Preserving the integrity of a teacher.

The two teachers have admitted their mistake.

The public's strong reaction to the behavior of the two teachers shows that they have crossed the line of professional ethics.

The incident began when a parent whose child attends Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School ( Ninh Binh City, Ninh Binh Province) submitted a complaint along with an audio recording accusing teacher NTV (homeroom teacher of class 4B) of using insulting language and inappropriate behavior, putting pressure on and seriously affecting the students' psychology. In the complaint, the parent also reported that Ms. NTV repeatedly "forced" students to attend extra tutoring classes.

Chuong Duong Primary School, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - where the incident occurred where a teacher asked parents for help buying a laptop. Photo: Provided.

Upon receiving the information, the Board of Directors of Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School temporarily suspended teacher NTV from her duties while relevant authorities and the school verified and clarified the matter.

Next, there was the incident at Chuong Duong Primary School, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, where Ms. TPH - the homeroom teacher of class 4/3 - asked parents for financial support to buy a laptop.

Accordingly, during the parent-teacher meeting on the morning of September 14th, Ms. H mentioned that her laptop had been lost and asked parents to contribute money to buy a new one. Parents agreed to contribute, thinking it would be a shared asset of the class. Parents estimated the cost of the laptop to be around 5-6 million VND, plus other expenses, so they proposed contributing 200,000-500,000 VND per person, depending on their ability.

Many parents disagreed with her approach, after which she announced that she would not accept donations and would not prepare lesson plans for the class. In the following days, the teacher showed students YouTube videos during class, causing some students to fall behind.

Furthermore, parents also accused Ms. H of selling food and drinks such as sausages, instant noodles, soft drinks, and mixed rice paper snacks to students, resulting in students eating while studying; or sometimes she would open YouTube, students would sit below doing their homework, while she sat above eating.

Regarding this issue, Ms. H said that her house is far from the school, so sometimes she arrives at school without having breakfast. Therefore, she always buys several packets of instant noodles in advance so that on days when she doesn't have time for breakfast, she can cook them at school. When students are hungry and want to eat, she sells them; a box of noodles and a sausage costs 20,000 VND, "students can pay if they have money, otherwise they don't."

Uneasy about their children continuing to study with Ms. H, many parents have petitioned for a change of homeroom teacher, and while the school has not yet been able to arrange one, parents have temporarily kept their children home from school.

Explaining the incident, Ms. H initially stated that asking parents for computer assistance was normal practice, but later admitted her mistake for "not understanding the regulations on social mobilization." Ms. H has now been temporarily suspended from her duties for 15 days while the school investigates the matter.

Notably, both Ms. V and Ms. H are long-serving, experienced teachers, recognized as excellent and reputable educators in the field. Following the incident, both teachers were severely affected mentally and physically and hope for a swift resolution to the matter.

Preserving the integrity of the teaching profession.

Following the developments of the two incidents mentioned above, a large segment of the public expressed outrage at the behavior of the two teachers, arguing that such conduct tarnished the image of a respected teacher.

However, many also argue that everyone makes mistakes in life; since the teachers have admitted their fault and accepted punishment, the incident shouldn't be brought up repeatedly. Parents should be more forgiving and give the teachers a chance to return to normal life.

Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam - Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Psychological and Educational Sciences.

Sharing his perspective on the two aforementioned incidents, Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Educational Psychology, emphasized that schools are always guided by the motto: "First learn manners, then learn knowledge"; "Discipline, compassion, and responsibility." In school, teachers must act like teachers, and students must act like students. Teachers educate students not only with knowledge but also with their own character, and the teacher's personality plays an extremely important educational role.

“Teachers are those who ignite passion, guiding students in both knowledge and life skills. Teachers need to recognize this mission to live more exemplary lives, showing more love and forgiveness. When teachers give more, they will receive more respect, affection, and admiration from their students,” said Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam.

Besides knowledge, a teacher must also possess good manners; they must know themselves and others; they must understand what is important and essential, and avoid getting bogged down in trivial matters that could lead to the loss of their character, qualities, and ethics.

"While it's true that teachers face difficulties due to low salaries, once you've decided to study and become a teacher, you must treat students with respect and set a good example from preschool, primary, secondary, to high school; you can't just do whatever you want with young students. Those in the teaching profession need to thoroughly understand this to consider their actions and absolutely avoid arbitrariness. The character of a teacher needs to be constantly nurtured, cared for, and preserved, and absolutely never lost, because once lost, it's difficult to regain," shared Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam.

In previous circulars and drafts from the Ministry of Education and Training, the operating funds of the Parents' Representative Committee were not to be used for any specific purpose; the ethics of teachers, things that teachers are not allowed to do, the principles of tutoring and supplementary classes, etc., were all clearly stipulated.

Specifically, Circular 55/2011/TT-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates that the Parent-Teacher Association is not allowed to collect donations from students or their families to purchase machinery, equipment, teaching materials for the school, classrooms, or for school administrators, teachers, and staff.

In addition, the draft Law on Teachers also stipulates that one of the responsibilities of teachers is to maintain the quality, reputation, honor, and professional ethics of the teaching profession. At the same time, it strictly prohibits teachers from engaging in acts that offend the dignity, honor, or physical integrity of students.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/giu-gin-nhan-cach-cua-nguoi-thay.html