Parents need to be patient

Self-study ability is one of the general abilities emphasized in the 2018 General Education Program for primary school students. However, forming the habit of self-study requires coordination between family and school.

Ms. Bui Thi Cam Tien, whose son is in 4th grade in Hoc Mon District (HCMC), said: “At home, my son never sits down to study without my reminder. Every day I have to follow him closely, which is both tiring and stressful. The new program does not require my son to do a lot of homework, but every day there are a few small exercises. Many times when I come home late from work, I still have to force my son to sit down and do his homework. Even though I always tell him to do his homework on his own, he only does it when I am home.”

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, a parent with a 4th grader in Tan Phu District (HCMC), also shared about the difficult journey of helping his child study by himself. He said that at first he often punished his child when he did not complete his homework. However, this method only increased the pressure and did not create motivation for the child. “After a while, I realized that using punishment did not bring good results. My child studied only to cope, the more pressure he put on, the more frustrated he became,” said Mr. Tung.

This shows that self-study habits are not easily formed by just reminding, forcing or rewarding or punishing from parents when there are too many things to learn, and the biggest distraction is smartphones.

Ms. Nguyen Minh Thuy An, a teacher at Nguyen Van Triet Primary School (Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City), shared: “Being a role model for your children is the first and most important step. The whole family studying is an example and motivation for the children.”

According to Ms. Thuy An, students' ability to concentrate is not high, so parents need to understand this psychological characteristic to persistently train their children to sit at the desk for 5 minutes, then gradually increase to 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes... with the amount of work appropriate to their ability. According to Ms. An, parents only need to train their children in self-study skills to contribute to giving them wings of freedom and long-term independence.

Ms. Tran Thi Hoai Nghi, teacher at Kim Dong Primary School (Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City), noted that to form the habit of self-study, parents should absolutely not do it for their children, but should encourage them to think and make efforts to find solutions.

“Children need a quiet study space, minimizing distractions in the family. We cannot ask children to do homework when parents are busy surfing the phone, turning on the TV, or family members are talking animatedly…”, Ms. Nghi said.