VietNamNet Bridge – A high school teacher in Hanoi has conducted a survey on 5,000 students to compile a questionnaire which serves as the collection of comments about teachers.

The teacher is Phung Hong Con, a math teacher of the Phan Dinh Phung High School in Hanoi. The questionnaire, including 20 multiple choice questions and one open question compiled after surveying 5,000 students from three high schools in Hanoi, has been highly appreciated, because it is really very useful for the education quality improvement.

In fact, conducting a poll on the teachers’ qualification has been familiar to teachers and students already. However, this is for the first time the poll is conducted by a teacher, not a manager.

Con said he is not satisfied with the questions like: “What do you think about the teaching method? a) easy to understand b) so-so c) difficult to understand,” or “How is the knowledge you receive at school? a) very good b) good c) not good

He wants the creative questions which allow to find out what students need and what teachers need to do to improve the teaching and learning quality.

The most important thing that Con had to do was to compile the questions and suggested answers that are suitable to high school students and the current education program. Con drafted the questions first, consulted with the colleagues of the same school, then posted on Internet to collect opinions from the students and parents nationwide before the final questionnaire was set up.

Con’s questionnaire comprises of the questions touching the hot topics being discussed among students. “Do the teachers bully students?”, “Do the teachers do private works during the lesions?” or “Do you think these are the burning issues at school nowadays?”

The answers to the questions can give valuable information to teachers and headmasters. “I have found out that some teachers were “innocent.” They were very good and constructive, but the way they behaved led to the misunderstanding that they tried to bully students,” Con said.

When asked if the students’ answers can give exact information about the qualification and morality of teachers, Con affirmed that he does not think there would be big errors.

In general, math and literature teachers have some 150 students, while history and geography teachers have 500 students in every academic year. Therefore, the opinions of the minority students cannot represent all the students, though Con admitted that some students would “give marks” to teachers on their feelings. Especially, some students even take full advantage of the poll to criticize and revile teachers.

Con also affirmed that high school students are very constructive when answering the questions. “He (the teacher) teaches us like teaching those who will become professors. I just want to concentrate on the lessons to pass the university entrance exams,” a student showed his real opinion, not the answer for the form’s sake.

Nguyen Tung Lam, Headmaster of Dinh Tien Hoang High School in Hanoi, a well- known educator, said he highly appreciates Con’s method.

“The information source would help masters better understand teachers’ jobs and their efforts. It would also help encourage teachers to improve themselves,” Lam said.

Chi Mai