A history class of senior high school students (Photo: laodong.vn) Duong Trung Quoc, Vice President and SecretaryGeneral of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, said the issue hasbeen long debated, notably the discussion at the National Assembly’s session inNovember 2015.
This is the first time a school subject has beentabled for discussion at the legislature, the historian stressed.
Vietnamese people are well aware of the significanceof the subject that not only provides them with knowledge but also reflectscharacteristics, will and traditional values of the nation, he said, notingthat the problem lies with how to promote it at school.
Quoc held that the plan sketched out by the Ministryof Education and Training is associated with the fact that career orientationhas yet to be conducted at the national educational sector.
The career orientation in preparation for systematicand methodical training will greatly affect personnel resources, given theincreasingly high demand at present, he further explained.
The historian said the new curriculum is reasonableand matches global education trends, adding that the subject should be mandatoryin the first nine years and optional in the remaining years in the 12-gradecourse.
However, Quoc emphasised, there still remain complexissues.
Some said the decision will scrap the subject in thecurricular, which the historian said is true in some aspects as there have nosignificance changes in the teaching and learning of history so far.
Although history has been introduced at school in thefirst nine academic years, students have just learnt it by heart and crammed,he continued.
Quoc said the method is wrong as it has turnedhistory into the memorisation of facts, which is not important in history,especially in the present context of open data.
The remaining three years see children’s greatest maturityat school in terms of physical growth, mindset and awareness, during which theyshould be educated about citizen awareness, national patriotism and traditionalethics.
In the period, students can easily absorb historyknowledge if there are suitable teaching methods, Quoc said.
“However, in fact, we have yet to prepare afoundation good enough for students to love the subject and, in the newcontext, they have the right to skip it,” he said. “We should support theaccess to modern education textbooks, including sector division.”
Some said the decision will scrap the subject in thecurricular, which the historian said is true in some aspects as there have nosignificance changes in the teaching and learning of history so far.
Although history has been introduced at school in thefirst nine academic years, students have just learnt it by heart and crammed,he continued.
Quoc said the method is wrong as it has turnedhistory into the memorisation of facts, which is not important in history,especially in the present context of open data.
The remaining three years see children’s greatest maturityat school in terms of physical growth, mindset and awareness, during which theyshould be educated about citizen awareness, national patriotism and traditionalethics.
In the period, students can easily absorb historyknowledge if there are suitable teaching methods, Quoc said.
“However, in fact, we have yet to prepare afoundation good enough for students to love the subject and, in the newcontext, they have the right to skip it,” he said. “We should support theaccess to modern education textbooks, including sector division.”
An outdoor history class (Photo: qdnd.vn) Quoc suggested the educational sector invest more inhistory teaching, not only in finance but also teaching methodology and accessmindset.
History is the subject that helps people be aware ofthe past and draw lessons for the present, but not the memorisation of thepast, he emphasised.
Therefore, apart from giving explanations to the public,the sector should persuade them to accept the transitional period by settingout roadmaps for the reform, the historian suggested.
He said that criticism and democracy would be thebest history learning method./.
VNA
