I hope students don't have... homework during Tet.

Students at all levels in the province have just completed their first semester exams. My child studies at a public elementary school in Hai Duong City. He often calls the exams exams and shows stress when they are approaching. The 2023 New Year holiday just passed, right at the time when children are focusing on reviewing for the exam. Therefore, instead of having 3 days off like adults, he had to focus on doing nearly ten test outlines assigned by his teacher. Having Tet holiday but having to study more than usual, although trying to complete all the assigned work, he still showed discomfort and frustration. The study load is large but the quality of his study is also questionable, showing signs of rote learning to cope with the exam. Looking at a question in his outline, I asked him a question about the risks of obesity. My child answered some possible diseases such as blood pressure, cardiovascular disease... But when I added that obesity increases the risk of bone and joint diseases, he firmly denied it because it was not in the answer given by the teacher.

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Not only for my child, reality shows that schoolwork, revision, and exams are always a constant pressure for students today. At the end of December 2022, the discussion "Building happy schools in the context of educational innovation based on the needs of students and teachers" held in Ho Chi Minh City gave very alarming numbers. Accordingly, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education conducted a screening survey on the mental health status of more than 8,500 junior high and high school students in Ho Chi Minh City. Through the survey, 1,117 students (12.92%) felt moderate, severe, and very severe stress. 1,952 students (22.58%) were in a state of moderate, severe, and very severe anxiety. 1,177 students (13.62%) showed signs of moderate, severe, and very severe depression. Among the causes leading to the rate of stress, anxiety, and depression in students, the leading cause is pressure from homework, revision, exams, content, and learning methods.

In Hai Duong, although there have not been any specific surveys or data on the above issue, there have been many heartbreaking cases where students cannot withstand the pressure from studying combined with pressure from family and age. In 2020, a group of students at Binh Giang High School also took a photo series talking about the pressure from intense studying, grades, exams, or career choices and comparisons between parents and "other people's children"... with the hope that teachers and parents would listen and understand them more. A few days ago, I and many parents were quite surprised by the mid-year parent-teacher meeting in my child's class. Most of the meeting was for the homeroom teacher to inform and analyze the children's academic scores without knowing whether the children were good in class or not, what their strengths, interests or limitations were; how they interacted with teachers, their relationships with friends...

Focusing too much on academic achievements and scores without paying adequate attention to spiritual life and other skills can easily make students become mechanical, uncreative, and unrounded when they grow up. The consequences of this situation have been pointed out for a long time, and there are many, and it is probably difficult to overcome it overnight. I just hope that during the 10-day Tet holiday of Quy Mao 2023, students, especially at the elementary level, will not have too much homework so that they can enjoy the traditional Tet holiday in a complete and meaningful way.

HOANG LONG