During the recent Tet holiday, while leisurely chatting with friends about our children’s studies, I was horrified to realize that kids are still taking far too many extra academic classes. After finishing formal school hours, they come home to rest briefly before heading off to extra classes until 8–9 PM, and on some days, they aren’t done even by 2 AM. Even during Tet, they have to do homework. And it goes on continuously like that for the entire week!
Asking around, I discovered that parents harbor fears and obsessions about studying that are blindly irrational. If a child doesn’t attend extra classes organized by their teacher, the teacher gets upset. If a child doesn’t take extra classes, their grades won’t match their peers “because everyone else is doing it.” Without extra classes, they won’t graduate from high school or get into university. A billion reasons (that sound very legitimate).
I will not let my child take so many extra academic classes for the following reasons.
In the past, kids had to take extra classes to get into major universities because those schools had low tuition fees and a fairly good reputation, which was beneficial for job applications later on. These things will no longer hold true.
First, with the current multiple-choice exam format and according to annual statistics, the probability of failing the high school graduation exam is extremely low, especially in urban areas. The graduation rate is very high, usually above 90–95%. Therefore, what is the point of studying so excessively just to wear oneself out?
Getting into university nowadays is not overly difficult. Only a few universities with relatively high admission cutoffs, such as Foreign Trade University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, certain faculties of Vietnam National University, the Security Academy, and the Military Academy, require high scores. (And by the way, I have never held the curricula and training quality of these schools in high regard). As for the rest, with the vast number of universities and colleges available today, it is by no means difficult to enter good programs with moderate high school graduation scores.
Second, in just a very short time, university admission criteria in Vietnam will change significantly. University admission requirements will no longer depend too heavily on test scores alone, but on many other factors similar to foreign universities, such as extracurricular activities, community service, leadership skills, community engagement, and athletic achievements.
Good universities will want to admit well-rounded students rather than students who only know how to study. This is because well-rounded students have a much higher probability of academic and professional success compared to those who do nothing but study. People who play sports will be more competitive and tend to focus more on self-improvement. Juggling studies with sports also demonstrates good time management skills. Those with strong social, leadership, and community service skills are also individuals who possess solid teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving capabilities within an organization later in life.
I know a young friend. She received a scholarship to play golf at a university in the US. She shared that to maintain her scholarship, she had to keep a GPA of no less than 3.0 (good standing), while still maintaining regular training to compete for his university. She had to work and study nearly twice as hard as others. Early in the morning, she had golf and physical training, and during the day, she attended academic classes. Each year, she participated in dozens of golf competitions for the university team. Yet, she still graduated with good honors and became one of the best female golfers in Vietnam.
At Broward College Vietnam, there was a student who received a scholarship. Her entrance scores were average, but she was a television MC and singer. Seeing how she balanced her work at school and in real life made even me respect her. In the morning she went to school, in the afternoon she worked as an MC, and at night she performed as a singer. Yet she still found time to participate in school extracurricular activities very regularly.
Students like these, after graduating, will certainly succeed and go much further than those who only know how to study.
Third, granting universities autonomy in admissions will significantly alter entry requirements. I am firmly convinced that to raise the quality of both inputs and outputs, good universities will rely on non-academic criteria as mentioned above to recruit students and elevate their entry quality.
(I view granting universities autonomy in admissions as a revolutionary move by the Ministry of Education and Training.)
Fourth, tuition fees at public universities will approach those of private schools. Most public universities will have to become financially autonomous and will be allowed to raise tuition fees close to market levels. Thus, the motivation to enter a public university for low costs will no longer be significant. Young people have no reason to desperately force their way into ordinary-quality public schools.
The quality of education at universities will continually improve to stay competitive. Universities, especially private ones, will improve their educational quality for the sake of survival and do everything possible to guarantee outcomes for their students. International partnership programs will contribute to enhancing teaching and practical application quality in private institutions.
If you had to choose between a conservative public school with high tuition and an accredited, high-quality international program at a private university with equivalent tuition, which school would you choose?
(Last year, according to a survey at American Polytechnic College and Broward Vietnam, out of over 500 students enrolled in the school’s high-quality program, nearly one-third were students who transferred from other schools—mostly public ones—after becoming disillusioned with the training environment and quality.)
(This trend will also mirror what happened in general education. Previously, people scrambled to get into public schools with high scores or fame. Now, well-to-do families choose private schools for their children.)
And finally, the most important point, in my opinion, is that to have a high probability of success in life, you need to be equipped with many things beyond studying: communication, social skills, general knowledge, music, art, sports, time management skills, leadership, foreign languages, etc. High school is the longest remaining period for kids to develop these skills in a structured and serious manner. Once you become a university student or enter the workforce, you will be too busy to have any time left.
Just think about it, who will be more successful? A young person who dresses well, writes clearly, presents concisely, and possesses organizational skills. You know how to sing and dance, allowing you to join in gatherings and network. You play sports quite well, so colleagues always invite you to join them. Because you play sports, you are always healthy and know how to unwind to reduce stress. You have broad knowledge (because during high school you had many experiences and played a lot), enabling you to fit seamlessly into any meeting.
In contrast, look at another person: You only know how to study. Back in high school and university, you didn’t play a single sport properly, so your health is very ordinary, and you don’t know what to do to relieve stress. You were never taught how to dress properly or communicate much, making you very awkward in crowds. You never had the time (or encouragement from parents) to take care of your appearance, so you easily feel insecure. You have also never played a musical instrument, so how could you ever be the center of attention? Who will have a better starting point? Who will be healthier to run the marathon of life?
Who will have more friends? In work, who will “network” better and get help from others faster when facing difficulties? (And who will have more romantic partners, so parents don’t have to sigh: “so smart at school, yet so unlucky in love?”) And who will have a higher probability of success?
It is that simple, so why don’t parents understand? Why keep pushing children into a vortex of studying until they are dazed? Only to blame them later for not achieving success?
We must blame ourselves because during our children’s most vital years, we missed the opportunity to educate them more comprehensively. Instead, we blindly searched for ways to stuff their heads with useless doctrines, meaningless equations, and cliché essays. Our children could instead have known how to play an instrument, sing, cook, play basketball, read famous literary works, initiate a conversation with strangers, and resolve conflicts (and have plenty of romantic partners).
In the new year, I hope and wish that we have enough courage to overcome our unreasonable fears so that our children can “study less” and “play more.”
