Recently, the Vietnam Institute ofEducational Sciences held a seminar to share the current situation and solutions to help children grow up with a stress-free childhood.
At the seminar, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Thuan, Director of the Center for Psychology and Education Research (Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences ) said that in 2017, she and her colleagues conducted a study related to the disease of achievement in education and realized that this is a disease of the whole system.
The most serious achievement disease comes from the management agencies, then it is imposed on the schools. The schools then push that pressure onto the teachers. Thus, the teachers have no choice but to push the pressure onto the students. Sometimes, the teachers themselves do not realize that carrying out the requirements of their superiors has put pressure on the students.
Pressure does not only come from academic results, but also from unexpected demands from adults. “For example, for some students, just having to arrange all their school supplies before going to class makes them stressed. They feel pressured because when the teacher checks, if they are missing something, they will be punished or criticized. Some students even wake up in panic while sleeping, opening their school bags to check if anything is missing,” Ms. Thuan recounted.
Not only that, the expectations from parents are also a pressure for students, even for the whole family. Parents always want their children to become “the most sparkling diamond”, so students have to go to school all week, participate in too many competitions.
Regarding this, MSc. Pham Thi Phuong Thuc, Center for Psychology and Education Research, pointed out that students today have many different learning tasks, from studying Literature, Math, Foreign Languages to completing school activities. After that, they also have to participate in musical instruments, drawing lessons...
In order for children to complete such a large amount of activities, parents are forced to cut down on things that distract their children's concentration, leading to limiting their children's favorite activities such as playing soccer, socializing with friends... However, according to Ms. Thuc, this reduction is also a factor that puts a lot of pressure on children.
'Putting pressure on children can be considered a violation of children's rights'
Sharing the same view, Mr. Ha Dinh Bon, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children's Rights, also pointed out the fact that many parents are putting pressure on their children to achieve high scores, become champions or winners in competitions, affecting their mental health. According to him, putting pressure on children, whether directly or indirectly, can be considered a violation of children's rights.
To reduce pressure, help children remain innocent, live true to their childhood while still maximizing their abilities, Mr. Bon believes that parents need to understand how to evaluate their children's abilities, talents and capabilities, not follow trends, have unrealistic aspirations, or abuse parental authority to put pressure on children and force them to follow their wishes.
Dr. Ta Ngoc Tri, Deputy Director of the General Education Department (Ministry of Education and Training) agreed that parents must understand that the ultimate goal is for their children to have a happy life. "Happiness is not about children winning this or that prize, but happiness is about promoting the capacity and creativity of each student."
In addition to parents, according to Mr. Tri, the education sector and society also need to have synchronous participation. “For example, besides honoring students with good results, we also pay attention to students who have progressed in their studies.
In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training has changed the way of assessment, in which it recognizes the progress of each student, not comparing them with each other. That is the motivation for children to reduce pressure, thereby creating a healthy learning environment, helping students develop comprehensive qualities and abilities," said the Deputy Director of the General Education Department.
However, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Principal of the University of Education ( Hanoi National University) believes that pressure is inevitable in life. Therefore, it is important to improve children's ability to withstand pressure.
“If we define pressure as bad, then trying to avoid it will only make it worse. Therefore, we should recognize that pressure is natural and improve the ability to withstand pressure so that children can develop comprehensively.”
Mr. Nam believes that parents and schools must equip children with problem-solving skills, coping with failure, and resilience. At the same time, parents should not praise the achievements of “other people’s children” and constantly ask children to learn lessons when they make mistakes.
“Parents need to help their children change their perspective to be positive and normalize stress. When children are surrounded by people full of stress, they certainly cannot help but feel stressed,” said Mr. Nam.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/vong-tron-benh-thanh-tich-trong-giao-duc-cuoi-cung-don-ap-luc-xuong-hoc-sinh-2380766.html
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