“Land of learning”, “homeland of teachers” and teaching and learning today
(Baonghean.vn) - Nowadays, teaching and learning have changed in the homeland of the "teachers": Learning is not only to become a civil servant (in the old way of becoming a mandarin) but to have a career and start a business. Therefore, there has been a profound change in the way of teaching and learning.
It cannot be said that Nghe An people are more intelligent than people from other regions, but Nghe An people are more studious and willing to study than many other regions. The book Nghe An Ky written by Bui Duong Lich (1757-1828) around the 10th-20th years of the 19th century recorded: Northerners praised Nghe An people as "pure, simple and studious".
That is because Nghe An's natural conditions are too harsh, agricultural production is very difficult, and the exchange of goods is slow to develop. The way out of poverty is to go to school. The doctor encouraged many people to go to school, even bringing fake wooden fish to pretend to be real fish so they could ask for fish sauce to dip the "fish" to eat to go to school and take exams. No matter how poor the family is, they have to save up and save up for their children to go to school.
Study to become an official. But the number of people who become an official is not many. If they cannot become an official, they become a teacher. The "Nghe scholar" is famous throughout the country and is present in many provinces from North to South. "The Nghe scholar married a fish sauce seller" (from Binh Dinh province) - poem by Xuan Dieu. Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac, the father of President Ho, taught in Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan), Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) ... Studying has become a movement in many rural areas. There have been many articles about the 5 study areas of Nghe An. They say 5 areas but they cover all the plains, midlands and semi-mountains of the province.
The education system of the whole country in the past focused on the imperial examinations, students focused on studying the classics and history. Memorizing the “Four Classics and Five Books”, Nghe An students studied to the point that people called it “memorizing by rote”, which means studying over and over again, wearing out the words until the paper was torn, studying until they knew them by heart; that is, cramming, mainly for taking exams without creativity, at most just to respond to the Chinese king when having to go on diplomatic missions to China.
The method of cramming, combined with a straightforward, straightforward temperament, without embellishment, even lacking the necessary flexibility, makes Nghe An people often conservative, and many are even considered "crazy". However, if we filter the muddy and bring out the clear, we will see that in that "craziness" there is a positive factor, which is critical thinking. Likewise, when people say: Thanh Hoa is resourceful, Nghe An is multi-faceted, Ha Tinh is multi-faceted, then in that "multi-faceted" there is also a somewhat critical spirit. It is necessary to promote this spirit, but it is very necessary to overcome the negative aspects of stubbornness and conservatism. This is an obstacle to the ability to adapt and be creative.
Also in the book mentioned above, Bui Duong Lich wrote: “Nghe An literature is mostly strong but firm, not very flashy (ornate). Because literature is the voice of the heart, the temperament (of the person) is like that, so the words that come out are also like that. Because of that temperament, it does not favor (external) showiness.
Just like the general situation of the whole country, the educational motto at that time was “First learn etiquette, then learn literature”. The words “etiquette” and “literature” should not be understood in a narrow way. “Literature” is not just about literature and words. Confucius once said: “Literature carries the way”; Gorky wrote: “Literature is anthropology”. That is why the boy Aliosa, after reading a literary work, felt so haunted, his soul was so moved that he had to hold the page under the sunlight to see what was in it that moved him so much!
Likewise, “etiquette” is not just a matter of “etiquette” but a matter of personality. However, it must be said that “etiquette” still makes people feel that it is heavy on politeness, courtesy, and obedience, lacking in encouragement of creativity and critical thinking.
The need to learn is such that it inevitably creates such teaching methods to meet that need.
Nowadays,Teaching and learning have changed in the homeland of the “teachers”: Learning is not only to become a civil servant (in the old style of becoming a mandarin) but to have a career and establish a career. Therefore, there has been a profound change in the way of teaching and learning.
New requirements inevitably lead to new ways of teaching and learning:Learn to understand, teach students to master basic knowledgeto have a basis for further study and application in work in different professions depending on each student's ability and the needs of the labor market.
Nghe An people go everywhere, working in many different professions and fields: technical workers, engineers, teachers, writers, scientists, traders, managers (state management and business administration...). This fact is a testament to the change in teaching and learning methods in Nghe An as well as in the whole country in recent times, especially since the country's reunification.
In this general change, Nghe An continues to promote the tradition of studiousness, diligence and hard work in studying. Nghe An is always in the top of the country in terms of academic achievements. Nghe An is also a province with many excellent students at the national and international levels. That is the achievement of Nghe An education and something to be proud of!
