Somewhat disagreeing with the proposal put forward by the Ministry of Education and Training, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai An, a teacher at a private secondary school in Cau Giay, Hanoi, wondered why they had to keep giving the reason of fearing that students would learn by rote and study lopsidedly in order to not fix the subjects for the 10th grade entrance exam according to the new general education program. In fact, the current curriculum is too heavy, unnecessary, and the pressure to pass (not excel at) all subjects makes many students stressed and afraid of taking exams.
Unbalanced learning, why not?
"Most students have a coping mindset, studying means taking exams, otherwise they won't study. This is the deepest cause of lopsided studying and rote learning," said Ms. An.
Many people agree with the view that students do not necessarily have to be good at all subjects. (Illustration photo)
With more than 11 years of experience studying in France from junior high school, high school to university, Ms. An said that the education system in France has a strong orientation when transferring from junior high school to high school. Students will be able to choose to study in different series that suit their abilities. Of course, there will be different exams depending on the series of students registered, all will be promoted to the next grade, go to school according to their choice, there is no such thing as uniform-style exams like in Vietnam.
Not only in France but most European countries are applying this way of learning and testing, considering students as the center, giving them the right to make choices that suit them.
Education planners need to clearly understand that: "Students are not superheroes, no one can be good at all subjects, being good at one subject is good, no matter what the subject is, the school and teachers will respect and encourage them to pursue it."
With 6 years of teaching experience in Vietnam, Ms. An has noticed that whether in public or private schools, students are still in the mindset of studying to pass exams and forgetting about their true passions. They have become real plowmen, studying from 7am to 10pm with all kinds of extra classes and regular classes.
"The bitter truth is that the memorable identities in high school do not help a fashion designer or a doctor become better at work. In high school, no matter how good you are at calculating, when you go to university or work, it will not be applied," the female teacher frankly said. Each major can only apply and develop a few subjects, so is that considered lopsided learning? And if it is lopsided learning at university, then why are we afraid of lopsided learning in high school?
The fact that Vietnamese people still hold the notion that Math, Physics, Chemistry or Math, Literature, English are the main subjects in the general education program as it is today is somewhat distorted. That notion leads to the situation where high school students often look down on other subjects, considering them as secondary subjects, even though in reality they are equally important such as Ethics, Literature, and Physical Education.
That unintentionally causes inequality between subjects and subject teachers, and also gives rise to a large number of exam preparation teachers - the seed of many negative aspects in education.
"I think we need to strongly reform the education system, so that the amount of knowledge of Math, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and English for high school students is reduced. Instead, we need to increase their ability to apply real-life, practice, and at the same time increase their knowledge of society," she proposed.
The same goes for organizing 10th grade exams and university entrance exams. We should re-examine the way questions are set, because currently high school students still mainly invest in Math, Literature, and English to get high scores, not because of their love and passion.
Master Cao Quang Tu, Admissions Director of Asia International School System (HCMC), said that the pressure to study unequally sometimes comes from parents. "The mentality of comparing 'other people's children' makes many parents put pressure on their own children, wanting their children to be good at all subjects without knowing their children's abilities," he said.
According to Mr. Tu, many parents complain when they see "other people's children" get 10 points in Math while their children get 7-8 points, without noticing that their children get 10 points in Music, Technology, and Science.
"Therefore, parents send their children to extra classes until 9-10pm at night to achieve that desire, without knowing that each child has certain strengths. Recognizing their children's strengths, exploiting their personalities, and creating conditions for them to develop their strengths is what parents lack," Mr. Tu emphasized.
Good at one subject is good
If Circular 58 of the Ministry of Education and Training stipulates the average score of subjects as a basis for classifying students' academic performance in the semester and the whole year, then in Circular 22 in 2024, this regulation no longer exists. The average score of the semester and the school year is only calculated for each subject.
Instead of classifying academic performance as excellent, good, average, weak, and poor as in Circular 58, Circular 22 evaluates the development of learners' capacity according to the program's requirements, so it evaluates learners' learning outcomes according to 4 levels: "good, good, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory".
Explaining this, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Department of General Education, Ministry of Education and Training, once said that this regulation reflects the view that all subjects are equally fair, there is no subject that is a main subject or a secondary subject, and not everyone who is good at Math or Literature is a good student.
Circular 22 also eliminates the calculation of an average score for all subjects as currently regulated, so there will be no situation where one subject can carry the score for another subject, leading to skewed learning.
The fact that all subjects are given equal importance also helps students to fully develop their abilities in subjects that they are talented in, according to their own interests, and to be recognized and evaluated fairly.
From there, when moving from junior high school to high school, with higher differentiation and career orientation, students will tend to study more and better in subjects that suit their qualities and career orientation.
This reflects the spirit of the new general education program, which is personalized education, so that students can develop their full potential in all areas and be evaluated equally.
It can be seen that, right in the way of evaluating and classifying students according to the new general education program, the Ministry of Education and Training has applied new evaluation and classification standards so that students can fully develop their personal abilities, being good at one subject is also considered good, not necessarily focusing only on the main subjects as before. Is this regulation inconsistent with the recent statement of Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Ngoc Thuong when he was concerned that students would study skewedly if a third subject was prescribed for the 10th grade entrance exam in the next school year, so he proposed a lottery option?
Minh Khoi
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/hoc-sinh-chi-can-gioi-the-duc-cung-la-gioi-ar900874.html
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