Praise for students who contributed over 100,000 VND and a lesson on the habit of using canvas

Two ways to do charity

On September 24, the social network community was abuzz when Le Quy Don Primary School (Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City) awarded certificates of merit to students who donated VND100,000 or more to support people affected by storms and floods. Students who donated less than that amount only received letters of merit from their homeroom teachers.

On the morning of September 23, the school held a flag ceremony and awarded certificates of merit to encourage students to actively participate in the above movement. Of the 2,100 students at the school, 1,500 received certificates of merit. Class representatives received the certificates of merit and then brought them back to their classrooms to present to their classmates.

The remaining students who donated less than 100,000 VND will receive a letter of commendation from their homeroom teacher. However, the letter of commendation has not been sent to the students after the flag salute.

This reward incident made many parents indignant and said that those who workin education lack humanity and are chasing after achievements.

Also donating, but two methods lead to two different lessons in education (Illustration: Nguyen Huyen).

Previously, in the announcement of the movement to support donations for flood victims, MV. Lomonosov Secondary and High School ( Hanoi ) encouraged students to participate but not to donate more than 30,000 VND.

Accordingly, to demonstrate the spirit of mutual love, the school encourages students to voluntarily participate in support (no more than 30,000 VND/student). Students in difficult circumstances do not necessarily have to participate in support.

Responding to Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tung - Principal of MV. Lomonosov Secondary and High School confirmed that the above information is true.

According to this principal, the school launched the donation campaign on the basis of ensuring education, arousing the spirit of caring and sharing in students, but at the same time helping them feel happy and joyful about giving, avoiding showing off or comparing among children.

The amount of 30,000 VND is within the students’ ability to support. They can use their savings or pocket money to support without having to ask their parents for money. Supporting is really the students’ job instead of the parents’ job.

When setting a limit of 30,000 VND, students who only have 20,000 VND, 10,000 VND or even 5,000 VND to donate feel happy and do not feel inferior to their friends, because that is all the money they have.

Meanwhile, if students are allowed to donate freely, they will compare who is better and who is worse, which can easily lead to a mentality of showing off or inferiority among students. This will destroy the meaning of giving and fail to achieve the goal of education.

The two forms of donations from the two schools have been compared by many social networking forums, and it is said that although they are both donations, the two methods lead to two different lessons in education.

Two lessons about education

Evaluating the charity work of the two schools above, Mr. Trong An (Ecopark urban area) said that both are forms of encouragement and support, but the different ways of doing it show very different attitudes of educators.

"One way is if you want to pursue achievements, raise a lot of money, regardless of the psychological scars on each child. Meanwhile, the other way is if you want to encourage compassion and the spirit of mutual love," said Mr. An.

Meanwhile, Ms. Thu Hien (Hanoi) thinks that both methods are not good, it is best to call for voluntary contributions and place charity boxes in the school yard so that no student knows the contribution level.

Foreign Trade University turned the opening flower basket into a QR code of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, placed in the school yard to support (Photo: My Ha).

According to psychologist Vu Thu Huong (former lecturer at Hanoi National University of Education), we often say: "The way you give is better than what you give". Schools are places to educate students in ethics, both are voluntary support, but the way the two schools do it brings two different lessons in education.

At Le Quy Don Primary School, "honoring" those who support a lot, inadvertently educates the habit of "showing off" (showing off, showing off). Maybe now many children do not know, but in the long run, it can help them form that personality.

Instead of motivating children to want to do something for others, schools create in them a desire to express themselves and gain an image for themselves. Thus, moral education is not only unsuccessful but also has the opposite effect.

Teachers should teach children to put the donation money in a red envelope and drop it into a charity box so that no one knows the exact amount.

Here, the school took photos to honor students who contributed a lot as a way to "show off" the school's charity work. It is clear that the support is not only for the victims but also for themselves. The school also "covers up", so it unintentionally educates the students about "covering up".

In the second school, the approach is more humane, and the school certainly receives a more effective moral lesson.

Encouraging students to participate but not more than 30,000 VND means that the school does not want students to rely on their parents for charity. From the beginning, the school wanted students to do charity themselves, instead of putting the burden on their parents.

"Maybe that student never thought about sharing, but after the activities of MV. Lomonosov School, they want to become people who are willing to share and help people with their own strength.

Donating or volunteering should be done discreetly. I think that educational lessons are very important to students, more important than knowledge lessons because they can change a person's life.

So in my opinion, the people that the Go Vap elementary school needs to apologize to are not the parents, but their students," Dr. Huong shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/khen-hoc-sinh-dong-gop-tren-100000-dong-va-bai-hoc-ve-thoi-phong-bat-20240924232336598.htm