It is important to train teachers in soft skills for them to educate their students in ethics and other values to become good citizens, experts told a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on May 26.
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| Students learn about ethics at Hoang Van Thu Primary School in HCM City. Instead of sticking to text books cliches, students should be equipped with additional skills to make good moral choices. |
Dr Phung Khac Binh, former head of the Ministry of Education and Training\'s Department of Student Affairs, said soft skills include listening and sharing to help students resolve their problems and conflicts.
Teacher should understand students\' psychology to adopt suitable methods for teaching them ethics, he said.
Bui Ngoc Diep of the Vietnam Institute of Educational Science said teachers should be taught communication skills and how to resolve conflicts between students.
Ta Thuy Hanh of Save the Children Sweden said teachers should not scold or hit students who make mistakes. Instead, they should study the causes and help those students understand and correct their mistakes.
A study in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Tien Giang, Vinh Phuc, and Thua Thien-Hue found that students were afraid of corporal punishment and scolding by their teachers.
Hanh warned that if teachers resort to violence to punish their students, the latter would imitate such behaviour when they have conflicts.
A report by the Ministry of Public Security showed that students commit around 2,500 crimes every year.
In 2009 and 2010 there were 1,598 instances of violence inside and outside schools.
Some participants blamed the deviant behaviour on factors like the changes wrought by the market economy, lack of wholesome entertainment for young people, and others.
"Ethics for students are not taught effectively in schools," they added.
Nguyen Thi Huong of the Department of Teachers and Management Staff Affairs, said the syllabus for subjects like ethics, civics, and law should be appropriately set.
Some delegates suggested that students should be given a role in making class rules.
