents of the students is increasingly friendly and sharing, the teacher in this case took advantage of that relationship to call on parents to support money to buy a laptop to prepare lessons. The teacher believes that calling on parents to support money is implementing "socialization of education". In my opinion, that is a very wrong and childish action; contrary to the spirit of socialization of the Party and the State.

PGS.TS Phạm Ngọc Trung: Phải quyết tâm xây dựng — The image of a female teacher and male student being intimate in class caused outrage. Screenshot

Socialization is not a teacher who has the right to mobilize contributions for himself or herself, but an organization; at least a school or an Education Department must stand up to call for socialization. When there are wrong actions, there should be tactful actions such as apologizing and learning from experience, but that teacher stubbornly argued and argued, leading to more mistakes.

As for the incident of a young teacher in Long Bien district, Hanoi, who made inappropriate gestures, allowing a high school student to express excessive attitudes and emotions such as stroking her hair and cheeks. What is more noteworthy is that these actions occurred right in the classroom, right on the teacher's desk. A teacher allowing a student to fondle her like that is completely contrary to the regulations and rules of the education sector; even more contrary to good customs and traditions, and not in accordance with the ethics of the teaching profession in Vietnam. This can have negative impacts on the psychology of the student, while also tarnishing the image of the teacher herself as well as the education sector.

Sir, why do some teachers today behave inappropriately, even violating professional ethics?

- Every profession has people who violate professional ethics. The same goes for the education sector, every year there are bad phenomena like this. First of all, it must be mentioned that these people's awareness is still poor, not up to the mark. Then there may be economic issues, communication, and behavior, lacking experience because they are new to the profession and do not realize the consequences of their actions.

It is also possible that those teachers communicate and behave in a daily manner. When recorded and clipped to be posted on social networks, people will analyze and evaluate from many different perspectives. However, the words and behaviors of those teachers are both morally and legally wrong.

You once shared that the education sector is underestimating moral values compared to other values. Could this be considered one of the underlying causes leading to the recent unfortunate incidents?

- Our educational reform is underway and has achieved many successes, but there are also contents that we need to study and supplement. Through my survey, the current education sector focuses on educating skills and knowledge. Moral values have been neglected compared to before. There are places that have even abandoned the slogan "First learn manners - Then learn literature". They think that it is outdated. I think that these are very one-sided and distorted concepts.

I studied the educational programs of leading countries in Asia, Europe and America and found that they all focus on ethics. A person who lacks ethics will be immediately expelled from school. We can learn knowledge and skills throughout our lives. But ethics must be trained immediately from the first grades.

First and foremost, ethics must be taught, then knowledge and skills. When teaching at universities, even master's and doctoral classes, I always promote ethics for students.

Over the years, the Ministry of Education and Training has had many solutions to improve the quality of teachers, both in terms of expertise and ethics. But every year, we see unfortunate "deviations" occurring. Is it possible that the solutions of the education sector have not been effective?

- In my opinion, we cannot conclude that because the Constitution and the Laws that have been enacted have been studied very carefully but there are still people who violate them. In the education sector, it takes time, it cannot be achieved immediately.

Improving quality and wanting to have qualitative changes requires time, steps, perspective, and how to invest and utilize people properly and effectively.

To limit the negative aspects of the education sector, heads of educational institutions such as principals must enhance their role in educational management, including managing the ethics and qualifications of teachers. It is necessary to monitor, encourage, remind; and even handle violations at the level permitted by the state.

I have shared many times that in order to minimize negative phenomena like the ones in the past few days, we must reform the apparatus and build a “school culture”. In which, teachers and students are the ones who directly participate in activities and build a school culture. In addition, other officials, civil servants, and leaders of the education sector; especially parents, must also participate in building a “school culture”.

That is the best, most standard thing according to the regulations, ethics, and laws that the State has stipulated. Therefore, we must understand correctly about “school culture”, and must be determined to build and do it well right from the smallest classes. Each person participating in school culture must be self-aware and aware of their own responsibilities.

Could you please elaborate on the idea of "Each person must be aware of his or her own responsibilities"?

- I think that any training course or program is just the most general and general things. The most important thing is that each teacher, when stepping onto the podium, must self-evaluate, self-recognize, and clearly define their responsibility for the education career. A teacher who is conscious and practices regularly will never commit such trivial mistakes.

So, I think "school culture" depends entirely on the role of the individual. Do teachers cultivate and practice regularly? Are they conscious of building their own image or not conscious of building the education sector?

In Vietnam, there have been many teachers who have spent their own money to help students during times of famine, especially during the recent flood season. Or teachers in mountainous areas such as Ha Giang and Cao Bang who have spent money to repair their houses and classrooms. There are still many examples like that. Even in more difficult circumstances, they still do their job well, upholding the moral qualities of a teacher.

Thank you!

Source: https://danviet.vn/vu-giao-vien-xin-mua-laptop-hay-cu-chi-than-mat-trong-lop-hoc-gia-tri-dao-duc-dang-bi-xem-nhe-20241003163638571.htm