VietNamNet Bridge – Education and training departments ask schools not to open summer classes earlier than July 10. However, in fact, a lot of schools have already opened classes.

Summer is the ’learning season’

The art and physical education classes started on June 1. Meanwhile, science classes began on June 24. Students can go to day-boarder classes five days a week like during the academic year.

Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School began receiving students right in early June for good student cultivation classes or English classes.

At Thien Ho Duong Primary School, a lot of parents brought their children to school on June 15, when the school’s ‘summer learning season’ began. The school offers different classes for students from 1^st to 5^th grades, including day boarder classes.

Thanh, who has a daughter entering first class in the 2009-2010 school year, also brought the girl to summer class at the school. Thanh related that she has bought a set of textbooks for her daughter.

“She needs to learn to read and write before she goes to first class, or she will lag behind her classmates,” Thanh said.

She also revealed that she will send the daughter to the extra English class, hoping that the girl could be chosen for the 1^st grade intensive English class.

Thien Ho Duong school in summer days looks like school-year days with a lot of parents sitting and waiting to pick up their children from extra classes.

Students in HCM City call summer the ‘learning season’, because in summer, they have to learn to prepare for exams, learn to get more knowledge to prepare for the next school year and they also have to learn living skills.

“I have no days off for relaxing in summer. My schedule is full from morning to evening, from Monday to Sunday,” said Minh Tam, student of Nguyen Gia Thieu Secondary School.

Tam just finished school year-end exams in late May, and then she had to attend the competition of good students in literature in early June, and she has been continuing learning in intensive cultivation classes since then.

“The classes will last until the opening of the new school year,” Tam said.

Nga, whose son has finished 5^th grade at Tran Quoc Tuan School, believes that her son needs to begin studying English at an early age. Her son goes to English classes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while he studies himself at home in the other time.

“He has no relaxation time in summer,” Nga said.

Ignoring the advice of psychology experts that children need to relax in summer and that they should not be forced to learn all the time, parents are still bringing their children to summer classes for intensive learning.

Luu Van