1,001 reasons to send your child to extra classes.

I can't feel at ease without extra classes.

Ms. Huong enrolled her daughter in extra classes for first grade for a simple reason – she couldn't leave work at 4 PM to pick her up. "I don't expect her to learn anything new at the extra classes, but at least she gets to draw, color, and practice spelling… and I have a safe and beneficial place to leave her while I wait for work. It's better than letting her sit glued to her phone or watching TV all day, while I can't finish my work," this parent explained.

Waiting to pick up my child from school at the tutoring center on Trieu Quang Phuc Street, District 5 (Ho Chi Minh City).

Sending children to extra classes to have after-school childcare is a common reason for parents in large cities today, especially those families who don't live with grandparents or other relatives. Many other parents choose to enroll their children in a wide range of extra classes, from Vietnamese, math, English, etc., even if their children are only in elementary school. One parent with an elementary school child residing in Nha Be District commented on this.

(Ho Chi Minh City) said: "My child only attends extra classes three afternoons a week, much less than many families. Many families have children attending five classes a week, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings they even go to English, music, art, and swimming lessons. Seeing other people's children studying while my child just stays home playing makes me uneasy."

Notably, contrary to popular belief that only students in public schools attend extra classes, students in private schools, including international schools, also participate. A parent whose child attends an international school in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, stated that they spend tens of millions of dong each month on extra Vietnamese language classes to improve their speaking and writing skills, as well as on advanced math, Japanese, and Spanish.

IS THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM TOO DIFFICULT?

A teacher who has been in the education sector for over 10 years, currently working as a homeroom teacher at a primary school in Ho Chi Minh City and not involved in tutoring, points out the reasons why parents send their primary school children to extra classes. Besides the lack of after-school childcare options, it's also the obsession with academic achievement. Many families don't accept a grade of 7 in one subject and an 8 in another; they demand perfection, with every subject needing a perfect 10. Parents put pressure on themselves by seeing everyone else attending extra classes, fearing their child might be targeted by the teacher. Another reason stems from the teachers' own obsession with achievement. At the end of the school year, homeroom teachers whose students need to retake exams face reduced performance points, affecting their ranking. Some teachers become anxious and find ways to pressure parents into sending their children to extra classes…

Students were picked up by their parents at noon on August 25th from a tutoring center in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City.

"The 2018 general education program is within students' comprehension capabilities. As long as students study diligently in class, complete their assignments, and review for tests and assessments, it's not difficult to achieve a 'pass' rating," this teacher stated frankly.

Le Hoang, a former student of Phu Nhuan High School, one of the two top scorers in the D01 group in Ho Chi Minh City with 27.85 points; the second-highest scorer in the D07 group in Ho Chi Minh City with 29.1 points; and a math score of 9.8 - the highest math score nationwide in the 2024 high school graduation exam, said that besides attending extra English classes at a center, he studied at home throughout his elementary and middle school years, only starting to focus on extra tutoring for university entrance exams in 10th grade. "My friends around me studied a lot. But in my opinion, during elementary and middle school, it's entirely possible to learn independently through textbooks, review materials, and by asking teachers and friends," said the top scorer in the D01 group in Ho Chi Minh City.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/1001-ly-do-de-cho-con-di-hoc-them-185240825233035216.htm