How do you expect your children to study at school? — Photo vietnamnet.vn

Your Say, published every Friday, lets readers express their opinions on a topic or issue raised by the editor.

How do you expect your children to study at school?

A recent letter sent to the Ministry of Education and Training by a father asking for his son to study badly at school has shocked many people in Việt Nam, who often have great expectations that their children will study the best they can at school, no matter their capacity.

The fact is that the high expectations of parents about their children’s ability to study puts great pressure on young learners. Many feel very disappointed if their children fail the university entrance exams, and many parents try to find ways to enter their children into famous or good schools without considering whether their children would benefit from studying at these schools or not. Even worse, many parents ask their children to join as many extra classes after school as possible with the hope of making their kids excellent students at school.

This has put great pressure on children, who are certainly not good at all their subjects in school. In some cases, students have committed suicide or suffered depression as a result of not fulfilling their parents’ expectations.

What do you think about this father’s letter? How do you expect your kids to study at school? What should you do to guide your children to pursue their own dreams, not their parents’ dreams?

Please reply by email to: opinion@vnsmail.com, or by fax to (84-4) 3 933 2311. Letters can be sent to The Editor, Việt Nam News, 79 Lý Thường Kiệt Street, Hà Nội. Answers must be received by Thursday morning, September 15, 2016. — VNS