The above comment was made by Prof. Dr. Le Anh Vinh, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences, at the seminar "Let Vietnamese children grow up with a pressure-free childhood" held this morning (March 13).

Professor Le Anh Vinh has 10 years of experience leading teams to participate in the International Math Olympiad. "On the evening before the Olympic exam, I often take students out to eat and sit at a cafe to talk. That year, a very stressed student told me: "Teacher, in two days, I will never have to take a math exam again", Mr. Vinh recalled and said that this story is very normal if it were a normal student. But this is one of 6 students in the international math team of Vietnam - students who have gone through countless exams.

You guys are like warriors, competing professionally, and I always thought you guys must be very strong. However, when a student tells his teacher that in just two days he will never have to take a math test again, the teachers understand how much pressure there is.

According to Professor Le Anh Vinh, the rate of children experiencing mental stress is increasing. This stress is not only experienced by higher education levels, but also by middle and primary school students with alarming numbers.

Citing figures in a recent report, many students have to study more than 10 hours a day, due to pressure about grades.

"Some students come home from school and say, 'Dad, I got 9 points today.' Dad says that's not bad. But if I say that 9 is the lowest in the class, Dad gets sad. When I come home and say that I got 6 points but the highest in the class, Dad gets happy," said Mr. Vinh, adding that many parents are paying a lot of attention to scores, creating invisible pressure on their children.

According to Mr. Vinh, primary school is extremely important, it is the foundation for a child's development. However, this is not the level to cram as much knowledge as possible, but the level to train qualities, personality, and attitude, so that children can confidently step into life.

In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training has made many changes in testing and assessment to relieve pressure on primary school students. Currently, many countries tend to extend primary school to 6 years, the reason is to let children live in a less stressful life for longer.

"Parents think that wanting their children to get all 10s is high expectation, wanting their children to win math, STEM, English... prizes is too high expectation. In reality, that's not true. With primary education, I think that's low expectation," Mr. Vinh emphasized.

According to him, high expectations are for the child to develop confidence, have the best foundation to go the long way, not to walk as fast as possible in the first steps.

We also have students who do not get very good grades, but later become very successful. Therefore, grades are not everything, Professor Le Anh Vinh cited and affirmed that primary school is extremely important. This is the foundation for a child's development, but it is not the level to cram as much knowledge as possible.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Ha Dinh Bon, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children's Rights, said that a carefree childhood will be the foundation for an open and successful future.

"Let your child live in love and grow up with a carefree, innocent childhood, without pressure before placing on their shoulders expectations of success or becoming a champion," Mr. Bon said.

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice Principal of the University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, believes that pressure is inevitable in life. Therefore, children need to be equipped with problem-solving skills and improve their ability to withstand pressure in order to develop.

"To build a happy school, the responsibility is not only the teachers' but also the parents'," said Mr. Nam.

The delegates attending the discussion also made recommendations for families and parents to take the principle of "Putting children at the center, giving the best to children". From there, there will be a scientific way to raise children, not following trends, following distant aspirations, and not putting pressure on children.

Minh Khoi