How to effectively invite artists and athletes to teach?

In the document guiding the implementation of general education tasks for the 2025-2026 school year issued on August 5, the Ministry of Education and Training requested educational institutions to develop a mechanism to mobilize foreign artisans, artists, professional athletes, and volunteers to participate in organizing educational activities in schools.

Previously, at the meeting of the Politburo and the Secretariat in May, General Secretary To Lam mentioned teaching two sessions per day and suggested that it is possible to invite singers and artists to teach music, invite athletes to teach physical education, invite painters to teach drawing to students. In Official Dispatch No. 61/CD-TTg, the Prime Minister requested that the People's Committees of provinces and cities mobilize and encourage artists, artisans, athletes, and experts to organize cultural, artistic, sports, and talent development activities for students.

How is art actually taught in high schools and what solutions are there to effectively mobilize artists and athletes to participate in teaching?

MUSIC AND ARTS CHALLENGES

As a core subject in the program with the goal of developing aesthetic qualities and abilities and career orientation, music and fine arts are a challenge for schools.

Students of Tran Dai Nghia High School, Saigon Ward (old District 1), Ho Chi Minh City, during an art practice session

PHOTO: BICH THANH

With the previous 2006 General Education Program and the current 2018, at primary and secondary school levels, music and fine arts are always the two main subjects. Particularly at high school level, when implementing the 2018 General Education Program with the goal of building towards the development of students' qualities and abilities, while expanding opportunities to choose subjects suitable to their strengths and career orientation, these two subjects become compulsory electives.

According to statistics from the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City (old) and based on information on the organization of elective subjects of more than 100 high schools, there are 23 schools that organize the teaching of fine arts, 19 schools that teach music. Of which, about 10 schools organize the teaching of 2 art subjects, including Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School, Hung Vuong, Gia Dinh, Trung Vuong, Nguyen Huu Cau, Phu Nhuan, Pedagogical University Practice High School, Binh Chanh Sports Talent, Nguyen Huu Tho, Binh Hung Hoa.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Chuong, Principal of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School, Xuan Hoa Ward (old District 3), said that because these are two elective subjects, the school will only open classes when there are enough registered students.

Besides, many schools have difficulty organizing music and art classes due to lack of qualified teachers and inadequate infrastructure.

The principal of a high school in Ho Chi Minh City said that the number of students registering for music and art courses in many high schools is currently quite low. The main reason is that these are not popular subjects in the career orientation of the majority of students. Another notable problem, according to this principal, is that many high schools do not have available music and art teachers. When implementing the new program, some schools are forced to invite guest teachers or coordinate with art and cultural centers to organize classes, a temporary solution that lacks long-term stability.

"Even in cases where there are official teachers, many schools may still face the situation of not having enough classes to assign to teach. With a small number of periods and an unstable number of classes each school year, teachers of music and fine arts can hardly ensure the standard of 17 periods/week according to current regulations, making it difficult to arrange and assign tasks," the principal informed.

In the context of no teachers and scarce recruitment resources, to meet the requirements of the program, many schools have applied the option of guest lecturers. For example, Hung Vuong High School invited music teachers from the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and art teachers from the Fine Arts Department of a university.

A music lesson for middle school students. At this level, music and art are the two main subjects.

Photo: Dao Ngoc Thach

HAS NOT FULLY REALIZED THE GOAL OF COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION

Faced with the above reality, Mr. Huynh Thanh Phu, Principal of Bui Thi Xuan High School, Ben Thanh Ward (former District 1), Ho Chi Minh City, said that the implementation of art subjects in the 2018 General Education Program, in addition to career orientation, also contributes to nurturing the soul, developing aesthetic, creative and emotional abilities for students. However, the implementation in current educational institutions is facing many barriers, making it impossible to fully realize the goal of comprehensive education.

Most general schools, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas, do not have standard functional classrooms for art subjects. The lack of facilities leads to teaching that is only formal, failing to promote the effectiveness of practice and experience, the core elements of art.

Human resources for this subject are also limited. Most schools do not have specialized teachers of fine arts or music. To invite contract teachers is very expensive, while the current budget does not allow for such payment. This situation makes the implementation of the program only a temporary or integrated response, reducing the quality of teaching.

In addition, many parents and students still underestimate art, thinking that it is a secondary subject, only for gifted students. This leads to students lacking motivation to study and teachers lacking motivation to teach.

NEED STANDARDS AND SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT MECHANISM

In this context, mobilizing artists and athletes to participate in teaching arts and sports is a suitable solution. The problem is how to do it effectively.

Mr. Ho Ngoc Khai, Editor-in-Chief of Music Textbooks (Creative Horizons), Head of the Department of Arts and Physical Education, Faculty of Primary Education, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said that General Secretary To Lam's opinion opens up a new perspective on arts education for children, aiming to exploit resources other than teachers. Schools can invite artists with professional jobs or retired artists to participate in the art education process in general schools. This not only takes advantage of qualified people to participate in the education process but also can discover talented students and train them.

However, according to Mr. Khai, there needs to be standards and mechanisms to evaluate the quality of these resources to ensure quality and reputation in art education in high schools or in community and social activities.

"Artists and athletes must be trained, have clear qualifications and degrees, and need experience and teaching methods for the subjects they undertake. They must have good personal backgrounds to avoid negative impacts later, especially in the context of social media development as it is today," said Mr. Ho Ngoc Khai.

According to Mr. Khai, priority should be given to artists who have been and are currently training at professional schools. For young artists, it is necessary to have certificates of pedagogical skills issued by pedagogical universities. (continued)

Specific and feasible solutions

Master Nguyen Dinh Tinh, Deputy Head of the Basic Department, Ho Chi Minh City Central Pedagogical College, said that to effectively implement the idea of inviting singers, artists, and athletes to teach at schools, specific and feasible solutions are needed.

Firstly, it is necessary to build a flexible cooperation mechanism. Schools need to coordinate with the Department of Education and Training to establish a mechanism for signing short-term or long-term contracts with singers, artists, athletes, etc. Next is the step of selecting suitable experts. It is necessary to search for and invite artists and athletes with pedagogical skills or teaching experience. It is necessary to increase the organization of training courses for pedagogical certificates and certificates for professional titles of teachers suitable for the expertise and level of education for artists and athletes on teaching methods and classroom management, helping them have the skills to convey knowledge effectively and appropriately to the students they are in charge of.

Priority should be given to local artists, singers or athletes to reduce travel costs and facilitate invitations to lecture.

Curriculum integration is needed. The duration and content of subjects such as music, physical education, and fine arts need to be adjusted to accommodate the participation of invited artists and athletes.

Mr. Huynh Hoang Cu, Head of the Faculty of Arts, Van Hien University, also said that in order to implement effectively, schools need to be given the right to flexibly sign short-term contracts with artists and athletes in the form of collaborators. At the same time, it is necessary to coordinate with local art and sports centers to develop age-appropriate programs...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/moi-nghe-si-van-dong-vien-day-hoc-sao-cho-hieu-qua-185250806213151962.htm