'I'm afraid of being punished for answering wrongly'

Children should be encouraged to boldly express their opinions - Illustration photo AI

Story One

The school is located in the highlands, surrounded by towering, sharp mountains. Teachers in the program brought books to the students and eagerly went to the yard to interact.

- Does anyone like reading books?

No hands were raised. The students bowed their heads in silence, looking at each other without answering. She asked again. Still no hands were raised. She bent down and asked the nearest student in a low voice.

- Why don't you answer?

- I'm afraid of being punished for answering wrongly.

The teacher was stunned and understood the root of the problem. She asked all the children in the school yard:

- How are you usually punished?

- Clean the toilet, sweep the school yard, wash the dishes...

- Today I promise that anyone who answers wrong will not be punished in any way. All the teachers here agree. Be brave.

Only then did the students dare to raise their hands to speak.

Story two

At a computer donation ceremony at an elementary school in another province, hundreds of students attended. Entering the school, our horrifying impression was that the entire school yard was filled with mud, half a meter deep.

Through our teachers, we learned that the school has been flooded for more than 4 years. Teachers and students have to wade through water all the time, many of them have foot ulcers. Students have to sit in the classroom during recess and can hardly do any outdoor activities. It is truly a pitiful situation.

After listening to the students and the school say thank you for receiving the computers, a teacher in the group came up to talk and asked:

- Do you love your school?

Yes, ma'am!

- Why do you love school?

- Yes, because we have teachers who love us very much; because we have friends; because we have many books...

- Everything about our school is good. Is there anything about our school that makes you unhappy?

- No, sir! My school has good teachers! There are many good friends! Going to school is very fun!

The teacher suggested.

- So is there anything that makes you unhappy, dislike, or want to change about your school?

Almost all the students said in unison:

No sir

- Are you sure? Look around you!

The whole hall fell silent for a moment, but then dozens of hands went up, affirming that everything was fine and nothing needed to be changed. At this point, the teacher was forced to speak up:

- So you like a flooded and muddy schoolyard like this? Do you find it nice? Don't you want a clean and dry schoolyard to run around and play during recess?

All in unison:

Yes sir!

In the first story, what makes you not dare to express your opinion? Fear of being wrong! Because being wrong means being punished. Not being wrong means being corrected and instructed. Being punished becomes an obsession, a psychological barrier. That fear of not daring to speak up gradually becomes a habit and then a character of resignation and patience.

In the second case, students voluntarily speak up, and speak quite enthusiastically, but only one-sidedly, praising and finding all the good things to say. Saying bad things about the school is for fear that the teachers will not be satisfied. In the long run, this will destroy students' critical thinking and their multi-dimensional view of things and phenomena. They will not dare to tell the truth and lose their honesty.

Are these things only available at the two schools we visited? Or are they available at many other schools?

HOANG THI THU HIEN (Former teacher of LE HONG PHONG HIGH SCHOOL, HCMC)

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/em-so-tra-loi-sai-bi-phat-20250516093755069.htm