VietNamNet Bridge – Teachers in HCM City high schools are ill prepared to implement the policy of integrating life-skills teaching into school curricula, experts say.

It’s not easy to integrate life skills into school curriculums

Lifeskills must be taught in schools

MOET teaches life skills at schools

 The Sai Gon Giai Phong (Sai Gon Liberation) newspaper cites them as saying the Ministry of Education and Training has pushed for the inclusion of life-skills without providing teachers with the required skills to teach them.

In fact some of the experts have noted that some teachers themselves need training in life-skills, prone as they are to immoderate behaviour.

The MoET has released books in civics, philology, biology, geography, and extra-curricular activities to promote the teaching and learning of life skills.

But students have complained that the books are not interesting.

"It will be easier to acquire if we are trained through specific, vivid, daily life events," said Dong Thuc, a student at Tran Khai Nguyen High School.

"The ministry and education departments have asked schools to train students in living skills for students, but have not directed implementation of the scheme. They have not provided details of the programme or advised us on how to train teachers," said Nguyen Thi Yen Trinh, principal of Tran Khai Nguyen High School.

Trinh said young teachers were enthusiastic about their work, and easily form close relationships with the students, but they lacked experience to deal with complicated situations.

"We have given the teachers a heavy responsibility, but forgotten to equip them with required skills," Trinh said.

The Tran Khai Nguyen High School has invited an expert to talk with senior teachers on methods to provide youth with life skills.

"It helps us with essential principles, teaching methods, as well as how to arrange a living skills class," said Dinh Thi My Hanh, who teaches at the school.

Another teacher, Bui Thi Ngoc Thoan, said: "We are now confident of training students using drama, poetry, music and even normal academic disciplines."

Tran Khac Huy of the Education and Training Department said there are some private schools that bravely invest in training both teachers and students, but public schools do not have enough money.

Several public school managers also do not see the importance of going beyond the academic curricula, Huy said.

Psychologist Vo Van Nam, department head at the HCM City University of Education, said: "School violence has become an alarming issue of late. Not only have many cases of students fighting each other been recorded, but also cases of teachers displaying violent behavior and speech that is offensive to students," Nam added.

He said the teachers play a crucial part of in shaping a student's moral standards and behavior, so it is all the more important they receive training in life-skills, Nam said.

He said life skills cannot be built up in a few days, so schools should come up with long-term and methodical plans to provide training to both teachers and students. They can then combine what they have learnt with their own life experiences to teach students, he added.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News