The Problem of Educational Books in Vietnam: Where Should We Begin Again?
Vatican News (19 October 2020) – One of the most prominent social issues in Vietnam recently has been the controversy surrounding the Vietnamese Language 1 volume of the Cánh Diều textbook series. Public opinion and many specialists have pointed out its shortcomings, such as its disorderly, confusing and educationally harmful format and stories. In the assessment of Associate Professor Dr Nguyễn Hữu Đạt, Director of the Institute of Oriental Language and Culture, this series is “still far from meeting the standards required of the working volumes we call textbooks.”[1]
An education without a philosophy
Setting aside for the moment the suspicion of ‘profiteering in education' that many people fear, what can be seen very clearly is the absence of a consistent philosophical foundation for the country's humanistic education system. It is easy to recognise a kind of ‘crafty, sly' thinking in the turns of phrase and the implied messages of these textbooks. It may be that the compilers did not intend this, but that very fact reflects a general mentality of selfishness and rivalry that has sunk deep into the conscious and unconscious mind of Vietnamese people today, to the point that even educators cannot escape its web.
For this reason, thinking about and researching a philosophy of education is something that must be done before any further plans are carried out. According to the latest information, the Ministry of Education has decided to revise and reform the Vietnamese Language 1 series mentioned above.[2] Of course this is necessary, but it is only a temporary measure for the present emergency. It seems to me that if we do not build a solid philosophical foundation, every reform will be no more than a house built on sand, and a few years later we will have to sit down together again to complain and to look towards yet another reform, as has been happening for several decades now. Professor Chu Hảo comments aptly: “This incident is the inevitable result of the educational reforms of the past twenty-odd years aimed at renewing the general education curriculum, textbook content, teaching methods, and the ways of holding school-leaving examinations and university admissions… none of which was based on any clear and serious philosophy, idea or educational theory. They were all merely projects, patchwork renewals.”[3] Reforms of that kind not only squander tax money and drain the people's confidence; more importantly, they turn the young generations of this country into laboratory mice.
How might a philosophy of education be built?
Forming a system of educational philosophy on a solid metaphysical foundation is very difficult, especially for a country as weak in philosophy as Vietnam. However, that does not mean we cannot seek out a philosophical direction in education for ourselves. Simply put, we can still do the following two things: (1) study and learn from the philosophies of other advanced educational systems; (2) identify further those particular philosophical points within the Vietnamese mind and culture.
Fundamentally, wherever they are, human beings share common values. We often stress the differences and particularities of each people. That is not wrong, for culture really does have a great influence on people. Yet such emphasis often makes us forget that there are core values and foundations common to everyone; for example, everyone wants to be happy, to be loved, to be respected and to be useful. Therefore the education of human beings everywhere has certain basic points in common that can be applied to every people and every culture.
There is nothing shameful about learning, or even imitating, the philosophical foundations and knowledge of another country's good education system. Even the world's advanced educational systems did not invent and build themselves by their own strength alone; they were developed largely on the basis of inheriting and learning from so many earlier achievements of humanity, especially in philosophy. Moreover, Vietnam's own present education system has already shifted its paradigm to that of Western scholarship (since 1919), and so continuing to study and learn — not only from countries close to us in culture and race but also from Western educational systems — is entirely necessary.
There is much we can learn from them. However, there is one core point that must be attended to: an education considered good must have the vision that education is not only for opening the mind, but more importantly for opening the soul. For that reason, these advanced educational programmes place great emphasis on helping children raise their awareness of cherishing and loving life, above all human life. One of the ways of achieving this is to let them come into contact with, care for and immerse themselves in the natural environment, so that they not only play, but also learn to come into contact with, cherish and care for the life of each small living being. For example, kindergarten children are given a seed to sow, and then each of them observes and cares for that plant until it is grown. They are also given opportunities to meet and play with animals (in parks, on farms, and so on) and to look after them. That is an effective way for them truly to hold each life dear, and to have reverence for the Creator as well; and that is how the goodness in their souls is opened out. A child who loves nature and loves the life of every creature will surely also know how to respect himself and to love others, to cherish their lives, and to have a more powerful sense of contributing to the building of society.
As for the particular aspects of a Vietnamese philosophy of education: it would not be quite right to say that Vietnam has never had any philosophical foundation for education, since we followed the Confucian paradigm for a long time; and then, after taking up the Western paradigm, the great intellectuals of the early period, such as Hoàng Xuân Hãn, Nguyễn Văn Huyên, Tạ Quang Bửu and Đào Duy Anh, also built up orderly and well-founded educational programmes. In particular, up until the end of the war in 1975, the education of South Vietnam inherited and developed the programmes of these scholars, establishing a fairly systematic philosophy of education: ‘humanistic – national – liberal'. And most important of all: we have a tradition of humanistic education within the family and the village, with clearly defined value systems acknowledged over many generations.
Therefore, although it seems we have never had a philosophy argued and analysed systematically and completely, we do already possess philosophical values that serve as very clear points of reference within the heritage of our culture and the mind of our people. In the writer's humble opinion, we may list those five foundational humanistic values as follows:
(1) Filial piety. In the Vietnamese mind, this is the foundational value in relation to the family.
(2) Self-respect. This is the core value in a person's relationship with himself (‘self-respect' means knowing how to respect oneself).
(3) Sincerity – Fidelity – Mutual assistance. These are the foundational values in relation to others and to society in general.
(4) Love of homeland and people. This is the characteristic value in relation to one's country.
(5) Gentleness and compassion. This is the reference value in relation to the spiritual and religious mind.
It is these values that serve to orient the conduct and way of life of each individual; and they become the points of reference for determining the ethics and morality of Vietnamese people.
To whom should the research be entrusted?
Once the direction of research into a philosophy of education has been determined, the important question that remains must be raised: to whom should this task of research be entrusted?
One of the afflictions in Vietnam is that many people work according to ‘position' and ‘political duty' rather than ‘specialised expertise'. Mr Đặng Hùng Võ, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, courageously pointed out: “I believe the great mistake is that we have joined the ‘education' of the young generation and the ‘training' of adults into a single ministry. Ever since the Ministry of Education and Training was established, every minister has come from the university sector, and all the major work has been led by the university side. A professor of literature, history or geography may be excellent in his field, but he becomes meaningless if he does not understand the educational psychology of children.”[4]
Therefore, first of all, the right to conduct research and to work independently must be granted to the ministries and institutes specialising in education, staffed by people with specialised expertise. But note this as well: many of those regarded as having ‘expertise', as being ‘pedagogues' in the present generation, run the risk of being ‘experts in an air-conditioned room'. That is, the results of their research come from subjective thinking and are heavily theoretical. Hence there must be pedagogical specialists of genuine heart and stature for this mission.
We have a great many talented Vietnamese with expertise or an aptitude for education, both at home and all over the world. Many of them are always dedicated and deeply concerned for their country. I therefore believe that if we simply open up an unobstructed mechanism and invite them to work and contribute to our national education, the human resources needed for this mission will no longer be a problem.
Education, in the end, is not the business of any one person or any one group. And so it is to be hoped that no one will be indifferent to education, that no one will seek to profit from education, and that no one will seek to impose his own ideology upon education!
Khắc Bá, SJ
