Happy schools bring change to the educational environment

Inheriting traditional movements and activities, combining new and creative ways of doing things, "happy school" has brought many positive changes to theeducational environment in Hanoi.

On the last days of the school year, on the yard of Viet Duc High School, many students took souvenir photos before school ended. While some students posed, nearly a dozen photographers gathered around to find a good angle.

Many activities to engage students

That was a souvenir photo shoot combined with an internship as a "photographer" of the members of the Photography Club. If you visit the club's fanpage, everyone will be surprised by the products of the students. Not only about the school and the class, but also about life and the beauty of the landscape. This is just one of the 26 clubs of the school, from skill development, learning support such as: Young leaders, Debate, Journalism... to art clubs such as: Cinema, Literature, Fine Arts...

Vice Principal Tran Thi Quynh Hoa said: Extracurricular activities not only attract students but also help them develop life skills and talents. When the city issued criteria for building a “happy school”, the school promoted existing activities and added new ones. Club activities were promoted with the guidance of the teaching staff.

Making students happy to go to school is not only the responsibility of teachers. Right at the school gate, the security guards also welcome the students with smiles. That is also a way to educate them about cultural behavior. Club activities take place almost every day in the school, even on weekends.

At the end of the school year, at the same time the school’s BG70 band won the first prize at the City High School Band Festival, two students of the school also went to the US to participate in the Science and Technology Competition. Therefore, Viet Duc High School is considered by many to be “top-notch in learning and top-notch in playing”.

“Happy School” is a concept introduced by UNESCO more than 10 years ago. Hanoi is one of the pioneering localities to implement this model. From the 2024-2025 school year, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training officially issued 15 specific standards divided into 3 groups: Environment, Teaching and educational activities, People. The preschool system has 12 separate criteria.

The criteria all focus on a friendly, united, and safe environment; students receiving appropriate forms of education, creating excitement, and developing their abilities; activities aiming at the values ​​of truth, goodness, and beauty; teachers and students being respected, listened to, and equipped with life values ​​and life skills... All aim at the highest goal of students feeling happy and developing comprehensively. The standards are implemented throughout the city.

At Hoang Cau High School (Dong Da district), with the motto "Happy Classroom - A Joy Every Day", each class has a fanpage to share positive stories, loving messages between teachers and students and students with each other, and examples of progress in studying and training.

With the "Green Friday" movement, every Friday, the whole school cleans the classrooms, each class manages its own green area and flower pots to increase solidarity.

In the model “School Counseling - Accompanying you”, a team of part-time teachers and experts cooperate periodically to support and advise students... The school organizes seminars such as: "Homeroom teachers with skills to build happy classrooms", "Love - The foundation for building happy classrooms, happy schools", "We and teachers build happy classrooms...".

Ms. Truong Quynh Anh, representative of the Parents Association of Giang Vo Secondary School (Ba Dinh District) shared: “Children are at an age with many psychological and physiological changes, so we are often worried that they may neglect their studies and fall into unhealthy activities. With the Happy School model, children learn necessary skills and participate in many cultural, sports and artistic activities. I myself discovered that my child has a talent for art through activities at school. We feel more secure every day our children go to school.”

In suburban areas, activities to build “happy schools” are also taking place abundantly. Instead of imposing, schools pay attention to students’ thoughts and aspirations. Districts such as Ba Vi, Dan Phuong, Gia Lam, etc. all organize forums called “What I Want to Say”. Through the forums, students can relieve stress from exams, answer questions about life, and teachers can grasp students’ thoughts and aspirations, thereby having appropriate teaching solutions.

Practically building Hanoi human culture

Hanoi is proud of its elegant and civilized behavior. In building a Happy School, the Department of Education and Training requires good implementation of the City's Code of Conduct and the Industry's Code of Conduct. This standard is specified through the implementation of the Document Set on Education on Elegant and Civilized Lifestyle; activities on education of local history and culture; cultural-historical competitions, etc.

Notable among them is the “Tourism Ambassador” contest for secondary school students in the 2024-2025 school year. Students participate in the following competitions: Folk games, Learning about Hanoi, I am a tour guide.

In the contest “I am a tour guide”, students can choose one of the following topics: History, scenic spots, cuisine, traditional craft villages, traditional culture… to learn about, and from there introduce the outstanding tourist destinations of the capital, and choose to introduce the unique cultural features of their locality.

For example, students from Long Bien district chose to introduce the sitting tug-of-war game at Tran Vu communal house; students from Hoan Kiem district introduced Dong Xuan market and the old quarter; students from Thanh Oai district performed about Noi Binh Da temple, where Lac Long Quan is worshiped...

The influence of the contest is huge when 100% of secondary schools in the city participate. Pham Gia Huy, a student of class 7A2 at Linh Dam Secondary School (Hoang Mai District) shared: “The “Tourism Ambassador” contest has helped me have interesting experiences with my friends. In the contest sections, the content of “Handling situations” has both high educational significance and contributes to encouraging us to try harder in studying, practicing ethics, skills, lifestyle and to be more attached to and love our homeland”.

Meanwhile, the teaching of the Civilized and Elegant Lifestyle Education Document Set continues to be implemented at all three levels, starting from the 2024-2025 school year. A series of good and creative models and practices have been born. Students in Long Bien district are educated in "Bow Culture", students in Hoan Kiem district are given the "homework" of making videos to record beautiful cultural behaviors in life...

Notably, local history lessons are becoming more and more attractive and engaging as districts, towns and cities direct schools to organize for students to visit, learn and experience at local relics, then they come back to write reports, or organize competitions, art performances... to report the results.

Head of the Department of Politics, Ideology and Student Affairs (Hanoi Department of Education and Training) Tran Thi Thu Ha shared: “Although there are still many difficulties, such as some inner-city schools having difficulty organizing extracurricular activities, the education sector of the capital strives to gradually overcome them. We will continue to replicate good practices and creative models in the coming time, to build a happy learning environment for students.”

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nhung-mai-truong-hanh-phuc-dem-lai-doi-thay-cho-moi-truong-giao-duc-post881976.html