VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese parents today tend to “adore” the western teaching methods, believing that only such advanced methods, not the Vietnamese out-of-date ones, can help turn their children into talents.

Teaching children from a very early age, training them with western advanced teaching methods, and spending big money to fund their studies are the three major principles that urban Vietnamese believe will help create child prodigies.

Vietnamese parents nowadays have familiarized themselves with many educational terms, such as the Japanese-style teaching method, Glenn Doman, Shichida, Montessori and others.

Parents who choose the Japanese-style teaching method must buy a teaching kit which is comprised of four volumes, each for one of four developmental periods, from zero to three years of age. Each of the volumes is priced at VND59,000.

The Glenn Doman method proves to be dearer: parents have to pay VND1-2 million for every kit of teaching materials, which are organized by subject. The one for teaching math costs VND1.9 million, teaching reading VND2.5 million, and teaching English VND1.9 million. Meanwhile, to teach children about the world around them, parents need to purchase a kit of school materials for VND1.2 million.

However, school materials are not the only thing parents have to spend on to make their children clever. Many also choose to attend training courses on how to teach children. Each training course, lasting 2-3 days, costs VND5-10 million.

As such, every parent would have to pay VND30-50 million to follow the advanced teaching methods to nurture their childrens’ talents.

The Montessori curriculum is even more expensive. Parents attending the training courses organized by the Montessori Teacher Training Center in Vietnam have to pay VND60 million.

Minh Ngoc, 30, in the Cau Giay District of Hanoi, said she attended a seminar on Glenn Doman and has become convinced that only that method can bring the best mental development to children.

“We (the attendants at the seminar) are convinced that it would be a blunder if we didn’t register for the training courses and buy school materials to teach our children,” Ngoc said.

“You feel ashamed if you don’t follow the method, because this means that you don’t care much about your children,” she added.

Hoang Van Nam, a parent in Hanoi, also said he and his wife have spent VND40 million so far on the “smart teaching method”, which included the expenses for school materials and the training course they attended during his wife’s pregnancy.

“My wife has been teaching the child every evening with the flashcards since birth,” he said.

Though admitting that he is not sure if the method can really help children grow up intelligent as advertised, Nam said the method is worth trying.

“We will do everything we can to be sure that our child can enjoy the best possible education,” Nam said.

Meanwhile, other Vietnamese parents remain uncertain if the methods really can help.

“My friends were surprised when I told them that I do not follow any of the advertised teaching methods for my one-year old child. But I think there’s no need to force him to learn anything now,” a young mother wrote on an education forum.

Nhi Anh