VietNamNet Bridge - A video clip of Japanese children crossing the street has unexpectedly caught the attention of many Vietnamese parents on the internet. The parents said it showed the differences in the way Vietnamese and Japanese children are taught.

A video clip of Japanese children crossing the street has unexpectedly caught the attention of many Vietnamese parents on the internet.

In the clip, Japanese elementary school students were seen standing and waiting at the road markings for pedestrians. Only after vehicles stopped did the students begin crossing the street. After reaching the other side of the street, they all lowered their heads to thank the motorists who gave way to them.

That made an impression on Vietnamese parents, who left hundreds of comments on the students’ behavior.

Hoang Thieu Hoa, a parent in Hanoi, commented that she likes the clip because it showed how well Japanese children are educated.

Hoa saidthe to  Vietnamese adults and children ‘risk their life’ when crossing streets.

“They try to cross streets whenever and wherever they like. They don’t care about red lights and pedestrian bridges,” she said.

Khanh Hung, a VietNamNet reader, attributes the difference between Vietnamese and Japanese children to the way of education.

“Japanese students can learn awareness of important matters and life skills in childhood. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, teachers focus on stuffing children’s heads with academic knowledge in math and physics,” he commented.

“As a result, Vietnamese students only have theoretical academic knowledge, while they are bad at practice. While they are good at math and physics, they don’t know basic principles in life,” he said.

In Vietnam, teachers focus on stuffing children’s heads with academic knowledge in math and physics

“Since they are too busy with science lessons, they don’t have time on basic skills – saying ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ like the children in civilized countries do everyday,” he wrote to VietNamNet.

Dao The, who lived in Japan for 10 years, said the students’ behavior of lowering their heads to show “sorry for inconvenience” and ‘thank you for giving way’ attitude.

“Japan is an industrialized country and Japanese people are always very busy. However, they always strictly follow principles. This is what they are taught at school,” The said.

The clip has unexpectedly raised a debate about what Vietnamese should learn at school.

“In fact, morality lessons are given to students every week. Children are also taught to say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’. However, the lessons seem to be in vain,” a primary school teacher in Hanoi wrote on her Facebook.

“Some teachers said to their parents that morality lessons are the most boring learning subject at school,” she complained.

In reply, parents commented that the teacher needs to reconsider her teaching method.

“You need to make the lessons more interesting. Students won’t listen to you if they find your words boring,” a Facebooker wrote.


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