VietNamNet Bridge - The majority of Vietnamese students are afraid to learn music, arts and sports. Meanwhile, educators believe that the subjects have not been respected in an appropriate way.

Hoa, a seventh grader, received 4, below the average mark, from a physical exercise test. But she still was happy.

“I do not feel sad about the result. This is not an important learning subject for me. My priority subjects are math, physics and chemistry, because I plan to register to study at a technology university after I finish high school,” Hoa said.

Hoa is not alone. Huynh Mai Huong, a parent in Cau Giay district in Hanoi, said that her daughter, a fourth grader, is absent from arts lessons.

“My daughter cannot fulfill the exercises given to her by the teacher. Therefore, I have to do the exercises for her,” she explained.

“My daughter has received an 8 for a picture. But in fact, the mark was given to me. Because it’s me who drew the picture,” she said. 

Though music, art and sports are learning subjects which play important roles in improving students’ physical situation and help relieve psychological stress, they are not the favorite learning subjects for Vietnamese students.

A high school teacher in Hanoi said that the subjects are overlooked by the students in Hanoi partially because there is only a few teaching periods in these subjects every year.

Music, arts and sports are compulsory learning subjects for primary and secondary school students, but not mandatory for high school students. Meanwhile, high school students are those who need physical exercises the most.

He went on to say that students understand that the subjects are important and useful for them. This explains why many students go to aerobics and dancing clubs in the evening. Students are fed up with subjects at school because of low teaching quality.

“They are not fed up with music and arts, they are just tired of boring lessons at school,” the teacher said.

The problem lies in the unreasonable curriculum. All students are requested to do the same exercises, while they have different hobbies and aptitudes. 

A student in Hanoi complained that he is afraid of drawing. “I can’t do the exercises on portraits,” he said. “A student of the Fine Arts University says drawing portraits is a difficult task for anyone.”

“Why don’t I like sports lessons? It is because the Ministry of Education and Training tells us to learn sports, but we do not have necessary equipment for our lessons,” another student said. 

One student said she likes playing piano, but she is only sing songs at school.

NLD