Overwhelmed by the "forest" of reference books

August 29, 2011 10:48

(Baonghean) -Textbooks and reference books of all kinds for primary and secondary schools today are not only too numerous but also confusing in terms of book titles and publishers.

At the book counter of the Company for Books and School Equipment, many students and parents came to buy and choose books for the new school year. But they were all dizzy in front of the "forest" of books, both textbooks and reference books.




As a parent who buys books, I am quite familiar with this situation, but this year I am still "shocked", wondering which book to buy. Literature books for grade 7, in addition to textbooks, there are 20 different books for reference and additional reading. For literature alone, there are too many books, such as Self-study guide for literature 7, Commentary on literary works in literature 7, Help you write well in writing exercises 7, Understanding the beauty of literary works 7, Integrated skills exercises in literature 7, Reading comprehension skills in literature 7, Multiple choice exercises in literature 7, Types of exercises for writing and appreciating poetry and literature 7, Commentary on literature 7, 150 good essays 7, 162 good essays 7, Advanced literature 7. Not to mention: sample essays 7, basic and advanced exercises on literature 7, practicing skills in appreciating poetry and literature 7, Literature exercises 7... Dizzying before the literature books for grade 7, the same goes for physics and math. Physics is a second year subject of junior high school but the reference books are also "chaotic": Advanced Physics Exercises for Grade 7 (Pedagogical Publishing House), Advanced Physics Exercises for Grade 7 (Vietnam Education Publishing House - editor-in-chief Tran Cong Phong), Advanced and Developing Physics 7" by Bui Gia Thinh (editor-in-chief), Exercises and Advanced Physics 7, Focus on Knowledge and Physics Exercises for Grade 7, Advanced Physics Exercises, 500 Physics Exercises for Junior High School, 400 Physics Exercises for Grade 7... There are dozens of Physics 7 books, with quite similar names. The same goes for reference math, grade 6 counts 40 books, grade 7 counts 42 books.

For English subject, there are 24 reference books for English 6 alone: ​​Instructions for solving English 6 exercises, English 6 grammar and advanced exercises, Instructions and doing English 6 exercises, Additional English 6 exercises, English 6 without answers, English 6 with answers, English 6 multiple choice exercises, Practice listening skills for English 6, Review and test English 6, Have fun learning English 6 vocabulary, Self-study for English 6 Olympics...

Every book has an attractive name and introduction, full of "secrets", full of "skills", eye-catching colors and drawings, most of which are books from the Vietnam Education Publishing House, so parents are even more confused and worried about which book to choose. Some textbooks are labeled as Education Publishing House, some are labeled as Vietnam Education Publishing House. There are many reference books, parents are confused about buying and exchanging because they are not to the teacher's liking. Ms. Hang, whose child studies at Doi Cung School in Vinh City, said: "I bought the book for my child, but when I got home, the teacher said it was not right, I had to buy it again."



At the checkout counter, a parent went to return a book because the teacher said he bought the wrong book, but the cashier wouldn't let him because the parent didn't have the receipt to prove he had bought the book. When asked how to buy the right book, the cashier replied: "You have to bring a sample book." But at the beginning of the new school year, except for a few teachers who buy for their children, most parents prepare to buy books before the new school year, how do they know which book is the sample?

Many parents who bought books at Big C supermarket also said that they had to throw away dozens of books because the school said they were not the correct books such as Map Exercises, History Exercises, Biology Exercises, etc. but when they came to return them, they were not allowed to.


The prefaces of many reference books state: “In response to the reference book writing contest of the Ministry of Education and Training…we wrote…and hope to receive comments from…”. The Ministry of Education and Training should assess the quality of these books, only allowing a certain quantity to be sold so that teachers, students, and parents know which books are of quality and which books they need to study. The flooding of textbooks and reference books on the market has made it difficult for parents and students. After a school year ends, students “rush” to another “forest” of books without having time to assess the books they have studied.


Article and photos: Chau Lan.

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