Are parents awake to specialized schools and selective classes?

Every year, as the school year draws to a close, families with first and last graders in urban areas buzz about choosing schools and classes for their children.

Normally, primary school is divided into zones, but with junior high school and high school, there are specialized schools and selective classes, so parents are quite confused about choosing a school for their children to take the entrance exam or apply according to the zone.

The biggest concern of parents today is to know exactly what the curriculum of each school is like; whether it is heavy or light, whether it is boarding or not; what the teaching staff of the schools are like. After all, these questions mainly focus on meeting the mindset and concept of achievement that we adults want to impose on our children. And from a multi-dimensional perspective, all the answers given are only relative.

There are many students in specialized schools who are worse than students in regular schools; and there are also many teachers in regular schools who are "better" than specialized schools. In short, there is no "complete" regulation or concept on this issue when in reality, many rural areas do not have specialized schools or selective classes, the teachers are too "hot" or "top" but the students' university entrance exam scores are sky-high.

In fact, in society there are two trends, two opposing educational views of parents.

The first trend is to focus on studying a lot, increasing pressure to form a sense of learning and competition for children during the secondary school period with the hope that children will achieve as many achievements as possible. This trend is going against the trend of developed countries and only exists in the system of developing countries, especially Asian countries, especially Vietnam.

The second trend is to want their children to develop naturally. That is, for this group of parents, they consider their children's schoolwork easier so that they have more conditions, time for entertainment, and participation in physical activities.

For this group of parents, specialized schools and selective classes are really unnecessary. They do not care about specialized schools and selective classes not because their children are not good, but simply because they have other goals and orientations. They respect their children, orient them to develop according to the natural laws of development, learn from the many ups and downs they have witnessed from relatives and society, and even themselves.

After many years of teaching and working with parents, I have realized that parents are moving more towards the second trend, when they have seen too clearly the achievement disease of an academic education system, which is heavily imposed.

To be fair, there is no exact data to evaluate which educational trend is more successful and how successful each trend is. However, in reality, this trend may be successful for one child but completely fail when applied to another. No matter what, parents need to focus on the child. The children themselves need to be cared for and respected in the true sense, have education but also have entertainment.

Let your children live up to their age with their own passions, aspirations and ambitions. That passion and ambition is not just about burying your head in your studies to get this or that achievement but other humane values ​​in life.

To make the mission of fathers and mothers even greater, among all priorities, the top priority is to let children develop naturally with positive guidance from their parents. Most importantly, parents must fully understand their children's abilities and development potential. In a society with too many choices, parents need to be alert, stay away from the disease of false achievements, the disease of pride that their children must study at this or that school, must have this or that achievement. Among the 40 thousand Vietnamese people suffering from depression in Vietnam who are on the verge of committing suicide, the number of young people, in their teens, is certainly not small; and how many of them have committed suicide due to the pressure of studying?

I think parents need to stay away as soon as possible from noisy crowds with the race for virtual achievements in society that is causing more illnesses for their children such as hunchback, nearsightedness, depression, and a complete lack of extremely important life skills during high school....

It is easy to say but not easy to do because every day there are many barriers surrounding us, in which the desire for fame and vanity of each of us is not small. Therefore, today's parents, in addition to being intelligent and clear-headed, need to be very brave and have a "cool head".

Not all schools are full of good students. There is also no school full of bad teachers. The trend of studying and taking exams today has changed a lot. Instead of studying in depth in one subject or one field, exams now require many subjects in a group with the ability to know a lot and know a lot. Therefore, parents must be very alert when choosing a school for their children during this peak period. The children's luggage into life, what is most needed is the subtlety and wisdom from parents and counselors, especially dedicated teachers who are truly passionate about their profession.

According to Laodong