The
fourth graders of a primary school in district 4 in HCM City were asked to
describe an object with which they have good memories about schooldays. Some
students could not fulfill the task, because instead of writing about an
object, they described the dogs.
When
asked why they described the dogs instead of other things like pencil or
schoolbag, textbook or eraser, the students answered that when preparing them
for the exam, the teachers did not have sample compositions about object
description.
A local
newspaper quoted a teacher of the school as saying that she did not give sample
essays on the topics because a similar question was made for the mid-semester
exam, and she did not think that this would be repeated.
Therefore,
the teacher spent most of her time on showing students how to describe animals
and pets, such as dog, cat, fowl or bird. Unfortunately, the students were
asked to describe objects, and they wandered from the subject.
The
technology of making prototypes for essays
In
general, teachers would give students the detailed plans showing what students
should write when describe objects or animals. In some cases, they would give
them completed essays, so that students can learn by heart.
As a
result, different students seem to have the same literary style, while the dogs
of different students seem to be exactly the same.
My, a
mother who has a daughter going to a primary school in Hoc Mon district, said
that her daughter can describe birds, fowls, dogs or cats, because the teachers
prepared her to describe the animal. However, the girl would not be able to
write anything if she is asked to describe a monkey, for example, because she
did not learn this before.
My also
said that when reviewing for the second semester exam, her daughter was given
the sample essays about pencil, schoolbag, watch and table. When My came to
visit the teacher and asked why the teacher applied such an odd teaching
method, the teacher said that this is the method applied by all general school
teachers.
Another
parent related that when students were asked to described the tree that they
like most, he daughter wrote about hibiscus which she saw in the countryside,
while 90 percent of her classmates wrote about the flamboyant tree, simply
because that the they had a sample essay about that kind of tree.
The
biggest problem in this case, according to the parent, is that the teacher
asked students to follow a fixed structure plan to describe trees. As a result,
all the students started their essays with: “Among different kinds of trees, I
like…. most.”
While
parents have strongly opposed the current teaching method, teachers have argued
that they have to do that because they have no other choice.
“Only a
few of students like literature lessons, who can watch the objects and describe
themselves with the support of parents or teachers. Meanwhile, others cannot,”
a teacher in Tan Binh district complained.
“We
have only 45 minutes for every teaching period. Therefore, we cannot help every
student practice the skill of writing essays,” she added. “It would be better
to give them the ready made essays. This would benefit both teachers and
students”.
Source:
Tien phong
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