For a truly happy first day of school, the principal must accept the differences...

To build a truly happy opening day, to truly put students at the center, the principal must dare to accept differences, and each teacher also needs creativity to express and spread love to the students in their class.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thanh Nam believes that for the first day of school to be successful, each teacher also needs to be creative to spread love to students. (Photo: NVCC)

In recent years, many schools have focused their opening ceremonies on the “festival” part. However, many schools still organize rather cumbersome opening ceremonies, with long speeches and reports on achievements. What is your personal opinion on this issue?

Remembering the first day of school for my generation, it was the first day back to school after 3 months of summer vacation. After 3 months away from school, friends and teachers, the opening ceremony was the first day we met again to start the new school year, making everyone excited and busy. Each child carefully wrapped and labeled their books and notebooks, and their parents prepared beautiful clothes for the first day of school.

At that time, the opening ceremony was short, simple but still solemn. All students sang the National Anthem and clapped their hands happily at the end. There was only a short speech like the principal's confidences and instructions and the sound of the school drum signaling the start of the new school year. After that, we students went back to class to meet our teachers and started studying for a new school year.

For me, the opening ceremony was truly a festival for students, where everyone felt welcomed back to a new school year with meaningful moments with friends and teachers.

The opening ceremony is now more grand, more beautiful, more colorful with more expensive flags and flowers. Perhaps in the eyes of students, this is an opening ceremony for adults, for school leaders. The speech in the opening ceremony is also more of a report, showing off to parents, to leaders attending, to the school's reputation rather than an activity for students, students - the main subject, welcoming students back to school.

Students have to come to school very early, practice performing arts, line up in teams, and are required to stand, sit, sing, and clap on command to serve the opening ceremony so meticulously that for many days, many students feel like they are serving the opening ceremony rather than being welcomed back.

Why is the opening day of some schools organized in a formal and ostentatious manner?

With the development of the economy and society, the organization of events is also prepared more elaborately with regulations and rituals. The opening ceremony is not only the first day to welcome students back to school as its inherent nature, but also becomes a communication event, building and affirming the school's brand, a way to attract the attention of the community and potential students.

However, it cannot be said that all schools today are formal, ostentatious, and do not bring the real meaning ofeducation . There are still opening ceremonies of schools that are both beautiful in form, attractive in content, and the students who attend are still happy.

The question is, are we really focusing on the whole learner? Are we paying attention to the rights and needs of the child, putting the learner's need for connection, respect, and self-expression at the center of the ceremony and finding ways to satisfy them?

Để ngày khai trường thực sự hạnh phúc, Hiệu trưởng phải chấp nhận sự khác biệt

Students become the center of the Opening Ceremony. (Photo: Nguyet Anh)

The first day of school marks the beginning of a new stage in a child’s learning journey, and the subject of the first day must be the students. In your opinion, how can we make the first day of school truly reach each child?

To create a truly happy first day of school, the principal, the spiritual leader, must dare to accept differences and dare to change the inherent beliefs about the first day of school. Each teacher also needs to be creative to express and spread love to the students in their class on the first day of school.

Students become the center of the welcome from the entrance gate. They appear on the main stage, speak, receive recognition and awards, show off their artistic and performance talents, and receive applause.

Instead of long, formulaic speeches, there will be inspirational stories from famous guests. After the short and exciting ceremony, there will be a festival where students will participate in fun activities in the school yard, be introduced and selected to join clubs, and participate in discount booths (back-to-school sale) supported by businesses to fully supplement learning materials and school supplies for the new school year.

What is your experience of organizing school opening ceremonies abroad and what can we learn so that children can truly be the masters of the ceremony?

International experience shows that the opening day is often the first milestone to welcome students back to school, while in Vietnam it is only symbolic because students have returned to school and studied for a month before.

The opening day is organized as an open communication space, the stage is close and comfortable and not far away from everyone below to create a sense of friendly connection. On the opening day, important people to the students appear together, parents are also able to participate in some activities on stage with the students instead of standing far away and just looking.

The opening day is planned by teachers in each class with students and takes ideas from students for the ceremony, not decided by the leadership. The ceremony should also affirm respect for differences, students from different cultures. (For example, foreign students, students with foreign blood, all appear and express their national cultural identity on stage).

In particular, the ceremony always ends with "long songs" performed by all students and teachers, and the appearance of the school's "mascot" character touching each student as a wish for good luck in the new school year.

After the general ceremony, students returned to their classrooms and were greeted by their teachers with a menu of fun greetings that they could choose from. They were given a card with meaningful messages from their teachers that inspired them about the new school year. On this first day, students participated in a group activity to reconnect with their friends and build a sense of belonging to their class, their teachers, and their friends.

At the beginning of the new school year, what do you think is the important message that schools need to convey to students?

The goal of a school when it is born is to meet the learning needs, personality development training and happiness needs of learners, not to be built to meet the requirements of enrollment, finance and other requirements of the school or school leaders.

Thank you!

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