Debate over a literature exam containing sensitive material.

Literature test paper from Colette Secondary School (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City)

Does the literature exam contain sensitive material?

On December 27th, the Vietnamese language and literature exam for 8th-grade students at Colette Secondary School (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) attracted the attention of parents and teachers. There were debates about the content of the exam, with some arguing that it "shamed" the teaching profession and should not have been used.

Specifically, the literature test included the following content:

Read the following text and fulfill the requirements below:

" The teacher was a glutton by nature. One day, he was invited to a feast, so he sent a young student along to serve him. Upon arriving, he sat down at the table and told his student to stand beside him. Seeing that there were still many cakes and fruits on the table, and his stomach was full, he still wanted to pocket a few. Fearing that those around him would see and he would lose face, he casually took a piece of cake and gave it to his student, saying:

Here, take this!

As he handed it to the student, the teacher winked, signaling him to take it home for him. The student didn't understand the teacher's subtle wink, thinking it was a genuine gesture, and immediately unwrapped it and ate it. The teacher was very angry, but in front of everyone, he didn't dare scold him.

When it was time to leave, the teacher still remembered the cakes and wanted to find an excuse to get revenge on his student. As the two of them walked past each other, the teacher angrily scolded the student:

Are you my friend or something that you dare to walk on equal footing with me?

The student, frightened, hurried ahead. The teacher snapped again:

Are you my father or something, daring to walk ahead of me?

The student stepped back. The teacher shouted again:

I'm not a prisoner, so why do you have to walk behind me escorting me?

The bewildered boy turned back and replied:

"My dear teacher, no matter how I walk, you scold me. So, what should I do?"

Without hesitation, the teacher angrily said:

Where's my cake?

(Story "Where's my cake?" - sachhay24h.com)

Question 1: What genre does the above text belong to?

Question 2: What lesson can be learned from the text above?

Question 3: Indicate the literal and implied meanings in the sentence: "Here, take this!".

Question 4: Based on the text, identify the setting and the type of character.

Question 5: Write a short paragraph (5-7 lines) expressing your thoughts on the lesson learned from the text above.

Ms. HTP, a teacher of literature at a junior high school in Tan Phu District (Ho Chi Minh City), commented: Firstly, regarding the text referring to the gluttonous "teacher," the use of informal pronouns (like "you" and "I") between teacher and student lacks aesthetic appeal and is somewhat sensitive.

Secondly, for question 2, state the lesson learned from the text above, and for question 5, write a short paragraph (5-7 lines) expressing your thoughts on the lesson learned from the text above, repeating the content of the question.

Thirdly, suppose a student answers to these two questions as follows: "So, when doing tricks, be very careful and be thoroughly 'taught' before coming to school," how should the teacher grade it?

Fourth, regarding the conceptual meaning of "teacher" and the content of the text "Where's my cake?", can a 14-year-old student understand the characteristics of traditional folk humor? Furthermore, the text refers to the famine of the past, where both teacher and student were equally hungry, and food was considered a humiliation. Is there anything admirable about that?

The teacher emphasized: "Actually, 10th-grade students in the old curriculum studied the story 'Three Generations of Chickens ,' which criticizes an incompetent teacher who still practices teaching. However, the content of that text has been thoroughly taught to the students. As for the text ' Where's My Cake ?', 8th-grade students should reconsider including it in a test because it is somewhat offensive."

Teacher Vo Kim Bao from Nguyen Du Secondary School (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) commented: "The question is correct in terms of curriculum requirements, but the source citation is not ideal. The material is somewhat sensitive; teachers should consider the educational value of the question. There are jokes, and children need more life experiences to have a proper understanding and evaluation."

A test for eighth-grade students at Colette Middle School is causing controversy.

How should teachers select their teaching materials?

Responding to some opinions suggesting that the text in the test was intended to disparage the teaching profession, Master Tran Le Duy, a lecturer in the Literature Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, said: "I don't think the test intended to disparage teachers or anything like that. It's just a critique of a negative phenomenon in the old society, through an individual."

At the same time, Master Duy also commented on the test: The text clearly demonstrates the genre of folk humorous stories. However, the source is not guaranteed, being a website that compiles information, making it difficult to be certain of the accuracy of the text.

From there, Master Tran Le Duy emphasized: "Finding materials for test questions is not easy, but not too difficult either. In principle, reputable materials must be chosen, meaning teachers should select materials from reliable sources. To do this, teachers need to diligently read, research, and carefully evaluate. Teachers need to pay attention to the difficulty level of the materials. The difficulty level of the materials should be equivalent to the texts in the textbooks in terms of length, expression, theme, content, etc. The materials must also be aesthetically pleasing, guiding people towards beauty and goodness, and have educational value."

The school will take note and will hold a meeting to learn from this experience.

Speaking to the press, Ms. Luu Thi Ha Phuong, Principal of Colette Secondary School, said: "In the 8th grade Vietnamese language curriculum, students learn about humorous stories. Humorous stories often criticize bad habits in society such as boasting, gluttony, laziness… Therefore, when setting the end-of-semester test, the teacher chose a story in that direction, not with the intention of criticizing any particular person or profession."

However, the head of Colette Middle School added: "The material used in the literature exam is not very valuable and is somewhat sensitive. The school will take note of this issue and will hold a debriefing session after the end of the first semester exams."

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