How much is too much in primary school?
Published: 16/05/2010 05:00
| LookAtVietnam – Students of prestigious primary schools must do 20 mathematics exercises and memorize seven poems every evening.
Stuffing children’s heads with lessons A boy nicknamed Tom now attends third grade at a famous primary school in Hanoi. Tom will take three exams to finish the third grade in mathematics, literature and foreign language. To prepare, Tom’s teachers have asked students to do large numbers of exercises. Tom’s mother explained that her son and his classmates must gear up to prepare for exams “as if they were preparing for university entrance exams.” In math alone, students must complete 40 exercises within several days. Tom began doing exercises at 7pm and could not finish by 10pm. He also had to stay up to write essays on three main topics: writing a letter, writing an essay about a football match and writing about environment protection. Tom’s mother complained that her son has lost weight in the last few days since he must study too hard. She herself finds it difficult to describe a football match, let alone small children. Anh Vu (anhvu11… @gmail.com) wrote to Dan tri newspaper that his nephew, who is in the fifth grade, had to memorize seven poems. While it was not difficult for the child to remember them, the boy had to remember every period and comma in the poems, which Vu thinks is a very difficult task. Psychological pressure Tom’s mother remarked that not only Tom, but all members of the family have tired of preparing him for exams. Either Tom’s mother or father must study with him every evening. Tom has become too worried and tense, so Tom’s mother must buy many kinds of medicine for him. She criticized the assignments as well, saying that she found some math exercises to be too similar to each other. The teacher could give fewer math exercises by removing the repetition. Regarding literature, his mom thinks that it would be better to ask students to write essays about issues closer to their lives. Meanwhile, Anh Vu thinks argues that it is necessary to change the way examinations are given. Instead of asking students to memorize so much, it would be better to give the students questions and ask for answers. Meanwhile, Dr. Le Minh Cong has warned that overwork and no play may lead to mental disorders in children. For example, children may become afraid of learning and, in many cases, they may refuse to go to school. Source: Dan tri Provide by Vietnam Travel How much is too much in primary school? - Education - News | vietnam travel companyYou can see more
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