"I hope I can keep up with the pace of innovation"
That is the sharing of Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuoc Nhuan - teacher of Long Lam Secondary School (Nghe An) - after 23 years of working in the profession. Ms. Nhuan commented that the 2018 General Education Program brings many innovations in both program content and teaching methods, application of science and technology... In that context, each teacher must continuously learn, cultivate, and improve their expertise every day.
"Is my teaching method still suitable? Can students learn effectively?" - Ms. Nhuan always asks herself and uses that as motivation to try harder every day.
At the age of 43, overcoming her self-consciousness and barriers in using technology, Ms. Nhuan always tries to learn and master modern teaching software and applications; learn good and advanced teaching methods to apply to each of her lectures. For her, the students' interest in each lesson is a great joy.
"I hope my students will learn as much as possible, not only knowledge from books but also soft skills and practical knowledge. As for the students, I always hope they will be proactive, practice their self-study and creativity" - she said.
Ms. Nhuan believes that educational innovation is a difficult and challenging process that requires a lot of resources, the most important of which is the human factor. That is the dedication, determination, and consensus of the teaching staff.
Propose a new, lighter program
Ms. Le Anh Thi - teacher at Le Van Viet Primary School (District 9, Ho Chi Minh City) - shared her wishes, which stemmed from the confidences of parents. She said that the new general education program in many subjects requires knowledge and skills higher than the learning and reception ability of students, typically at the primary level.
With that reality, Ms. Thi proposed to build and organize a more suitable learning program, on the basis of reducing the knowledge load, ensuring it is suitable for students.
Besides the burden of the program, another concern shared by Ms. Thi is that the number of students in each class is currently high, averaging about 40 students/class. This makes it difficult for teachers to cover the class and pay close attention to each student.
"Each child's ability to absorb knowledge and study is also uneven, sometimes I have difficulty supporting them" - she said.
Although she is a young teacher with strengths in using technology, Ms. Thi also expressed her desire to participate in classes and training on applying information technology to teaching activities, contributing to innovating lectures in a modern direction, suitable for the current context.
According to Minister Nguyen Kim Son, 2024 marks the determination in investment policies and attention to education from the central to local levels; many localities have issued specific policies on tuition fees, policies for teachers, investment in facilities, etc. to promote the development of education and training.
However, the difficulties and shortages of facilities and schools, especially in remote areas; the lack of teachers; the pressure to work and maintain the profession in conditions of difficult income, difficulties in working conditions and the pressure to adapt to the demands of the ongoing educational and training reform process... are all major challenges facing the industry.
In addition, the development of technology also poses the problem of adaptation, management, and governance in the educational environment. "I hope that these concerns and drastic and effective policies will continue to be demonstrated in 2025 and the following years. I also hope that the companionship, understanding, and sharing of society with the education sector will increase even more" - the minister expected.
