Democracy in Schools: Silence is Golden
The lack of democracy in the pedagogical environment is an unspeakable disease of Vietnamese education.
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| Illustration: NOP |
| "When democracy is weak and solidarity is shaken, the teaching staff certainly cannot be strong enough to focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning." |
And indeed, many people have “tied” themselves to the mindset of “silence is golden” for many reasons. In the self-assessment and self-examination, there is always a section to evaluate the spirit of criticism and self-criticism. However, for a long time now, it seems that we have been too lenient when many people use it to get a bullet point of the weaknesses and limitations: “The spirit of criticism and self-criticism is not high”.
And that "precious" silence has led to a disconnect between reality and the reports, assessments, comments, and suggestions for a new policy or plan that always follow the pattern "very good, practical, should be widely replicated, and should be promoted"...
In the school environment, the evaluation forms for civil servants, public employees, principals, and vice principals with criteria and scales do not truly reflect the actual capacity of the leaders. Because of the mentality of following the majority, along with the mindset of "evaluating to get it over with", people easily write down scores for the sake of it, and comment a few lines for the sake of formality.
So those who dare to speak up, regularly contribute opinions, and boldly fight become "strange phenomena" and individuals in the school, and are then boycotted and shunned by the community.
People easily reluctantly accept an unreasonable order or plan from a leader; but are visibly upset when others stand up to fight, making "more trouble and complicating the situation"; or pout, smack their lips and judge others as "having some kind of intention", "calculating gains and losses"... when there is a voice that is completely different from the rest of the majority.
It is the silence of the collective that is the fertile ground for evil to germinate.
And sometimes the issue of democracy in schools is seriously violated by the leaders themselves who are patriarchal and autocratic. Any contribution is brushed aside, or always nodded in acknowledgement but then implemented according to their own will.
In particular, there are cases where the person giving feedback is given special attention, in the form of being “put through hell”. After many such experiences, the teacher learns from his experience and resigns himself to choosing silence for peace of mind.
Even giving opinions and answering interviews with the press is a difficult problem for many teachers.
Articles praising good people and good deeds of schools and classes are fine. But when it comes to sensitive issues such as students sitting in the wrong class, school fees, the disease of achievement, etc., few teachers dare to speak out strongly. Because who knows, after that, there might be unwanted "inquiries" from school leaders.
The major issue that needs priority now When the democratic voice in schools is violated and the fighting spirit is eliminated, the inevitable consequence is that evil has the opportunity to creep in. Besides, instead of sincere and frank comments in meetings, the stories of "gossip" and "gossip for fun" outside will be extremely harmful seeds for the state of disunity in the collective. When democracy is weak and solidarity is shaken, the teaching staff certainly cannot be strong enough to focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, democracy in schools is a major issue that needs to be given priority attention today. In this special environment, democracy will help strengthen the relationship between school leaders and teachers, as well as stop all negative manifestations in schools. |
According to TTO
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