Thinking about a summer without tutoring or extra classes

High school students leave a cultural training center on Ly Tu Trong Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of February 13 - Photo: NHU HUNG

That thought came to me when I saw two middle school teachers chatting while waiting for the bus. They talked a lot about the changes, good and bad, after the regulation on extra teaching and learning. But the one that stuck out was: "Now that I don't have extra teaching, I have more time to visit my mother."

In previous years, not counting seniors, students in other classes only had summer vacation until mid-July, which meant the vacation was less than 2 months long.

Students go to school in the middle of summer vacation to review old knowledge, even learn new programs in advance. Students in their final year of high school have even more "summer school" time: studying at school, taking extra classes at teachers' homes, studying at centers, and taking extra classes online.

What would a summer without mass tutoring be like? Students would have a full 3-month vacation.

Families will have more opportunities to work and play with their children. This is an opportunity to bring more closeness, understanding, and love than just the pressure of studying.

With another summer, when extra classes are closed, the school doors are still open for fun activities and experiences.

Without having to study in extra classes, children can learn to play musical instruments, draw, participate in summer camps, play sports, and even experience activities with careers and community activities...

For many years, teachers have complained about "no summer" because after invigilation, grading, and professional training, they return to summer teaching. Some teachers need to teach extra to improve their lives, but many others are stuck in a rut and cannot stop.

So what will a different summer be like for teachers? What to do with the summer days? How can parents, students and teachers enjoy a meaningful and quality vacation when the pressure of extra teaching and learning is reduced?

The mentality of having to "study extra" to meet requirements and pass exams is still quite common and burdensome. A large number of teachers want to teach extra not only to increase their income but also because they care about their students and because of their feelings for their parents.

The stricter regulations on extra teaching and learning have exposed many shortcomings in professional management in schools. Students rarely know how to study on their own and teachers have not really focused on guiding students on how to study on their own.

The core contents of the 2018 general education program are to teach students to form their abilities and qualities, but they have not been truly absorbed.

It is clearly shown in the fact that teachers are not assured when "there is not enough extra teaching", and parents are not assured when their children do not attend extra classes. Children are caught in a maze of extra classes while the things that help them form their abilities, skills, and qualities are outside of those extra classes.

After the new regulations on extra teaching and learning, general education needs a big step to change the mindset and perception in teaching and learning. To do that, it is necessary to change the way schools are managed and governed, and change the way of assessment and testing.

Should schools and parents together experiment with a "different summer" in the coming days?

Experience to see what children really need, what brings them happiness? Experience to see instead of forcing children to sit and do essays, math, what life values, skills, and habits they gain from a true summer.

The experiences and changes from children can affect the consciousness of adults, when adults themselves also feel the meanings when they step out of the "extra teaching, extra learning" cycle.

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VINH HA