Too many competitions create jealousy and rivalry among students?

Behind the excellent teacher exams are countless things that are difficult to say - Illustration - DAD

As reported by Tuoi Tre : The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has just issued a document providing professional guidance for primary schools in the 2024-2025 school year. One of the main requirements is to streamline competitions for teachers and students.

Commenting on this issue, reader Cat Duong wrote: Teaching and learning alone are not enough, now having to run after competitions is really miserable.

According to reader Phuong Han, the reality of competition overload has led to many negative consequences such as losing the joy of learning and causing negative impacts on students' physical and mental health.

Working in the field of education and study abroad consulting for many years, this reader concluded: "There needs to be a specific plan and strategy, avoiding too many exams that burden teachers and students when they go to school."

Below is the sharing of reader Phuong Han around this issue.

Complacent when winning, hurt when losing

As the friendly learning atmosphere in schools is gradually replaced by fierce competition, students are no longer teammates but become opponents.

Sometimes, exam results are no longer a source of encouragement, but a source of competition and jealousy. Some students are complacent about winning, while others are hurt by failure.

Does this still reflect the original meaning of education - to help children develop comprehensively and happily?

In fact, when we consider grades as the highest goal for students, it inadvertently creates a similar mindset when we grow up, that success is only defined by wealth and status.

If a person sees wealth as the goal of life, they will forever make money without knowing when enough is enough.

Similarly, children use grades to evaluate and determine their self-worth: "I got a 9, why not a 10?" "I'm at the top of my class, but will I be able to maintain that position if I go to a better school?"

This is a vicious cycle that makes the joy of learning more and more elusive and true happiness more difficult to achieve.

Can you reduce the burden of competitions?

If we only focus on reducing the load in the education system without addressing larger social problems, then efforts to reduce the burden from exams are just like "treating the symptoms without addressing the root cause".

Parents will still go to great lengths to ensure their children have the best possible chance, from signing them up for extra classes to finding other learning options to help them excel.

Therefore, competition in education, in addition to taking away students' joy of learning, can also cause longer-term consequences.

How to go to school "lightly burdened, effective and still fun"?

To answer this question, we must first reduce and readjust the educational approach, promote the implementation of new classroom models. We must ensure equality in learning opportunities and reduce dependence on competitions.

Only when effective learning methods are applied, exams are not a difficult test but must take place naturally around intelligence, then learning and testing will be truly effective.

Too many competitions make students lose interest in studying.

Being caught up in competitions can easily turn learning into a never-ending race, where the inherent value and joy of learning is erased. Classmates are no longer supporters, but competitors.

Students live under the pressure of many consecutive exams and a dense number of tests, which easily makes them lose interest and love for learning.

This is harmful to both mental and physical health.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/qua-nhieu-cuoc-thi-co-tao-ra-su-do-ky-ganh-dua-giua-cac-hoc-sinh-20240921100852834.htm