An experimental set of five new textbooks for first graders has created great interest among students and teachers at a private school in Hanoi.
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| Students attend a class at Cat Linh Primary School in Hanoi. Students at the school are said to be showing great interest in new text books which focus more on practical skills and knowledge. |
The set of books, yet to be approved by the Ministry of Education for use on a large scale, were written by a group of 14 teachers in different fields who call themselves Canh buom (Sailing Team).
This is the first time a set of school textbooks has been compiled by a private team.
At present the set is used to provide extra material to first graders in the Nguyen Van Huyen Private Primary School in Dong Da District. The school has two first classes, and each class has 15 students.
The set of five books are named Chao lop mot (Hello, First Class) and are divided into Vietnamese, Literature, English, Computing and The Way to Live.
"The books also focus more on practical skills and knowledge instead of having children sit down, take notes and memorise everything like it is done now," Pham Toan, the leader of the Sailing Team.
Associate professor Nguyen Bich Ha, principal of the Nguyen Van Huyen Primary School, said that she chose the set of books for her school because she found the team and her managing board had many similar opinions on ways to teach.
"Studying Hello, First Class book helps students consolidate the knowledge they learn in the morning," said Ha.
Every week, members of the Sailing Team themselves take turns to teach at the school. Teachers from the school attend each period to observe the team\'s methods.
The books have make a good impression on teachers of the school.
Ta Thi Thuan Tuy, the head teacher for first grade, said: "Students proved to be joyful and interested in the books, and they are very eager whenever teachers give them new duties."
"However, the books\' effectiveness still needs to be demonstrated over a longer time-frame," she said.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Chau Anh, a first grader at the school, said she liked her afternoon classes when they studied Hello, First Class books because she felt relaxed and free to talk.
"In the periods set aside for The Way of Living, we talk about what time we go to bed and what we do before sleeping, and then discuss what the best way is, whereas at morning periods, we only listen to the teacher," Anh said.
Anh also said that she liked the variety of teaching aids and experiments in the afternoon periods instead of just looking at pictures in the morning.
"When we learn about steam, our teacher does experiments in which he boils water and salt water at the same time and then we take turns to taste the condensed steam. This enables us to confirm that the salt has been left behind," she said.
However, some educational experts do not agree with the Sailing Team\'s initiative.
Nguyen Minh Thuyet, deputy chairman of the National Assembly\'s Culture, Education and Youth Committee, said that the books contained too difficult knowledge for first graders, including a section on learning language.
"Many difficult combinations, including ch, kh, ph and gh, are taught in only one period, I don\'t think students can absorb this," he said.
Meanwhile, Le Tien Thanh, director of the Ministry of Education and Training\'s Primary Education Department, said the Education Law did not allow the use of many sets of textbooks.
"If any schools or organisations want to use other set of textbooks besides those compiled by the Ministry of Education and Training, they must show them to the ministry for assessment," he said.
