Many teachers have expressed frustration at having to participate in too many competitions, leaving them with no time or energy for professional teaching activities, and they hope to escape this "overload."
The article "Overwhelmed by the sheer number of competitions," published in Thanh Nien newspaper on November 12th, reflects the proliferation of online competitions and tutoring programs introduced into schools, leading to an "overload" for teachers and students. In addition, teachers are "besieged" by countless competitions, movements, cultural activities, and teacher excellence contests. While Vietnamese Teachers' Day is a time to show appreciation for teachers, many feel exhausted and overwhelmed, "out of breath," spending their days teaching and participating in numerous competitions. The article received much agreement from teachers.
Teachers are overwhelmed with all kinds of competitions.
PHOTO: TEACHER PROVIDED
Overwhelmed by arts and culture competitions, online contests, surveys, and television shows.
Teacher Minh Le wrote: "It's not just the competitions in the education sector; other competitions in other sectors also force teachers and students to participate to collect data. They even force students and teachers to attend cultural performances and cheer on the contestants, even on Sunday evenings. It's terrible."
Reader j3Zpg... commented: "Our teachers are also very upset with the exam formats, and some even force us to watch TV."
Reader Huy Pham expressed his frustration: "The most annoying thing is the IOE competition. It's supposed to be a voluntary competition, but parents and students don't understand it. Businesses benefit greatly from self-study packages and mock tests, but they don't pay any commission to teachers, and the costs of organizing the competition rounds are ignored by the businesses. The most frustrating thing is that the recordings have to be uploaded to YouTube or Google Drive, and parents don't know this, so they blame the teachers. Students are excited but disappointed because there are no prizes for first or second place."
Teacher Lan Anh Nguyen Thi stated the current situation: "Not only are students overwhelmed, but we teachers are also overwhelmed with quizzes, surveys, and opinion polls…".
Reader of P5 shared: "When will these competitions ever end? It's all because of the overwhelming obsession with achievements. Schools compete with each other, districts compete with each other, and those in power take pride in these achievements, using them as a springboard for praise and promotion... The education department evaluates principals based on achievements. Principals who want to be rated excellent force teachers and students to participate in competitions to report on the school's achievements." According to this reader, the ones who suffer the most are teachers and students. "Teachers don't have time to invest in their professional development, and students struggle with all sorts of exams, studying and taking tests on everything under the sun, plus competitions from other departments and agencies..."
"The teaching profession is like being a daughter-in-law to a hundred families – that's a true story."
The user FDNM... commented: "Being a teacher is like being a daughter-in-law to a hundred families – it's true. Only those in the profession can truly understand."
A teacher in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City, told a Thanh Nien reporter that she is currently required to submit digital and STEM lesson plans for a competition, but received information about the competition at a last minute. She believes that if the deadline were extended, allowing teachers more time to participate, the pressure would be significantly reduced. For example, teachers with lesson plans for grades 6, 7, and 8 could edit and submit them in time, but those submitting lesson plans for grades 5, 9, and 12 – based on the 2018 general education curriculum – might not be able to finish on time. "Many teachers are exhausted and tired," she said.
With enough pressure surrounding them, teachers are overloaded and exhausted.
On the evening of November 12th, a primary school teacher in Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City) contacted a reporter, confiding: "We are so exhausted, almost at our breaking point with all the arts competitions and activities organized by various departments. Tomorrow, students have a arts competition; Thursday is the staff meeting; Friday, we send invitations to retired teachers; Saturday and Sunday are arts competitions organized by the Labor Union; next Wednesday, November 20th, Saturday and Sunday are the days to film clips for the arts competition organized by the Department of Education; Thursday is class observation..."
Previously, as reported by Thanh Nien Newspaper, a teacher named Minh Hao (name changed), who teaches at a primary school in District 12 (Ho Chi Minh City), stated: "As a teacher, I understand that the purpose of online competitions is to give students opportunities to review and have fun, and their participation is voluntary. The participants are students who have aptitude, interest, and the means to use computers. I also know that the Ministry of Education and Training issued a document stating that online competitions are merely intellectual playgrounds; schools, especially primary schools, are not allowed to force students to participate, participation should be voluntary." However, according to this teacher, there is a phenomenon where the performance evaluation and homeroom teacher's work are based on the percentage of students in the class participating in these competitions. This could therefore affect teachers' additional income (income as stipulated in Resolution No. 08/2023 dated September 19, 2023, of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council on promulgating regulations on additional income payment according to Resolution No. 98 dated June 24, 2023, of the National Assembly on piloting some specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Ho Chi Minh City).
Teacher Minh Hao also shared that when Ho Chi Minh City implemented special policies for public school teachers, including income under Resolution 08, it resolved many difficulties for teachers. However, there have been instances where principals use performance evaluations, achievements, and competition results to control and assess teachers to determine whether they are eligible to receive the money under Resolution 08…
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/giao-vien-mong-het-canh-boi-thuc-vi-du-loai-cuoc-thi-185241114075700109.htm
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