In her post some days ago, the parent said her daughter is an 11th grader at an international school in HCM City. A teacher at the school gave her daughter a book with the title "On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous" written by Vietnamese-born American writer Ocean Vuong.

The mother got angry and upset because she believed that her daughter had been "mentally poisoned" by the book which consists of sex scenes between two teenage boys.

In reply, the international school in HCM City explained that the book is listed among reference books for students. The books, in many different languages, including Vietnamese, are part of the IB (International Baccalaureate) program.

However, finally, the school decided to retrieve all the 19 books given to teachers who had delivered them to their students.

The HCM City Education and Training Department has reported about the case and has asked the school to discipline the teacher.

However, the move by the school has not put an end to the event. A question has been raised: what kinds of reference books are good for students?

Literature Lecturer Nguyen Phuoc Bao Khoi, MA, from the HCM City University of Education, said it was necessary to examine whether the heterosexual and same-sex relationships are described with artistic intent or are just sensational scenes aimed to seduce readers.

“Therefore, it is necessary to consider the integrity of products, and analyze if the 'hot' scenes are necessary to feature the ideological content. If the scenes are just put into the book to catch attention, they must be criticized,” he said.

In the case of the book On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, he cannot see any good things, but only harmful things. The expert affirmed that the task of educators is not just to encourage students to read as many books as possible, but also to pay attention to the quality of books.

“Of course, there are differences between reading in school and reading to satisfy demand. However, introducing ‘danmei’ (same-sex relationship) novels that drive readers to the world of illusions is something that needs to be reconsidered," Khoi said.

He said that society appreciates the contributions of the LGBT community to society's development and respects their legitimate demands. However, this doesn’t mean encouraging young people to think incorrectly or deviantly about gender, especially if they are influenced by publications containing controversial content.

“There are a lot of good publications for students to read. Why introduce them to works with content unsuited to their age, and generate consequences?” he said.

Vo Kim Bao, a literature teacher at Nguyen Du Secondary School in HCM City, said the teacher of the international school did not engage in wrongful behavior when introducing the book, because the book was suggested by the IB program.

However, if so, the question is what kinds of books should be used at schools.

“I know that the book has been licensed to be circulated. However, the content photographed and posted by the parent really doesn’t fit the educational environment,” Bao commented.

“When teachers think of conveying messages or content to students, they should be sure that the content is suitable to the students,” he said. “I know that many students seek to read the book because of curiosity, rather than to enjoy the beauty of literature."

Huynh Thanh Phu, headmaster of Bui Thi Xuan High School in HCM City, said all high school students use smartphones, so it is not feasible to prohibit students from reading unsuitable content. However, he stressed that in education, there must be an orientation.

“Schools and teachers should ‘filter’ content and select reasonable and beautiful content that fit the traditional habits and customs to introduce to their students,” he said.

There are many choices for students’ reading thanks to the development of technology. Students can seek books to read from many different sources (print books, e-books), but they should be advised how to read books.

Phu believes that it would be better to rate books (16+, 18+…etc) like films, to help students and their parents understand which books they should or should not read.

Le Huyen