VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam does not need a generation of people who have to receive training in everything, but they don’t know what they will do, what they want to obtain and what their purposes are in life. This is the message of the clip spread out rapidly via the Internet these days.

"The concern of a slacker"

The clip was initially posted on Youtube, named “su tran tro cua mot ke luoi being” (the concern of a slacker).

The principal character of the clip, who introduces himself as a 12th grader, tries to talk in the 1-hour clip about the existing problems in the Vietnamese education that he believes have become very serious.

Especially, he complains that Vietnamese education tries to stuff students’ heads with unnecessary knowledge, while it does not pay appropriate attention to the teaching of life skills, morality lessons. He also believes that the national education has caught the “achievement disease,” while it has been applying backward teaching method, thus making children get afraid of lessons.

Tuan, a student, said he watched the clip on Youtube and he has been attracted by the convincing arguments and the good presentation of the clip’s author. This also explains why the clip has been spread out among the Internet users so rapidly.

General school students have to follow heavy curriculums, which are, in the eyes of many Vietnamese, are unnecessary for their future lives and future jobs. He believes that the knowledge is useful to different people at different levels. Why do the different people who do different jobs, have to learn the same knowledge?

The author believes that every person just needs the “basic knowledge,” enough for them to lead their normal lives and do their jobs. Meanwhile, Vietnamese high school students now go to school everyday to receive high-level knowledge in specific fields, not the general knowledge.

A question has been raised -- that how much is enough for “basic knowledge?” The 12th grader believes that one just need to go to school until their finish secondary education, or the 9th grade. When they finish secondary school at the age of 14-15, one would be grown up enough to find out what they want in their lives and decide what they would do in the future.

Someone wants to be a computing programmer, another want to be a chef or restaurant director, while his fiends plan to be a fashion designer or physicians. “Will a writer need the knowledge about chemistry and should he learn about chemical reactions?” he questioned. “Will a physician need to learn how to analyze the portraits in literature works?”

“I don’t believe that someone needs all the knowledge he receives from general schools,” he concluded.

Though students know that the knowledge would be useless in the future, they still to try to stuff their heads with the unnecessary knowledge, just to try to pass the exams to be able to move to the next grades, to pass the exams to universities and become bachelors – the best way to succeed in their lives.

As a result, students, though learning about the quantum theory, do not know how to install lamps. They learn genetics, but they don’t know how to plant a tree.

The noteworthy thing is that at universities, students, once again, have to receive the knowledge they don’t need for their future jobs. However, they still have to obtain university degrees at any cost, because the degrees can serve as the admission tickets to any agencies or companies.

GDVN